Openpandora Vs Gamepark Holdings Wiz

[vapourstreak]

Hey,

I plan to get either a Pandora or Wiz with the money I will get after I manage to sell my PSP and DS, bt I can't decide which one. I looked up on wikipedia and the pandora wiki and this is that I found out:

Specs

Pandora:

General
The name: Pandora
Dimensions: 140 x 83 x 27 mm (slightly larger than a DS Lite: vs 133 mm × 73.9 mm × 21.5 mm)
Price: 199 GBP(incl. VAT) (approx. $330 USD, 212 € (excl. VAT)
Release date: April/May 2008 for dev units, summer 2008 for full production units (can and will be changed if needed)
Case will be a bit smaller the GP2X, and will be a mix of metal and plastic.
Core Hardware:
Texas Instrument's OMAP3530 System-on-chip. Specifications can be found at this link:
PowerVR SGX GPU (OpenGL ES 2.0, several million polygons per second). OpenGL ES demonstrated:
128MB of DDR SDRAM.
Real Time Clock (RTC) built in, to keep track of time.
256MB of internal flash memory.
Will be "unbrickable".
Display: 800x480 widescreen (5:3), 4.3 inches, touchscreen LCD
Brightness:300 cd/m2, Contrast ratio:450:1, Response time:tr+tf=30ms
Dimensions: 93.6 x 56.2 mm (4.3 inches, 5:3 aspect ratio).
TV-out included in hardware, A/V-OUT Port (similar in appearance to a large USB OTG port) outputs S-Video and Composite and inputs 3,5mm Headphone/Microphone cables..
Separate TV-out signals, picture-in-picture capabilities.
Powerful 2D and 3D hardware acceleration, see above.

Input:
Buttons, keyboard, microphone, and touchscreen. [12]
Directional pad will be a D-pad. [13]
Two real analog nubs, will have click function. Will have a rubber grip. A video of the analog nub to be used in Pandora's construction. Update: a custom designed plastic nub is now being used and will remain in the previously planned location.
QWERTY keyboard cellphone like thumb typeable. [14]
Built-In Microphone [15]
Connectivity:
802.11g (Wi-fi) included. USB host included. USB-on-the-go (one-port host and client) included. [16]
Integrated Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR (3Mbps)[17]
The USB will be fully powered (500 milliamps). You'll be able to use anything that has drivers. [18]
RS-232 will be included, but a level converter will be needed for the UART. [19]
Twin SDHC slots.

Software:
Open2X-type Linux firmware. [20]
One-click install system - Debian ARMEL packages probably compatible with minor work.
Potential Emulation: Nearly any game console which predates the Playstation for which an open-source emulator exists. Nearly any 8 or 16 bit computer system for which an open-source emulator exists.
Atari 2600, 7800, 5200, and Lynx
Nintendo NES, SNES, Gameboy, and GBA
Sega Master System and Genesis
NEC PCEngine (TurboGrafx-16)
SNK NeoGeo, NeoGeo Pocket, and Pocket Color
Sony Playstation [21]
Atari 400, 800, and ST
Amiga
PC (DOSBox)
Apple II
Possible Software:
Will be capable of running X11 with a window manager and desktop environment, and probably will by default.
There should be the ability to run normal programs you can run on Modern Linux builds as well, provided it does not exceed 128MB of RAM (excluding any virtual memory for performance reasons) and is ported. This includes a full build of Firefox! Firefox 3.0 uses much less memory and resources, and should run fine on the Pandora.
Macromedia Flash is possible on the Pandora with web browsers with some work. Maybe not full Flash support though, but http://www.gnu.org/software/gnash/ can be ported to the Pandora and run up to FlashV7 guaranteed, play Youtube videos (mplayer and VLC can play FLV files just fine, play other movie files from Firefox, and VLC can stream FLV easily) and can work with Firefox or as a standalone program.
Advanced multimedia support, including streaming: mplayer, VLC, xine and any other program that is open source is possible. For a general idea of file support for VLC see http://www.videolan.org/vlc/features.html, and for xine see http://xinehq.de/index.php/features.

