Openpandora2, what we know so far.

[_wb_]

This is apparantly already decided, according to this October 7th IRC message:


< ixix> Ed, me, Mike, none of us want old SD

Probably some misunderstanding, as I surely want a fullsized SD slot and Michael wants one if we have the space for it (which is something that needs to be checked).


EDIT: Just found an eMail Craig sent me a few hours ago where he asked whether we're set with MicroSD or not. Not sure about Mike (the above is the latest info from him), but I'm pretty sure I want full sized SD if possible (don't want to throw away my 128GB Card... and that size is not even possible yet with MicroSDXC)

Good to know that microSD-only is not yet a final decision. We shouldn't derail this thread with that discussion, but I think there's a broad consensus in the community that at least one full SD slot is absolutely desired (and many are even in favor of two full SD slots). If space is the issue, then make the thing bigger

 

[Grench]

There are in fact 64GB microSD cards, have been for a while. They're not that much different in price from full SD cards because they're the same chips.

Sorry Exophase - that deserves a bit of commentary. You're stating your own assumptions as facts again.


64GB microSDXC has been 'out' for about 4 months or so - 128GB SDXC has been out over a year.


Those 'same chips' referenced are the same chips as used in the twice as fast 128GB SDXC cards only the microSD cards use half as many chips with a single channel instead of the dual channel controller internal to the full sized card.


That is part of the reason why microSD lags so far behind SD. There is a picture in another thread here that has a picture of a Lexar 256GB 400X SDXC-UHS-I card that should be coming out this month. That means that inside 6 months it should be possible to make a 128GB microSD 200X card.


It's not the same - unless you're willing to wait until it all becomes 'junk tech' at the bottom rung of performance and/or capacity.

 

[Grench]

This is apparantly already decided, according to this October 7th IRC message:


< ixix> Ed, me, Mike, none of us want old SD

Probably some misunderstanding, as I surely want a fullsized SD slot and Michael wants one if we have the space for it (which is something that needs to be checked).


EDIT: Just found an eMail Craig sent me a few hours ago where he asked whether we're set with MicroSD or not. Not sure about Mike (the above is the latest info from him), but I'm pretty sure I want full sized SD if possible (don't want to throw away my 128GB Card... and that size is not even possible yet with MicroSDXC)

Good to know that microSD-only is not yet a final decision. We shouldn't derail this thread with that discussion, but I think there's a broad consensus in the community that at least one full SD slot is absolutely desired (and many are even in favor of two full SD slots). If space is the issue, then make the thing bigger

And that it -isn't- already 'decided' is the best Pandora 2 news I've seen.

 

[SNESFAN]

holy crap man... the microsd vs full sd arguement is approaching on meme level of topic derailment


but will the p2 have 2 screens so it can emulate a nintendo ds??

 

[traylorpark]

I'm curious, is there anybody who is excited by the idea of the P2 running Android by default?


I'm not... kind of the opposite actually...

 

[ShleeDragon]

The SD card slot.. one of the least important parts of the pandora..... flame on!


DS emulation should work fine if you place the screens side by side..

 

[ekianjo]

I'm curious, is there anybody who is excited by the idea of the P2 running Android by default?


I'm not... kind of the opposite actually...

Since almost no one was apparently excited about Pandora running Android (see my poll on the subject), I don't think Android "by default" is very appealing to the community members here. Sounds like it would look like a cheap chinese product.

 

[ekianjo]

The SD card slot.. one of the least important parts of the pandora..... flame on!

Least important, maybe, but then you have never lost tons of data by manipulating and breaking a small micro-sd card in your life, probably. What a piece of crap of standard. It was never made to be robust.


I guess the discussion is not really about the outcome anyway, more about the decision process. Like, it should be community thing, you know, not just one person deciding everything without good reasons.

 

[lifning]

I'm curious, is there anybody who is excited by the idea of the P2 running Android by default?


I'm not... kind of the opposite actually...

I'd be the happiest if it were to ship dual-booting some flavor of GNU/Linux (Angstrom or otherwise) and a rooted Android firmware, or if it were to do something similar to the "tear down Pandora OS's userland and launch Android on the running kernel" method the current gingerbread PND does. Having a proper GNU/Linux running 100% natively (i.e. not in a chroot within Android) is absolutely essential for me to be interested, though. I can't take two steps any more without tripping over an Android device of some sort, and even if the Pandora 2 were to be the ultimate Android device to end all Android devices, I probably couldn't justify a purchase when I already have a good enough Android phone/tablet plus iControlPad. Just my two cents on that topic.


