Bernstein229
Still Fresh
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2008
- Messages
- 25
Well, for me its that I want a portable computer. I still wouldn't buy it if it didn't include the psx emulator. Thats what does it for me. That and the possibility of an N64 and NDS emu.
Incentive To Buy Pandora?
- Thread starter darin
- Start date
Because i'm British!Squidge said:
Well i've checked this again at XE.com:TaG said:If you are paying the British price it will be £199 - same as it always was.
The $ price based on todays rate would work out at $316.
QUOTE
Live rates at 2008.08.19 10:49:28 UTC
199.00 GBP = 370.399 USD
1 GBP = 1.86130 USD 1 USD = 0.537258 GBP
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Squidge
Certified Guru
Fair enough, it was confusing how you posted in dollars. It was kinda hinting that you were not british (as otherwise you would have posted in the local currency).ashdjones said:
QUOTE
Well i've checked this again at XE.com:
Live rates at 2008.08.19 10:49:28 UTC
199.00 GBP = 370.399 USD
Yes, it's $370 (£199) for people buying it in the UK in USD, but it's $316(~£170) for people buying it in USD who are NOT in the UK.
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So the people in the US pay less, right? Or am I missing something?Squidge said:
We're not known as 'Rip Off Britian' for nothing. It's only in the last few years we've been paying US dollar equivalent for our games consoles.
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laurens
Member
ashdjones said:
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Squidge
Certified Guru
People in the US don't pay UK Tax.
FRZ
Active Member
ashdjones said:
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chad78
Active Member
ok - ignoring all the who pays more taxes debate - to the original question.
The Pandora is more powerful than the Nokia N-Series line of Internet Tablets, but the same type of CPU. This means it can very likely run all the software, and more, that the Nokia N-Series can run. I'm talking about the N770, N800, N810, N810 WiMax Edition.
Now, the Pandora doesn't have all the features of the N810 (no GPS, no WiMax, no Camera) and it (as far as has been announced) will not be shipping with the same operating system (Yes, they both run Linux, but not the same distro). But, to me, it's power can somewhat make up for that.
And, the killer thing is, the price. When you compare a Pandora to a PSP or a DS - of course it seems expensive. But you are neglecting two vital pieces of information - one, you don't have to pay for games on the Pandora, and two, (most importantly) the Pandora is not just a game system. When you compare the Pandora to UMPCs, MIDs, and netbooks, - then you get a different picture.
The closest, (IMHO), device on the market to a Pandora is the Nokia N810. Same architechture, same screen resolution, similiar screen size, similiar size overall, both have touchscreens, both have keyboards, both run (some flavor of) Linux, both have dual flash card slots, both are pocketable,... etc. But the Pandora is more powerful - has a more pocket-friendly clamshell design, has gaming controls, and (as I mentioned) is at least 1.5 times as powerful. (Over twice as powerful when overclocked.)
And... it's cheaper. Over $100 cheaper (when compared to the full price of the N810 - about $50 cheaper if you shop around for the N810). But even if it was full price, you're getting a far more powerful machine, just not all the bells and whistles.
The question comes down to what you are looking for. If GPS, WiMax, and a (not-very-good) camera are important features to you - then get a N810. If having a full operating system with a bunch of ready-to-install-point-and-click-style applications out of the box is important - get a N810.
If raw power and saving money doing it are important - then get a Pandora. If retro-gaming is important to you, but you still want a pocketable computer - then get a Pandora.
If all you want to do is play games and maybe a few MP3s - then get a PSP and mod it or a DS lite and a flashcart or both.
If you want an multi-purpose, desktop-app-running, lots of typing machine that you can take almost anywhere - get a netbook. If you want that and still want to play a few emulators - buy a USB gamepad for your netbook. Or, spend 3 to 5 times as much and get a full-powered UMPC.
Me, I want a pocketable computer and I love games. So I want a Pandora.... If it will ever actually come out.
The Pandora is more powerful than the Nokia N-Series line of Internet Tablets, but the same type of CPU. This means it can very likely run all the software, and more, that the Nokia N-Series can run. I'm talking about the N770, N800, N810, N810 WiMax Edition.
