Getting a bit left behind?

[zonova]

Hello everyone I was watching a video about the specs for the Google Nexus tablet, and it apparently has 10 hours of battery life. Now, battery life is something that the Pandora has been showing off about for a while, it's a pretty big deal. The google tablet is also only 200$ and it has a Tegra quad core processor. Do you think that the pandora is getting a bit left behind? I mean, i understand that the tablet can not emulate any of the things that the pandora can, but i'm talking strictly in terms of hardware. I'm thinking that whatever comes next is going to be needing possibly even more battery life, and obviously the most power in a processor they can get. What do you guys think about these new releases, and do you think that it'll affect pandora sales?


Btw, sorry if this is the wrong section to post in. You can move it to Pandora 2 spam or something if that is more appropriate

 

[moz]

Often when they advertise that kind of battery life it is with the machine doing little to nothing (having a music player running for example), the Pandora however can run for 10 hours doing some pretty strenuous tasks, running a psx emulator for example.

 

[ekianjo]

How would that affect Pandora sales?


Honestly, if people wanted tablets they would not even consider a Pandora in the first place.


And if you want Android, you dont want a Pandora either as its not the best device for it.


Pandora is clearly for those who want an open computing device where they can run all kinds of software, and create their own, too. There's a lot of ports/development happening from the users themselves. Developing for Android is tedious if you compare.

 

[_wb_]

Tablets can be nice, but in the end, they're just tablets, i.e. touchscreens with a cpu. The Pandora is a completely different device: it is more compact, while it has a full actual keyboard AND full game controls. It's a different category. I have a laptop, a tablet and a Pandora - they each have their uses.

 

[Darkjudge1]

I, myself, own an ipad and a smartphone. But there's nothing quite like tactile feedback as far as I'm concerned. So there's that. And then there's the actual gaming controls. Are the specs not quite up to today's standards? Probably not. Does it really matter? For what I want to do? No. And that's the thing to keep in mind. What do you want to do with the device? In my case, my needs are not fully met by the tablet. That's why I bought the Pandora. (Which should be here by Tuesday!)

 

[Askarus]

Well, when I use my Pandora to study (have 1-2 PDFs open and taking notes with Xournal) I mostly have 20-23 hours battery life with the new Kernel.


We also have 150 hours battery lifetime if we simply close the lid without any standby mode.


(A tablet can't even close it's lid. It doesn't have one . I love clamshell.)

Hello everyone I was watching a video about the specs for the Google Nexus tablet, and it apparently has 10 hours of battery life. Now, battery life is something that the Pandora has been showing off about for a while, it's a pretty big deal. The google tablet is also only 200$ and it has a Tegra quad core processor. Do you think that the pandora is getting a bit left behind? I mean, i understand that the tablet can not emulate any of the things that the pandora can, but i'm talking strictly in terms of hardware. I'm thinking that whatever comes next is going to be needing possibly even more battery life, and obviously the most power in a processor they can get. What do you guys think about these new releases, and do you think that it'll affect pandora sales?

No. . I'm sure this 10 hours are with no or low ornow use.


Pandora won't be the single device which can advertise with such a massive battery lifetime in the future but sales won't be affected.

 

[Mr_Loon]

Having had my Nexus 7 for about a week I can report that the battery lasts for about 5 hours of heavy use, compared to 10 from Pandora.


The general point made by the OP is valid but the fact remains that if you want a pocketable PC with built in gaming controls you buy a Pandora.

 

[Null]

Do you think that the pandora is getting a bit left behind?

In terms of specs yes, however just specs on their own don't cover the whole story.

 

[ekianjo]

What do you think of the Nexus 7 by the way?

Having had my Nexus 7 for about a week I can report that the battery lasts for about 5 hours of heavy use, compared to 10 from Pandora.


The general point made by the OP is valid but the fact remains that if you want a pocketable PC with built in gaming controls you buy a Pandora.

 

[pubzombie]

If you compare the pandora along hardware terms it was defunct ages ago.


I have an iPad 3 and a windows phone that are quicker for web browsing.


But neither of them do what a pandora does best - play retro games under emulation with proper input devices. For that reason the pandora really can't be left behind as nothing else can do that because current machines and tablets are obsessed with touchscreen.


On a final note - my panny runs fine at an over lock of 1ghz so it's not even left behind be the new expensively priced unit.


If you want a pandora for the same reasons as me you won't be disappointed at all - its a great piece of original hardware.

