True that most phone functions are not going to have that many threads, we looked at a tegra3 tab against my tegra2 tablet I bought last year and the performance increase was there but not really a staggering increase.
Part of that problem is, that while the Tegra3 has increased the performance on paper a lot, its the multi thread aspect that is limiting that same power.
The added NEON instruction what was lacking in the Tegra2 is a added bonus, and so is the increased clock speed. But when it has gone from dual to quad core, the OS & developers part stayed behind.
Do not forget, a few years ago, most devices where just single core. The Tegra2 and other dual core added some expansion space, but still most developers focused on that one core/thread development.
Now, as far as i can see in the Tablet world, Quad core is here to stay. Most new Tablets are all Tegra3 based. And are slowly flooding the market. The other manufactures are also dual, or going to quad core ( Krait, A15 )...
The difference is, while most programs do not use the full power of multi thread environment, it still gives the people who buy a quad core, a more "future" proof situation. Because with so many devices going dual / quad core, more and more software will slowly move into the environment.
This is actually where devices like the Pandora are supposed to shine! The difference between the Pandora, and most tablets, is that it is designed for things like emulation. I read the statement in the thread, that some of the high end emulators have not been optimized to the top level of the Pandora's abilities. Let me disagree with this. The problem is, the moment you need to over optimize to give a satisfactory performance, that just means that you are putting in more time, vs smaller gains. This is true with any software development.
Let me give a difference subject, to compare with. Suppose the Pandora has a quad core 1.5Ghz Cortex A9. First of, those top emulators are probably going to run way better, thanks to just the 500mhz increase. But, more importantly, it opens up the ability for developers, to move code into threaded environment. Instead of focusing on some small gain, by trying to find something, they know in advance the possible gains, by refocusing some part of the software, to be multi thread aware.
Wanting to or not, most of the software that is on the Pandora, is actually very old. Those emulators are all based on work done in the past, from before the Pandora even existed between Craigix his loins ( ^_^ ). And this is also where it stops.
You will see the Tablet market, slowly moving more and more forward, where as the software on the Pandora, has reached it limits. I am not saying anything that is untrue. On a device like the Pandora, its impossible to even think of anything beyond N64 emulators, as there is no head space. On the Tablets, people are looking to see what is possible. Maybe its going to take another few years before we get working xbox emulators, or whatever. But the Pandora 1, will be where it is today.
And we can not forget the competition aspect. There is that JXD 7100 that has the same speed as the Pandora, but at a fraction of the cost ( 170$ vs 500$ ). Sure, it has some compromises ( less battery life, no keyboard, ... but for the most part, it does the same ). And some other projects. And the price of tablets is dropping. With the recent Google Nexus 7 ... people are already asking more and more, for a device that can connect to tablets like the WikiPad. And i suspect that as this market grows, we will see it one day. Plug in your tablet, and voila, there is your gaming tablet.
Craigix:
Phone based emulators in general already run faster on any recent generation Tegra2 or higher, then the Pandora does. No mater how much optimizing one does, it can not compensate for the increase in clockspeed, or more cores, or faster graphics.
There is one massive difference between the Pandora, and Tablets, Phones etc. Most of those products can be buyed off the shelf by the consumers. Six months ago, there where not a lot of Tegra3 based devices. Now the market is almost flooded with them. The nexus 7 is 200$, vs 500$ for the Pandora? 200$, available now, 500$ please wait 6 months? ( or a few years => What surprises me more, is to see somebody mention that he is a Batch1 client that still needs to get his product? How many years did that person wait? Its things like that, that gave the Pandora the not so good reputation in the first place, with a large part of potential clients. ).
Its not because you have a lot of people ordering the 1Ghz version, that you are actually tapping into the market. At this moment, your just tapping into a small niche market ( and are having trouble keeping up with that market ).
As the market grows, slowly more and more companies will also step into this niche market of mobile gaming consoles, using tablets and other devices. Its a logical conclusion, as to how the market is evaluating. People are already betting / expecting for Apple to also enter the mobile gaming market, with a more dedicated gaming device.
The Pandora as a project is stuck in 2008. That is my view, from outside looking inside. There have been some minor upgrades, but clearly, this project is going to stay in the 2008 mindset, while people on the "outside" world, are moving forward. 2008 ... Tablets where a thing that most people did not expect to take off. Look at it today. There is a clearly big market, for devices like that. Just as there is a market for tablet with gaming controllers ( like JXD, and some other project already show ).
And i'm sorry to say Craigex, even if you tomorrow announce a Pandora 2, with a octacore 5Ghz CPU, there are plenty of people that will doubt your ability to actually deliver them in reasonable time frame between ordering and shipping.
I can understand why the original poster find that the Pandora is starting to lag behind, because in all honestly, it is. Its just like that. Anybody who comes here, need to change there mindset, to just accept the situation. For a long time, i hoped for improvements to the project, but all i saw was delays, delays, delays, increased prices, delays, delays, a small upgrade, delays ... Realistically, i say to the Original Poster: Do not bother over thinking or hoping for some miracle, because with this project it will not happen any time soon. Just accept the project like it is. A small community project. If you are looking for a future proof device, with the ability to expand into new forms of emulation, or other things, i fear your are better off looking at other projects. That is a more realistic look upon things.
So, that will probably be my last post this period. I'll come see again in a few months, how the is almost still Pandora same like in 2008. Its actually kind of funny for me these days. They say there are only 2 certain things in life: Dead and taxes. I belief that there are 3 certain things: Dead, Taxes, and the Pandora project staying the same as in 2008 ( well, beyond the massive price increase ). *lol*
If OP can keep it down to less than £300 I'll probably buy one.