Power:
Lithium-polymer battery, ~4000mAH.
Up to 10 hours battery life under reasonable load 8.5 hours under max cpu load. Up to 100 hours playing MP3s. [22]
Can charge through AC adapter or USB. [23]
Advanced power management capabilities: only need to set a max clockspeed, when the CPU is not doing anything it automatically HALTs and does nothing to save a lot of power.[24]
Will be able to suspend to RAM or suspend to disk for longer battery life and faster start up.

Wiz:

General
Chipset: MagicEyes Pollux System-on-a-Chip
CPU: 533MHz ARM9 3D Accelerator
NAND Flash ROM: 1 GB
RAM: SDRAM 64 MB
Operating System: GNU/Linux-based OS
Storage: SD Card
Connection to PC: USB 2.0 High Speed
USB Host: USB 2.0
Power: Internal 2000mAh Lithium Polymer Battery
Display: 320×240 2.8 inch OLED Touch Screen
Microphone Input
Physical size: 121 mm wide, 61 mm high, 18 mm deep
Weight: 98 g (without battery), 136 g (with battery)

Multimedia
Video
Video formats: DivX, XviD, (MPEG4)
Audio formats: MP3, OGG, WAV
Container files: AVI
Maximum Resolution: 640*480
Maximum Frame Rate: 30 fps
Maximum Video Bitrate: 2500kbps
Maximum Audio Bitrate: 384kbps
Captions: SMI


Audio
Audio Formats: MP3, Ogg Vorbis, WAV
Channels: Stereo
Frequency Range: 20Hz - 20kHz
Power output: 100mw
Sample Resolution/Rate: 16bit/8-48 kHz, in 8bit/22kHz


Photos
Supports JPG, PNG, GIF, BMP File Formats

Flash Player

The Wiz is planned to have Flash Player 7 support at launch.

WINNER: PANDORA

Form Factor and Size:
Pandora: 140 x 83 x 27 mm

Wiz: 121 x 61 x 18 mm

Sizeasy Link

WINNER: WIZ
its a matter of opinion. I like the wiz because it's smaller (but smaller screen ) and has more of a commercial style factor.

Features:

WINNER: Pandora
obviously haha

Companies:
Pandora: Craig, EvilDragon and others
Wiz: Gamepark Holdings

WINNER: NONE
about the same level of experience

PRICE:
Pandora: About $300 CDN
Wiz: About $180 CDN

WINNER: Wiz
It'll take me about ten months to make up the difference (i have no income except my $10 allowance), so this is when "hoping for a better selling price" for my stuff comes in.





Which one should I get?

Please explain you answer (in full sentences showing all your work, like math class. jkjk)

Thanks,
vapour

 

[EvilDragon]

Already posted in a different thread:

If you want a small device with very bright (OLED) screen, the possibility to listen to MP3s, watch movies and play some console-style games, go for a Wiz.

If you want a slightly bigger device with hires screen, keyboard, WLAN, Bluetooth, VERY powerful CPU, possibility to listen to MP3s, watch movies and play console-style or PC-style games or surf the internet, go for a Pandora.

 

[vapourstreak]

yea i saw the other thread but it didnt really answer my questions.

is it possible to run an actual os on the pandora?

 

[Squirrel61]

I can't decide which one to get. So I'll get both. But it might take years to raise the funds

Btw. Nice job on collecting all this data on both units.

 

[Hooka]

Linux is not an OS?

 

[vapourstreak]

sry i mean like a os with a cursor and desktop and taskar and stuff : )

 

[CronoTriggerfan]

sry i mean like a os with a cursor and desktop and taskar and stuff : )

How about you use the search engine or read for more than 5 minutes? :rolleyes: No, it won't run Windows. No, it won't run OS X. There's no reason that it shouldn't run Ubuntu or other Linux distros, but only time will tell what comes of these plights.

 

[pcklee123]

You should get the Wiz. There are only 3000 Pandoras and I want one and I don't want anyone else getting it before I do in case it runs out of stock.

