Fresh news from the board production (2010-10-20)

[sehs33]

what are those red boards underneath?

Conspiracy theory: might it be that those are for the Pandora cheap Chinese knock offs that will flood the market and cost $100 a dozen :unsure:

 

[tsh]

what are those red boards underneath?

The reason it is so hard to get photos out of an assembly company. That's someone else's product.

 

[Bosbeetle]

The reason it is so hard to get photos out of an assembly company. That's someone else's product.

ah okay than I wont ask about it

 

[EvilDragon]

And of course, more people buying the machines might make more money available to invest in extending the Pandora's design; maybe more memory, more NAND, better processor, right? Maybe even lower unit costs, eventually?

Might be possible, yes.


However, our current goal is to finish Batch 1 and have a reliable production for Batch 2 and later.


If it works with the current company, then good (never change a running system), but if they can't deliver the boards in time, then it's time for a change I guess.

 

[dtc.com]

just a stupid question but, have you asked to potential local suppliers to reducing shipping time and cost?

 

[Dave1234]

The reason it is so hard to get photos out of an assembly company. That's someone else's product.

It looks like they could be Beagleboards to me. It uses the same chip as the Pandora and I think I remember a while ago someone saying that the company doing the Pandora boards also makes the Beagleboard.

 

[Alec]

It looks like they could be Beagleboards to me. It uses the same chip as the Pandora and I think I remember a while ago someone saying that the company doing the Pandora boards also makes the Beagleboard.

I thought so too, but it's something else. Beagleboards don't have rounded corners.

 

[Bosbeetle]

Im so sorry for bringing this up.

 

[lancesg1]

So.these boards will finish batch 1 and start batch 2 right

 

[elwing]

So.these boards will finish batch 1 and start batch 2 right

finish batch1 only I think...

 

[Caine]

finish batch1 only I think...

Indeed. Batch 1 consisted of roughly 4000 units. About 1000 of those have shipped so 3000 are remaining.


If the company is to be trusted then now 2000 of those are awaiting nubs and 1000 more need to be produced.

 

[Lynceus Glaciermaw]

I find these pictures nifty just because I haven't ever been able to take a peek into a board production company/building/whatever. It's very cool.


Some people I know (even my wife) have actually asked me "Are you sure this Pandora thing isn't a scam?"


...I laugh at them and show them pictures like this. (I cannot fathom the Photoshop skills that would be needed to fake all the pictures of the Pandora...! ) Then I point out the movies that exist and the fact that Google Checkout would never let a scam get this far!

 

[TitanUranus]

Some people I know (even my wife) have actually asked me "Are you sure this Pandora thing isn't a scam?"

Women - huh. My mum said the same thing. Now I think on it, dad, is that you in disguise?

 

[fanoush]

more people buying the machines might make more money available to invest in extending the Pandora's design; maybe more memory, more NAND, better processor, right? Maybe even lower unit costs, eventually?

The sooner there is compatible upgrade the better, fear of platform fragmentation is IMO stupid. I hope Michael is already designing it. While current 2 years old hardware is ok for pure gamers the cpu and memory is already a bit dated for other use cases. If there is motherboard upgrade with more RAM and newer OMAP (like in beagleboard xm - maybe the DM3730 would not require heavy board changes, or even omap4 in future) I would take it without thinking twice if I could just swap the board and reuse case, battery and lcd to keep the upgrade cost down. Also translucent keymat with leds on board would be nice too (have it on N810 and N900 and love it).

 

[Dead1nside]

It's a bit of a catch 22, with regard to upgrading the Pandora in subsequent batches. I think it would benefit from increased RAM and NAND, and I also think people would be willing to pay for it. However, you inevitably will end splitting the community on it and annoying first batch, early adopters. One could say that the overclocking divide is already there, and that's just be mere chance whether your unit can go to 1Ghz or not.


If one could send back their Pandora to get it upgraded, that would be cool (probably impractical though), I certainly wouldn't mind paying a significant amount for such a service.

 

[fanoush]

However, you inevitably will end splitting the community on it and annoying first batch, early adopters.

As a first batch early adopter I fear more about slow death of the platform if there is no upgrade in sight. While milking current hardware as long as possible may keep the cost down, it may also reduce new sales.

One could say that the overclocking divide is already there, and that's just be mere chance whether your unit can go to 1Ghz or not.

Exactly my thinking, not all devices are made equal even now. This is not closed xbox/ps3/wii with games coded to very specific hardware with constant speed.

 

[bce23w]

And of course, more people buying the machines might make more money available to invest in extending the Pandora's design; maybe more memory, more NAND, better processor, right? Maybe even lower unit costs, eventually?

Uh, systems design isn't like unit upgrades in Starcraft; it doesn't cost any more to design a device with a newer, more powerful processor, it just costs more to physically assemble it.


Something vague enough that we should all be able to agree: the more Pandoras sell, the more Pandora-like devices will be made.


edit: oh look, another page, I'm an idiot.

 

[Grench]

As a first batch early adopter I fear more about slow death of the platform if there is no upgrade in sight. While milking current hardware as long as possible may keep the cost down, it may also reduce new sales.

My personal hope is that they continue the sale and production of THIS version until around October of 2011. Then release a new backwards compatible device that blows the doors off of it - for immediate sale on the first 1000 units then pre-orders as deep as the list wants to go.


I see the Pandora as a stepping stone. It's a great platform to get this company and community moving. Not creating a successor would be far worse than any benefit gained by holding the hardware stagnant forever. (In my humble opinion only.)

 

[I8NY]

There should be no upgrade or version 2 yet because then some games/emulators would run only on the faster Pandora and not the original. I'm glad to see pics off the new boards. Even if they are slow at making them at least that don't make bad boards.

 

[Link]

Customs held up my Pandora's return in both the UK and the US.


I truthfully would be happy to just have the unit back and in my hands. No needed upgrades for this guy. No need for overclocking either. I'm happy with this thing just as it is and really think everyone asking about upgrades and Pandora 2s needs to check themselves. Batch 1 has 900 units out the door, Batch 2 has parts ordered already and people who've preordered. We are at least a couple thousand of units away from any upgrade realistically. I just don't see the reason to press on with this type of chatter, especially if you don't have a Pandora. I don't see the need to overclock and decrease my processors life. As for the NAND, it can only be written to so many times, so what good is more space going to be? We still don't have all the bells and whistles from this production up and running yet regarding hardware acceleration etc.


Thanks for reading, sorry to vent.


Peace & Pandora,


Link


EDIT: I also think the people behind the project are smart enough to have something in mind to keep us happy after the kinks are worked through.