Now, the Pandora doesn't have all the features of the N810 (no GPS, no WiMax, no Camera) and it (as far as has been announced) will not be shipping with the same operating system (Yes, they both run Linux, but not the same distro). But, to me, it's power can somewhat make up for that.
And, the killer thing is, the price. When you compare a Pandora to a PSP or a DS - of course it seems expensive. But you are neglecting two vital pieces of information - one, you don't have to pay for games on the Pandora, and two, (most importantly) the Pandora is not just a game system. When you compare the Pandora to UMPCs, MIDs, and netbooks, - then you get a different picture.
The closest, (IMHO), device on the market to a Pandora is the Nokia N810. Same architechture, same screen resolution, similiar screen size, similiar size overall, both have touchscreens, both have keyboards, both run (some flavor of) Linux, both have dual flash card slots, both are pocketable,... etc. But the Pandora is more powerful - has a more pocket-friendly clamshell design, has gaming controls, and (as I mentioned) is at least 1.5 times as powerful. (Over twice as powerful when overclocked.)
And... it's cheaper. Over $100 cheaper (when compared to the full price of the N810 - about $50 cheaper if you shop around for the N810). But even if it was full price, you're getting a far more powerful machine, just not all the bells and whistles.
The question comes down to what you are looking for. If GPS, WiMax, and a (not-very-good) camera are important features to you - then get a N810. If having a full operating system with a bunch of ready-to-install-point-and-click-style applications out of the box is important - get a N810.
If raw power and saving money doing it are important - then get a Pandora. If retro-gaming is important to you, but you still want a pocketable computer - then get a Pandora.
If all you want to do is play games and maybe a few MP3s - then get a PSP and mod it or a DS lite and a flashcart or both.
If you want an multi-purpose, desktop-app-running, lots of typing machine that you can take almost anywhere - get a netbook. If you want that and still want to play a few emulators - buy a USB gamepad for your netbook. Or, spend 3 to 5 times as much and get a full-powered UMPC.
Me, I want a pocketable computer and I love games. So I want a Pandora.... If it will ever actually come out.
Squidge
Certified Guru
ashdjones said:
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TaG
Fau-fau-faulty software.
^^ @chad78 - nice summary Chad. 
Hopefully people will read it.
Hopefully people will read it.Karel Jansens
Active Member
Nokia's install system ain't that great actually. The Application Manager is a horribly instable piece of crap that barfs on even one offline repository and I've just experienced the greatness of the online OS update facility: It left me with a non-updated and non-updatable tablet. Back to reflashing.chad78 said:
Developers, please do not copy Maemo. Please stay away as far as possible from Nokia's "inventions".
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atomicthumbs
I am the king of the collectors, with hospital bed
It dispenses awesome.
laurens
Member
_VWV_
Member
What is THAT?? Look at the damm prices! It's 294 euro ex. VAT for a 60GB model. US prices are even lower - 350$ for the same model (huge difference - sounds like a mistake)
Yeah, that's more than 330$. Yeah, archos makes unhackable piece of .... and wants money for every additional app you intend to install and we don't know all the specs of the device and it doesn't have keyboard and i't not a clamshell. But it has a 60 GB HDD inside and is based on ARM cortex. I think we can't say that Panda is way cheaper from hardware point of view. I guess it only shows that mass production can quickly bring the price down for a cortex based device with 800x480 touchscreen. He-he. I think if we wait a little bit longer (and according to latest estimate we'll certainly wait) for some other devices it'll get more and more interesting. Competition is good .