 

[quasist]

There will not be much games of pissdora (except emulated ones, old ports and Q3). Will you dev for 3000 spartians? (most efficent to let them die in the name of opensource) Pandora is done by distributers who prefer word "profit" instead of "gaming"

GPH did right to make Wiz homebrew-orientited. This is surely will be best gaming handheld.(even if some snake already have distorted it)

 

[quadomatic]

You should get the Wiz. There are only 3000 Pandoras and I want one and I don't want anyone else getting it before I do in case it runs out of stock.

Yeah, get the Wiz. I need to preorder it too. I'll let you know after I pre-order mine :lol: j/k

Yeah, go for the Pandora if you can afford it.

 

[abertalia]

Don't forget the price when deciding, thats probably a big reason for allot of people getting the Wiz.

There will not be much games of pissdora (except emulated ones, old ports and Q3). Will you dev for 3000 spartians? (most efficent to let them die in the name of opensource) Pandora is done by distributers who prefer word "profit" instead of "gaming"

GPH did right to make Wiz homebrew-orientited. This is surely will be best gaming handheld.(even if some snake already have distorted it)

Haha.

I share your hatred for the Pandora and its users, even though I wont be buying either of the new systems.

 

[CronoTriggerfan]

There will not be much games of pissdora (except emulated ones, old ports and Q3). Will you dev for 3000 spartians? (most efficent to let them die in the name of opensource) Pandora is done by distributers who prefer word "profit" instead of "gaming"

GPH did right to make Wiz homebrew-orientited. This is surely will be best gaming handheld.(even if some snake already have distorted it)

Haha.

I share your hatred for the Pandora and its users, even though I wont be buying either of the new systems.

Jesus, they're just game consoles. Not to mention game consoles that aren't even out yet. So much for objectivism. :rolleyes: Way to get your panties in a bunch over such a trivial matter. :lol:

 

[vapourstreak]

anyone intrested in my stuff : P?

so the pandora can run ubuntu? will anyone port it?

 

[quasist]

so the pandora can run ubuntu? will anyone port it?

"anyone"-guy is a brother of anykey, sure it is

 

[DawnOfTheRent]

Here's the Beagle Board, similar to the Pandora, running Ubuntu (among other things). This probably means it won't be long before the Pandora can run Ubuntu.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuVwh_VrIxk

I think the Pandora's Battery is estimated to last ten hours with normal use, but the test where they got 8.5 hours was not at maximum CPU load, it was “testing of the battery at 500MHz, full screen brightness, audio section powered but not providing sound, and no power management has yielded 8.5 hours” (found in the July update of the official blog). So obviously not at normal usage or maximum load. You can probably over clock and power something though USB and drain the power a lot faster than 8.5 hours, or power down unused chips and get ridiculously long run times (hence, the 100 hour MP3 player estimation).

I like that you compiled all the information to make as educated of a decision as possible, and really, you seem to have all the facts, so if you want to partake in all of this community's glory, you have two choices: On the one side you have all the features of the Pandora, if you think you'll use them then go ahead and get one. If, however, you feel they're useless to you, get a Pandora anyways

In case this helps, the winner for me is the Pandora, due to WiFi, USB host, 2 SD card slots, larger screen, and being able to charge it with a normal USB cable. I seriously considered the Wiz because of it's brighter screen, many of times I remember having to fight for shade outside just to be able to see what's displayed on the GP2X. Hopefully this isn't as bad on the Pandora, but the Wiz's OLED seems to be a clear winner here.

There will not be many games of pissdora's (except emulated ones, old ports and Q3). Will you dev for 3000 Spartans? (It's more efficient to let them die in the name of opensource) Pandora is done by distributors who prefer "profits" instead of "gaming".

GPH did right to make the Wiz homebrew-orientated. This will surely be best gaming handheld (even if some snake has already distorted it).

MWeston isn't a distributer, and from what I'm reading at least, it sounds as if he's the one piecing most of it together. It just seems like if the developers focused on profits they wouldn't have bothered creating a new system, they would have just been another bland distributer of the same old products that one can make a secure income on.

How will the Pandora not be Home brew oriented? Isn't “Home brew” in this sense really just referring to the software on it? Seriously, there's “Home Brew” on MP3 players, PDAs, Cell Phones, and everywhere. I would actually assume the Pandora hardware is more home brew oriented seeing as it wasn't drawn up in a cooperate atmosphere, it was “brewed” on message boards in this community.

