saxton_boy said:
In terms of a portable computer, the pandora has wedged itself between a gp2x and a netbook. But its size makes it pointless as a UMPC if you have a decent smartphone, or carry a netbook.
Not really - in terms of most UMPC-type functions, yes, but both smartphones and netbooks lack decent gaming controls. It's more powerful, has a higher screen resolution, etc., than most smartphones, and a lot smaller and lighter than most netbooks, in addition to the considerably longer battery life. If anything, the Pandora owes more to the Dell Axim x50 series than anything else (yes, this is an odd thing to say, but I think it's justified): the x50(1)(v) was marketed as a multimedia device to some extent, as it used the Intel 2700G 3D graphics accelerator and 16 MB of VRAM, and Dell (and Intel) sold and encouraged a number of 3D games, even porting Cube to OpenGL ES as a tech demo.
saxton_boy said:
I feel the specialist handheld console must converge. Although I hate apple with a passion, the iphone is a big step in the converge direction, and the d-pad cradle thingy that is being developed is an interesting vision.
I don't understand why people consider the iPhone as a gaming platform at all. Multimedia, in a sense: it plays music and video (some formats, at least). It does all the usual smartphone PIM stuff. However, smartphones have always been able to play music, and I don't know that there are really a substantial number of people that use their iPhone to watch movies, or even TV episodes (music videos, maybe?). I could be wrong about that, of course. Still, though, the accelerometer makes for some interesting puzzle games, maybe, but it doesn't have anything approaching proper controls and it fails as a general computing device due to its locked-down nature (even on a Windows Mobile smartphone, not really the most open of platforms, there are zillions of applications you can download and run directly).
saxton_boy said:
I predict that in the next 5years all major consumer electrical manufacturers will have a console simliar to the pandora on the market, but converged with the smartphone...
Well...
I agree, and I disagree: because I do think that you're correct insofar as smartphones will contain more powerful CPUs and GPUs. However, I'm far from certain that they won't be locked down like the iPhone is, and the openness of the Pandora (and the Wiz, and the Dingoo) contributes greatly to what they are.
saxton_boy said:
On topic, I would say the pandora will be a better UMPC, but the WIZ a better HH games console!
Yes, especially if you're concerned about price, if you only want to play games, the Wiz is not a bad choice at all.
I would correct the following list, however:
hardyx said:
sukhiextreme said:
Pandora processor 600mhz-900mhz/Wiz processor 533-700mhz
Pandora 128mb ram/Wiz 64mb ram
Pandora internal memory 256mb ram/wiz int memory 1GB ram
Pandora keyboard:yes/wiz keyboard:no
Pandora usb port: yes/wiz usb port:no (usb accesory)
Pandora=micro-pc / wiz=portable console
Updated version
The Pandora has 256 MB of RAM, and 512 MB of internal flash, but the internal flash is really not intended for casual use. I don't think this is really a useful comparison, though, because it doesn't take into account the different goals of the two consoles. It doesn't consider price, for example, or more subjective things like size, weight, screen quality, and other things that might make a difference to someone who was really trying to decide what to buy.
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