Yeah, that's more than 330$. Yeah, archos makes unhackable piece of .... and wants money for every additional app you intend to install and we don't know all the specs of the device and it doesn't have keyboard and i't not a clamshell. But it has a 60 GB HDD inside and is based on ARM cortex. I think we can't say that Panda is way cheaper from hardware point of view. I guess it only shows that mass production can quickly bring the price down for a cortex based device with 800x480 touchscreen. He-he. I think if we wait a little bit longer (and according to latest estimate we'll certainly wait) for some other devices it'll get more and more interesting. Competition is good
.PandoraLox
Still Fresh
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2008
- Messages
- 37
You hit the nail RIGHT on the head with this post. I'm a current Cowon D2 player and while many in the Cowon community is excited about the higher end players - I can't feel the same excitement seeing how they cost more then 100 bucks more then the more-then-capable Pandora (like the P5).PolloLoco said:
Also - many portable players require one to do some sort of converting when trying to watch video on there - especially with my player which is too much of a hassle so I don't even bother. With the Pandora just about everything should just... work period (or at least a good 99.999% for the picky :rolleyes: ).
Aside from that - gaming capabilities - being able to do about 75% of what I could do on a linux desktop (my rough guessimate), wireless protocals, USB host + dual SDHC slots make this a no brainer - at least for me.
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benjiro
Member
To answer the original poster.
For me, it looks like a bargain.
Compared to the price i payed originally for my PSP, this is about half the price ( PSP + 1GB memory stick + 2 Games + Screen protector = 500+ euro's then ). Yet, most that i played on the PSP, used to be homebrew emulators. The software package on the PSP was bad ( and to be honest, it still looks badly ). But the low battery life, the freaking image ghosting because of the slow response time of the screen was getting to me. So i sold it.
Even today, i still miss the ability to play emulated games. Playing them on a PC, just is not the same...
So, some of you will have noticed the article about the Pandora on Engadge. This peaked my interest again. The last i saw of this project was a year & half ago i think. And at that time, it looked like vaporware, another project like so many others. Promises, Promises...
And now where are here today, reading the site all day. Being amazed at the potential this can bring.
I always wondered, when there was going to be a system that improved on my old Dell x50v pda. That was designed to be used as a true gaming system. Compared to this old x50v, the cpu power alone has gone up with 70% ( based on the comparative numbers between the CPU's ). This alone gave me a good indication of the power. Much smaller manufacturing process ( wat was it, 180nm, 130nm for the x50v? And 65nm for the OMAP3530 ). In other words, i already knew the batter life was going to be better, with more power to spare. At the fact that it can run at 900mhz ( no, i'm not using the word overclocked, because it was designed with it in mind ), means even the harder to run emulators can become true?
But the show did not stop there. A larger battery. 10h runtime? Hell, the x50v craps out after 1.5h running GPS + BT software. Basic calculations mean that it needs to hold out at leased 8h. So, drive to your location, play a few games while waiting, and no need to worry if you have ample juice to navigate back home? Well, hello dear, come in my arms...
A better screen, with better gray to gray times. Designed to work better in bright light ( hello PSP! And no, the PSP3000 is out way to late to fix that problem ). And even higher resolution then the PSP...
Dual SD slots? Can we say 2 * 16GB? Or 2 * 32GB? Hell, its going to be hell of a lot cheaper then buying those nice expensive Memory sticks that Sony loves to use. O wait, no limit on the SD slots, unlike some evil company's do on there SD/CF slots?
So far, i have not talked about the 3d capability's. While theorize, the PSP is 3* faster, its a rather known fact that its so darn inefficient, that the Pandora is actually faster...
Full USB, in other words, plug in a mouse, dosbox + fps, and off you go ( in theory )... Can we say UFO: Terror from the Deep? System Shock? And so many other dos games that require a mouse support. Try that on a PSP You know, i wonder if its possible to take over controle, and use a mouse in console fps'ers? Aka overriding the default inputs ( one of the few things i never liked, is the lack of mouse support in console fps's )...
Are the flaws? yes. One of the things i never like, is screens that wastes to much space. Why not a 5" screen? Looks like there is ample of space? And the layout makes it look like a brick The 128MB of ram looks to limited, but we are talking Linux as back-end... Thats the problem with Windows. We are used to more, more memory because of inefficient designs, that we forget that our "old" 386's, 468's, Pentiums etc did it with far less!