The biggest thing I hate in the commercial sector is how they will rewrite old games just to make their old style appear new to the masses. The open source scene on the other hand does more porting, I prefer this as it doesn't require wasted time rewriting everything just to make it “your code”. It's more efficient and the game is still just as fun (because the only changes were made for hardware compatibility). Just because Open Arena borrows very heavily from Quake 3 doesn't mean it's not just as enjoyable as a purely home brewed game with a custom engine, it just means it was easier to develop.

 

[grasshoppir]

im buying the pissdora

 

[nubie]

Don't forget the price when deciding, thats probably a big reason for allot of people getting the Wiz.

Darn, the functionality of a $600 device with the power of a $900 device and features that aren't available anywhere else at any price?

What the hell was I thinking, I should have noticed the price, it will be a big reason for me getting the Pandora.


Honestly, it is called a freaking budget, if you want the features you pay the price.

If you buy the wiz up-front and need a keyboard and wifi and USB and Tv-Out you will reach the price of the Pandora very quickly, but you still won't have the screen or the battery life or the protective clamshell, or the processing power and 3D hardware.

This works going the other way too, you can't make the Pandora cost less or be smaller.

I for one need the functionality of a keyboard/wifi/ and USB, and Pandora is an out-of-the-box solution for me. IF the Wiz would provide all of this in the box (or as a $20 bundle), then I would concede it may be a real alternative. The Wiz won't even ship with a power supply (I know it has a USB charge cable, but come on, the Pandora will ship with a power supply).

If you look on the basis of real functionality for the price paid the Pandora is way way cheaper. Just because the Wiz is $150 less doesn't mean that it costs $150 less to own one h34r:

If you compare the two you need to know more about yourself and your needs so that you can look at the devices properly, it is kind of like Zen in a way. (is anybody else anticipating the season premiere of Life on NBC next week? I love that show.)

 

[Bramrash]

Is the Wiz screen actually 2.8 inches, thats smaller than one DS screen, but on the video of ED on youtube the screen looks bigger. The screen size is a bit of a turn off for me, and the fold out screen on the pandora is also a turn off as it seems it would be a bit awkward for touch screen lucas arts games.

Unless the developers made it so the image on the screen was upside down and you could hold it with the touch screen on the bottom, that'd be a good idea. Just tried holding my DS upside down, It feels a bit weird, how much heavier is the base of the pandora than the screen bit?

 

[quasist]

but you still won't have the screen or the battery life or the protective clamshell, or the processing power and 3D hardware

Your post means that Nintendo DS have no 3D hardware too?

 

[abertalia]

Don't forget the price when deciding, thats probably a big reason for allot of people getting the Wiz.

Darn, the functionality of a $600 device with the power of a $900 device and features that aren't available anywhere else at any price?

What the hell was I thinking, I should have noticed the price, it will be a big reason for me getting the Pandora.


Honestly, it is called a freaking budget, if you want the features you pay the price.

If you buy the wiz up-front and need a keyboard and wifi and USB and Tv-Out you will reach the price of the Pandora very quickly, but you still won't have the screen or the battery life or the protective clamshell, or the processing power and 3D hardware.

This works going the other way too, you can't make the Pandora cost less or be smaller.

I for one need the functionality of a keyboard/wifi/ and USB, and Pandora is an out-of-the-box solution for me. IF the Wiz would provide all of this in the box (or as a $20 bundle), then I would concede it may be a real alternative. The Wiz won't even ship with a power supply (I know it has a USB charge cable, but come on, the Pandora will ship with a power supply).

If you look on the basis of real functionality for the price paid the Pandora is way way cheaper. Just because the Wiz is $150 less doesn't mean that it costs $150 less to own one h34r:

If you compare the two you need to know more about yourself and your needs so that you can look at the devices properly, it is kind of like Zen in a way. (is anybody else anticipating the season premiere of Life on NBC next week? I love that show.)


I know you get what you pay for, but lots of people like to list reasons on how the Pandora is so much better and has more features but forget to include the price.