 

[CapcomSuicide]

For "In the home" sofa/mobile use, yes Pandora is very much left behind. Tablets with external controller & TV Out are preferred:


As an example: A tablet with Classic Super Famicom controller (Connected via Wiimote) plays all Super nintendo games at 60fps on the same controller that you used as a kid, with the bonus of save states and superb CRT filters when connecting to a TV. This setup blows the Pandora out of the water.

(Or a 20USD knock off like this: http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2012/05/the-perfect-wii-accessory-for-when-you-miss-your-snes/ )


Similarly the icontrol pad or other devices could be used, if you don't want the original pad.


BUT and it's a big BUT, when you are on the train/bus/plane you might not want to carry a wiimote and SFC controller with you, so for a true mobile device with onboard controls the Pandora is still the world leader, hands down.


There are also a fair number of people who prefer a keyboard for Dos/home computer emulation, so that is a unique factor.


In summary, I would say that Pandora has been left behind for some uses, but the niche it represents remains strong & the areas it loses too would be covered by cheaper options like a PSP anyway, so no big deal.

 

[TrashyMG]

There are also a fair number of people who prefer a keyboard for Dos/home computer emulation, so that is a unique factor.

Actually that IS my number one use of the Pandora.. At work I use it on the go if I need to remotely log into a Unix box as ssh and X-forwarding works good.

 

[_wb_]

Try mosh if you like using the Pandora to ssh to remote hosts. It doesn't have X forwarding yet (but it's on their todo list), but if you can do with text-only, it is great. You can toggle wifi, switch networks, suspend to RAM, and still maintain a connection.

 

[TrashyMG]

Try mosh if you like using the Pandora to ssh to remote hosts. It doesn't have X forwarding yet (but it's on their todo list), but if you can do with text-only, it is great. You can toggle wifi, switch networks, suspend to RAM, and still maintain a connection.

Interesting, I don't really need X-forwarding that much.. generally I just need to log in and restart a service.. I'll give it a try.

 

[mrcranky]

An Android tablet is nice, but you need to hook up a controller for gaming and with Android (when using bluez-ime), you have to switch from keyboard to bluez-ime in the settings each time you to play, which sort of sucks when you want to pick up & play for just a few minutes.


Since I’ve got my Pandora back from ED w/ 512RAM, I’ve given my Nook Color (running CM7) to my wife (and haven’t missed it).


Eventhough the Pandora doesn’t have the power of some of the newer/lower priced tablets, the Pandora does so much more:


-Battery life is amazing!


-Video game controls are even more amazing! It has a full keyboard…


-Can’t forget about the community & the outstanding developers that make it all happen. Also, need to note that it is the community & the makers of this device that do it unlike where communities like XDA need to step in to make Android what it should be.


-Don’t have to be worried/annoyed about all the permissions from apps (like in Android & like Windows 8 will have).


-All the inputs/outputs (still want the official TV out), Also can charge via adaptor or USB.


-And, most obviously, it’s a Linux computer that can almost squeeze into my back pocket.


-It's not locked down.


-I'm rambling so I'll shut up!

 

[craigix]

Part of the reason I wanted the Pandora to have such a strange design was to make it exist outside the tech 2 year bubble.


I'm pretty certain the reason they still sell like hot cakes is because of that design not being available anywhere else.


We hope that will continue with the P2 and any future devices.

 

[SNESFAN]

A wikipad type setup for the nexus 7 would be a kickass product ...


*looks at craig*


Sent from my MB612 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Gerix]

I'm pretty certain the reason they still sell like hot cakes is because of that design not being available anywhere else.

So...classic preorders are moving pretty steadily then?

 

[Wootson]

What Craig says is true. There might be faster devices on the market for less money, but there simply is no Pandora alternative when one looks at the design. No tablet whatsoever will fit in your pocket, there is almost nothing with a clamshell design, let alone with a full size keyboard and gaming controls.


You can only connect multiple devices together to get the same functionality. But in my opinion this destroys portability.


We are now four years from the original Pandora pre-orders and still there is no device that has everything the Pandora can offer.

 

[mvickers03]

My Pandora is irreplaceable, I use it more than any other computer and I have lots of gadgets around, iPhone, PC, GP2X, amongst many others.. the Pandora pawns all.. It's not all about hardware, sure it is nice to have the highest specs but look at the Cannoo for example.. hardly cutting edge technology. Also the Pandora does almost all what it was designed for and the bits it doesn't are WIP and I'm sure will improve in good time (NES Emulation ETC)