So, yes, add another person who will be lurking in these forums, and holding a bundle of cash ready for the preorder. To me, its rather cheap, compared to the ability's it has. And tell me, what newly released commercial mobile gameconsole has the ability to run 1000's of games from its release date? And has the ability to add 100's more with each new emulator that gets added.
And at the same time, you can look at this as a investment. If lots of people end up buying it, in the future you may see a Pandora 2, with even more better specs, with maybe lots of commercial company's backing it.
So yes, add me up for the pre-orders anyday...
For me, it looks like a bargain.
Compared to the price i payed originally for my PSP, this is about half the price ( PSP + 1GB memory stick + 2 Games + Screen protector = 500+ euro's then ). Yet, most that i played on the PSP, used to be homebrew emulators. The software package on the PSP was bad ( and to be honest, it still looks badly ). But the low battery life, the freaking image ghosting because of the slow response time of the screen was getting to me. So i sold it.
Even today, i still miss the ability to play emulated games. Playing them on a PC, just is not the same...
So, some of you will have noticed the article about the Pandora on Engadge. This peaked my interest again. The last i saw of this project was a year & half ago i think. And at that time, it looked like vaporware, another project like so many others. Promises, Promises...
And now where are here today, reading the site all day. Being amazed at the potential this can bring.
I always wondered, when there was going to be a system that improved on my old Dell x50v pda. That was designed to be used as a true gaming system. Compared to this old x50v, the cpu power alone has gone up with 70% ( based on the comparative numbers between the CPU's ). This alone gave me a good indication of the power. Much smaller manufacturing process ( wat was it, 180nm, 130nm for the x50v? And 65nm for the OMAP3530 ). In other words, i already knew the batter life was going to be better, with more power to spare. At the fact that it can run at 900mhz ( no, i'm not using the word overclocked, because it was designed with it in mind ), means even the harder to run emulators can become true?
But the show did not stop there. A larger battery. 10h runtime? Hell, the x50v craps out after 1.5h running GPS + BT software. Basic calculations mean that it needs to hold out at leased 8h. So, drive to your location, play a few games while waiting, and no need to worry if you have ample juice to navigate back home? Well, hello dear, come in my arms...
A better screen, with better gray to gray times. Designed to work better in bright light ( hello PSP! And no, the PSP3000 is out way to late to fix that problem ). And even higher resolution then the PSP...
Dual SD slots? Can we say 2 * 16GB? Or 2 * 32GB? Hell, its going to be hell of a lot cheaper then buying those nice expensive Memory sticks that Sony loves to use. O wait, no limit on the SD slots, unlike some evil company's do on there SD/CF slots?
So far, i have not talked about the 3d capability's. While theorize, the PSP is 3* faster, its a rather known fact that its so darn inefficient, that the Pandora is actually faster...
Full USB, in other words, plug in a mouse, dosbox + fps, and off you go ( in theory )... Can we say UFO: Terror from the Deep? System Shock? And so many other dos games that require a mouse support. Try that on a PSP
You know, i wonder if its possible to take over controle, and use a mouse in console fps'ers? Aka overriding the default inputs ( one of the few things i never liked, is the lack of mouse support in console fps's )...Are the flaws? yes. One of the things i never like, is screens that wastes to much space. Why not a 5" screen? Looks like there is ample of space? And the layout makes it look like a brick
The 128MB of ram looks to limited, but we are talking Linux as back-end... Thats the problem with Windows. We are used to more, more memory because of inefficient designs, that we forget that our "old" 386's, 468's, Pentiums etc did it with far less!So, yes, add another person who will be lurking in these forums, and holding a bundle of cash ready for the preorder. To me, its rather cheap, compared to the ability's it has. And tell me, what newly released commercial mobile gameconsole has the ability to run 1000's of games from its release date? And has the ability to add 100's more with each new emulator that gets added.
And at the same time, you can look at this as a investment. If lots of people end up buying it, in the future you may see a Pandora 2, with even more better specs, with maybe lots of commercial company's backing it.
So yes, add me up for the pre-orders anyday...
