On the Lifespan of the Pandora.

[NGF]

Hello and good day everyone here. I believe it must be said first off and foremost that as long as I have been using the internet, this is my first time using a forum.

I am seriously considering getting a Pandora (especially while the limited stock lasts!) But I need to know what the average lifespan of the Pandora looks like. I tried searching the boards but I couldn't fine a semi-solid answer. I'm thinking of getting the 1GHz version.

 

[Tenka]

I welcome you into the open arms of fire and plastic, NGF.  I want you to consider your membership and post here to have been a great decision, so I'll sacrifice myself as a condom between you and the irrelevant humor or biting criticism of other voices.  I won't be your every answer, but I believe that the lifespan of the Pandora that you buy will only depend on how well you treat it.  Limit your access of the NAND storage and handle the device with gentle clean hands, and I suspect it will last for as long as you would like it to.

If you are wondering how long official or community support will last, or how long replacement pieces will be around to buy in case you do make a mistake, then I hope that the next reply will deliver you those answers.  I would like to encourage you to buy a Pandora, as much as you considering to buy one is encouraging to us of here.  Thanks for joining.

 

[klapse]

I would suggest buying a spare battery lid. If you use the trick of applying paper shims above the battery to seat it more firmly, you can overstress the tabs on the battery lid. Otherwise the pandora seems pretty sturdy. Just dont drop it.

 

[PokeParadox]

I would suggest buying a spare battery lid. If you use the trick of applying paper shims above the battery to seat it more firmly, you can overstress the tabs on the battery lid. Otherwise the pandora seems pretty sturdy. Just dont drop it.

If you do drop don't worry too much - mine (Classic Pandora) survived unscathed bouncing down my stairs... (carpeted)

I now have a 1GHz which hasn't seen as much danger, but my original is still alive and kicking with my nephew in Chile.

 

[_wb_]

Hello and good day everyone here. I believe it must be said first off and foremost that as long as I have been using the internet, this is my first time using a forum.

I am seriously considering getting a Pandora (especially while the limited stock lasts!) But I need to know what the average lifespan of the Pandora looks like. I tried searching the boards but I couldn't fine a semi-solid answer. I'm thinking of getting the 1GHz version.

I don't think we can already estimate the average lifespan because I don't think a lot of them have died already. If you drop it on the corners with the shoulder buttons from a high enough distance, they can break. The battery lid can break if you open it a lot without being careful. The case can get some cracks over time, and some of the paint will wear off after a lot of use. On some units something is wrong with the LCD cable, but ED will fix that if that's the case. You have to make sure that the tip of the stylus is not too rough or sharp, and don't press too hard against the screen, or you'll get some scratches on your screen (usually not very noticeable ones, but still) -- you can of course get a screen protector to be safe.

If you don't drop it too often, don't let it get wet or put dirt inside it, and if you don't care about cosmetic stuff (scratches or fading paint on the case), I think the lifespan of a Pandora is probably measured in decades. There are no moving parts, and afaik the only components that will suffer from wear are the battery (which is replaceable) and, theoretically, the internal NAND (although it has not been observed yet in the wild afaik, and you can boot from an SD card anyway so it's not a big problem if your NAND would be damaged).

 

[LardLad]

My I GHz has actually been dropped three times (once onto a tile floor) with no discernible damage.  Amazing.  Since the Pandora has so few electro-mechanical parts it should last as long as you treat it with care...

Maybe the availability of batteries is the limitation, since I seem to recall reading that the I GHz model can't be run directly from wall current.  Hopefully there is a hardware hack for that.

 

[LTStone]

For me the only thing that seems to be an issue is the shoulder buttons, I play alot of Street fighter and have wore out one button, broke the other(from a drop) and now on my 1GHz the left one is getting very soft. They should have designed the shoulder buttons like the Wiz as it had a plastic stop to keep the microswitch from "bottoming out" . Hmm now that I think of it I could easily design one....

 

[Binky]

the I GHz model can't be run directly from wall current.

Running directly from the charger without a battery is an undocumented feature. It seems to work much of the time, but there are no guarantees.

What you must never do, is insert the battery while it is connected to the charger, this will confuse the charge-handling chip, and potentially fry your pandora.

 

[ZXDunny]

Had mine (Classic 256MB) for about four years now, and it's still going strong.

Cosmetically, the paint wore off within 6 months - it has shiny corners and edges now. As has been mentioned, the battery doesn't fit and moving the Pandora causes the contacts to shift, resulting in a reboot. Adding in paper to wedge the battery in place works well, but the battery cover has lost all but one of the tabs.

The battery has also bloated somewhat over the years and causes the battery lid to bend outwards, but recent changes to the charging systems have stopped that.

I need to buy a new battery and case kit, then everything will be back to 100% again.

The great thing about the Pandora is that even though the hardware is old and obsolete in the eyes of the tech fraternity, the community continues to produce amazing new software almost daily with a diversity that is frankly stunning. All the DS's and PSPs of this world can come up with are more games.

Bear that in mind.

D.

 

[iprice]

don't let it get wet

And whatever you do, don't feed it after midnight!

I've used mine every single day for a couple of years now and it's had the odd slip or two and it's still going great. I suspect that software will continue to arrive long after production has officially ceased. Even if not, there are thousands upon thousands of games and apps that you can run on the current machine (native, emulated and ports).

