If You Weren't Getting A Pandora, What Would You Get?

[twobit]

Just curious about what handheld device people would be going after if they weren't getting their Pandora.

Say you wanted something to game on, preferably with gaming controls like the pandora and something as feature rich as the Pandora. Something you didn't need to have a phone built in. What would you go for?

I've had to cancel my order because sadly, I can't afford one at the moment. So these days i spend my time speculating what I would get if I wanted something portable that plays music, movies, games, has network connectivity (wifi for around the house or coffee shops or wireless internet), something I could run applications on for scheduling, reading books etc.

I've no idea what I would get if I couldn't get a Pandora. Especially given that i don't want a mobile phone. What about you folks?

 

[Lorkile]

In your case a PSP running Custom Firmware (CFW) sounds like it wouldn't be too far off. In terms of emulators I believe it's PS1 and back, with N64 getting quite a bit of attention lately. I suppose CFW isn't necessary, as you could nab something like a PSP Go and then commit to only running apps & emulators whenever you felt like firing up the latest exploit, seems too bothersome for me to do it that way.

In terms of apps, lack of keyboard or touchscreen makes scheduling a bit of a mess in my mind. But Bookr was pretty solid for reading books on, and while it hasn't been updated to work on the newer CFW's I loved PePViewr for reading comics (sadly none of the newer comic readers I had found before I gave up on homebrew were particularly worthwhile).

Honestly, it's the only thing that's gotten me through the wait for the Pandora (well, aside from recently nabbing a Kindle from Amazon, wonderful to read on).

Almost forgot, I think the Wiz might work for you and I've heard on these forums when I visit that there are some other newer devices. One that had really caught my eye was a tablet priced just over $100 with shipping to the USA which looked great for everything aside from gaming.

 

[kuru]

ignoring your not-a-phone comment i'd go for an n900 (which I did a few days ago) or a moto droid (which I will eventually get just for the great build quality). Theres a "game gripper" for the latter. OTOH if there's any handheld that can connect a BT keyboard I'd maybe go for that. That Oddroid sounds promising.

Last time I checked browsing sucked on the PSP, but that was years ago. Just remeber that inputting URLs or search terms rather sucks without touch or keyboard.

 

[atomicthumbs]

24-105mm F/4 IS L

 

[CoLDSToRAGE]

I'm kinda in the same boat, so the latest raft of MID or UMPC releases look really good.

I'm looking at UMID M1 or UMID BZ or possibly even the Viliv n5.

The UMID isn't massively more than the Pandora, but it's Win XP at 1024 x 768 - a kind of mini web-book.

Sod law though(!) The UMID BZ is out of stock until July, so it seems I'll be waiting any which way I turn, LOL!

 

[Dunny]

Probably a Ben Nanonote, but not for gaming as such - just for pratting around in linux on.

D.

 

[Nova]

I'm really excited about the iControlPad, really looking forward to that. Should make my HTC Desire almost like a Pandora.

 

[Bosbeetle]

If the pandora didn't come along I would have had a squeezebox by logitech

 

[CoLDSToRAGE]

It's interesting to see all the different reasons people are looking to Pandora...

Some are into gaming, others are into multimedia and like me, some people are looking for a UMID/UMPC that can also provide lots of media fun when you get bored of using it as a Linux tool.

I don't think in truth there is anything like the Pandora out there even now, so many years after it was first announced.

 

[Jourdy288]

If it weren't for the Pandora, I probably wouldn't get anything...

 

[SomeGuy99]

Probably would have bought an n850 and been underwhelmed.

 

[Esn]

I might have gotten a Dingoo.

But honestly, I don't know.

 

[lulzfish]

I can't seem to find anything else with a keyboard and Wi-Fi that isn't a phone or something.
The Motorola Droid is horrendously expensive ($599 US Dollars) and the keyboard is small and it's a phone and it runs Android, so Qt probably wouldn't work on it.
The Wiz doesn't have Wi-Fi.
netbooks are too big and have poor battery life with more heat production thanks to x86.

I think the pressing question is "what am I missing because I don't have a Pandora yet"
A whole bunch of stuff.

 

[Orkie]

I'm really excited about the iControlPad, really looking forward to that. Should make my HTC Desire almost like a Pandora.

Be careful what you wish for...

 

[matzesu]

I think, i would get a gp2x wiz,

 

[xyta]

Perhaps a Wiz (for portable gaming and enterzainment) AND an Archos 5 or Archos 7 (easy internet access at home) ...

Or should I rather take a Nokia N900? (full keyboard and gps but small screen) ummm...

A Sharp Netwalker Z1??
My intention is also to combine the Pandora with a small and flat UMTS cell phone for portable internet. For some occasions I would only take the cell phone woth me, for others I would have the Pandora in a pocket of my jacket additionally. The N900 is too fat for some occasions... The Sharp Netwalker Z1 has no Bluetooth for tethering...


As none of these options would really be convincing, I would probably wait for a pocket sized sub-netbook with gaming controls and Bluetooth..

 

[(naw)mcx]

laid.

 

[quote]

laid.

I'm the opposite, if I couldn't get laid I'd get a Pandora.


baw

 

[apink]

I have a Zaurus. It runs linux, has a keyboard and is a handheld. Does everything I want it to. When it dies I'll get a pandora if they are still in production.

 

[twobit]

Thanks for the replies all. Much appreciated, and all very interesting.

I still haven't decided what to go for yet, I'm still bumming around on my PSP-3000. Granted, it's not got a permanent CFW running on it, but I am running Gen-C and the Prometheus patch (via ChickHEN). I just pop it in standby mode which gets around having to crash and patch the FW every boot up. It's handy for reading ebooks with BookR, and I still play most of my PSP games on it. The homebrew I've seen isn't too crash hot. Not game wise.
Browsing sucks on it. Even using the Java VM to run a mini safari (I think) browser.

The PSP does the job in terms of games and reading. I also listen to music and watch movies on it, which it does fine in too. But it sucks for browsing the web, which is the only other component I want from the device. The plan I had for pandora was to pop my usb 3g broadband modem into the Pandora so I could browse on the go (Train, bus etc). I can't do that on the PSP of course.

I do have an Asus EEEPC 701SD (8g SSD, no upgrades yet). But the battery on it is crap, and the default linux distro sucks. I havent sat down to tweak it or pop debian or something on there yet as I don't have the time. And frankly, dont have the inclination. Even if it's just a 7" screen, it's still too bulky to just carry around with me. It's fine for puttering around at home, but there I have my desktop / laptop to use. Kinda pointless. I orginally got it as an ebook reader for my wife. But she saw me using my PSP to read books and had me buy her one of them too which she uses constantly.

It seems my only other option is the damn IPod Touch (perhaps 16gb one). Provided I jailbreak it, perhaps I can get the basic funtionality I want. Fiddling with linux would be fun, but it's not really why I wanted the pandora. Has anyone got experience with the touch? Is it worth it?

The only other thing I can honestly think to get is a phone, which I would not really use at all. I don't call people, people don't call me. But I could always get a HTC Desire (I think thats the name of it) which gets good reviews, I can get that for $0 up front on a 49$ p/month plan. $49 per month for something to watch movies,listen to music, play games on seems a bit steep.

So yeah, I'm not really sure what to do. If the IPod Touch can play games, listen to music, watch movies (divx can play on it yeah?) and let me read books, it seems like a smart choice. I'm not sure what jailbreaking it really does. But if you think it's a good device for someone who's not getting it simply for a status symbol, then perhaps that might be the best option.