 

[comradekingu]

The average lifespan of the pandora, compared to other things, is greatly improved by the absence of planned obsolescence.

It will continue to do exactly what it has done and more, for years to come.

If something breaks you can print new parts, or buy/get replacement ones or fix it yourself with the help of schematics.

My CC-one still works, as does the rebirth one.

 

[levi]

the I GHz model can't be run directly from wall current.

Running directly from the charger without a battery is an undocumented feature. It seems to work much of the time, but there are no guarantees.


What you must never do, is insert the battery while it is connected to the charger, this will confuse the charge-handling chip, and potentially fry your pandora.

That's a point worth quoting.


FWIW, my Ghz studiously denies booting with no battery in. I do wonder what would happen if I faked the thermistor line as per the hackers guide though.

 

[NGF]

I welcome you into the open arms of fire and plastic, NGF.  I want you to consider your membership and post here to have been a great decision, so I'll sacrifice myself as a condom between you and the irrelevant humor or biting criticism of other voices.  I won't be your every answer, but I believe that the lifespan of the Pandora that you buy will only depend on how well you treat it.  Limit your access of the NAND storage and handle the device with gentle clean hands, and I suspect it will last for as long as you would like it to.

If you are wondering how long official or community support will last, or how long replacement pieces will be around to buy in case you do make a mistake, then I hope that the next reply will deliver you those answers.  I would like to encourage you to buy a Pandora, as much as you considering to buy one is encouraging to us of here.  Thanks for joining.

Thanks a bunch for your reply! Just be reading all the posts here I certainly feel welcomed into the community. Thanks again!

 

[NGF]

Hello and good day everyone here. I believe it must be said first off and foremost that as long as I have been using the internet, this is my first time using a forum.

I am seriously considering getting a Pandora (especially while the limited stock lasts!) But I need to know what the average lifespan of the Pandora looks like. I tried searching the boards but I couldn't fine a semi-solid answer. I'm thinking of getting the 1GHz version.

I don't think we can already estimate the average lifespan because I don't think a lot of them have died already. If you drop it on the corners with the shoulder buttons from a high enough distance, they can break. The battery lid can break if you open it a lot without being careful. The case can get some cracks over time, and some of the paint will wear off after a lot of use. On some units something is wrong with the LCD cable, but ED will fix that if that's the case. You have to make sure that the tip of the stylus is not too rough or sharp, and don't press too hard against the screen, or you'll get some scratches on your screen (usually not very noticeable ones, but still) -- you can of course get a screen protector to be safe.

If you don't drop it too often, don't let it get wet or put dirt inside it, and if you don't care about cosmetic stuff (scratches or fading paint on the case), I think the lifespan of a Pandora is probably measured in decades. There are no moving parts, and afaik the only components that will suffer from wear are the battery (which is replaceable) and, theoretically, the internal NAND (although it has not been observed yet in the wild afaik, and you can boot from an SD card anyway so it's not a big problem if your NAND would be damaged).

I see. The main reason why I ask the question is because I have had fairly good luck with computers lasting a long time. It'd be a shame if Lady Luck stopped at the Pandora. To be honest, I wasn't aware that the Pandora had no moving parts, so that is very reassuring. 

 

[GiraffeeDreams]

I still have my original CC model from 2011, it's been dropped a few times and has survived several flights across the Atlantic, in all that time the only damage to the system is a small hairline crack on the corner of the lid from a drop, otherwise it's a solid piece of kit.

 

[pmprog]

I still have my original CC model from 2011, it's been dropped a few times and has survived several flights across the Atlantic, in all that time the only damage to the system is a small hairline crack on the corner of the lid from a drop, otherwise it's a solid piece of kit.

Hi GiraffeeDreams, not seen you round these parts for a while. Hope you're well.

 

[Kumaki]

Hello and good day everyone here. I believe it must be said first off and foremost that as long as I have been using the internet, this is my first time using a forum.

I am seriously considering getting a Pandora (especially while the limited stock lasts!) But I need to know what the average lifespan of the Pandora looks like. I tried searching the boards but I couldn't fine a semi-solid answer. I'm thinking of getting the 1GHz version.

Well, I have mine for nearly two years now and all is good.

I had to send it to Vermont, once for fixing....but it was something I should have been able to do myself, except that I didn't know what was wrong or what to do.

Link fixed it in all of ten seconds and sent it back.

No problems since.

 

[Kumaki]

I would suggest buying a spare battery lid. If you use the trick of applying paper shims above the battery to seat it more firmly, you can overstress the tabs on the battery lid. Otherwise the pandora seems pretty sturdy. Just dont drop it.

Mine recently survived a three-foot (approximate) drop from the dinette table to the ceramic floor.  No problems.  But I near had a heart attack!

 

[GiraffeeDreams]

Hi GiraffeeDreams, not seen you round these parts for a while. Hope you're well.

I'm doing pretty good dude thank you, how bout yourself? Been a busy few months and fell behind with things but starting to catch up again, good to see the boards are still pretty active

 

[pmprog]

I'm doing pretty good dude thank you, how bout yourself? Been a busy few months and fell behind with things but starting to catch up again, good to see the boards are still pretty active

Glad to hear. Had an amazing year, up to the last month or two really, which is not so great. I'm afraid my friend doing the map and graphics for Werewolves disappeared after having a kid, so the world hasn't had chance to hear your music. Sorry about that