I'd like to be able to continue using the class 10 full-size SDHC I bought specifically for Pandora-related use on such a device, but that's not a deal-breaker. I'm quite glad the USB host isn't going anywhere. Anyone know whether USB 1.1 support would be possible without needing a miniUSB-A adapter? They're getting annoying to find now that they've been deprecated for five years

 

[traylorpark]

The SD card slot.. one of the least important parts of the pandora..... flame on!

Ohhh, you just want to set fire to the forums! I super disagree! Having dual full SD card slots is one of the many features that make the existing Pandora so deliciously versatile!


And delicious versatility is what attracts me to the Panda ... not Android, not less SDcards slots.

 

[Tensuke]

I'm curious, is there anybody who is excited by the idea of the P2 running Android by default?

By default, as the only option, no. But by default, with the option of dualbooting a full desktop environment, yes that would be fine. Android would 1) help it sell due to the name, 2) give the P2 a huge boost in software (compared to not including Android at all), and 3) make it a bit more easy-to-use and accessible to people than a complete Linux desktop.


However, only having Android would be a huge misstep, because the full desktop environment is what makes the Pandora the Pandora--it is not just a pocketable gaming console, but a pocketable gaming computer. Android is an excellent, growing software platform, but an absolute pitiful excuse for a computer OS.


But I think I've seen it said by Craig that you'll be able to install Linux on the P2, the only question now is how well supported it will be.

 

[_wb_]

"Being able to install Linux" means nothing. People are able to install Linux on anything, including toasters and potatoes, and they will surely be able to install Linux on the P2, whatever the OPT does. The point is that we need a standardized "official" default Linux distro that is installed on all units by default, if we want to have anything similar to the current repo. People are free to install whatever else they want, but we need some common ground to unite the community. If it's going to be Android by default and no GNU/Linux distro pre-installed, then in practice it'll be just another Android device - sure, some people will install Linux on it (just like some people install Linux on any device), but they'll be essentially on their own.

 

[EvilDragon]

Well, I won't be in if it doesn't have Linux preinstalled (together with Android, no prob with that).


I'd really like to have a smooth migration from our current OS to the Pandora 2 (except for using a more recent OE tree, something atc is heavily working on right now).


That would make it compatible with most of our current PNDs as well.

 

[_wb_]

It would be great if the P2 would be backwards-compatible with the P1 in the sense that its default OS is a superset of SuperZaxxon, its CPU is backwards-compatible, and it has at least one full SD slot. It should not be impossible to make it so that you can just insert your P1 SD card (containing your favorite PNDs and their appdata) in the P2 and it just works.


This is not absolutely essential for me, but it would be nice - it would also mean we can use the same repo for both the P1 and P2 (of course some of the new stuff will only work on the P2, or only full-speed on the P2).

 

[EvilDragon]

It would be great if the P2 would be backwards-compatible with the P1 in the sense that its default OS is a superset of SuperZaxxon, its CPU is backwards-compatible, and it has at least one full SD slot. It should not be impossible to make it so that you can just insert your P1 SD card (containing your favorite PNDs and their appdata) in the P2 and it just works.

That's exactly my plan.

 

[traylorpark]

I like your plan.

 

[quartercast]

Why not use 1 CF card instead of 2 SD cards?

 

[Askarus]

As long as EvilDragon involved we don't have to worry.

 

[Ocean112]

As far as I know they're both electrically compatable. I've seen on several sites out on the net an adapter that has a full size sd card socket paired to a ribbon cable that in turn pairs up to a "dummy" micro sd card that inserts into your device. If the micro sd card slots (if used) were positioned in such a way as to allow you to attach the sd card socket to the device with little slack in the ribbon cable I think it would serve both parties. The down side to this is that it would make it an external unit and the only place I can see it working well is if the sd card slots were placed on the lid of the device (assuming a clamshell design). Either way, the way It sounds I will be buying the Pandora 2. The only reason I didn't buy the first release is that it was too far behind the curve (power wise) when I looked into it. I already had a droid 3. That paired with the iCP and a gamegripper did everything I wanted it to do. The modular design is what's so attractive to me. If it's designed well enough I could just buy a new main processing board every year or two to expand the functionality of the device and keep it on the level of whatever current smartphone I have. (and keep the costs down) As far as the whole resolution aspect to the discussion, it really depends on the display size, doesn't it. Going over a certain pixel density really doesn't matter, the only downside would be finding a soc or gpu that integrates a good matrix bases image transform function to keep the power drain down if watching a 1080p movie if it's decided to go with 720p. I have a limited amount of knowlege of these things as it's probably painfully obvious but those are my two cents. The ideal would be full size sd cards though.

 

[_wb_]

Yes, SD to microSD adapters exist, but that is not practical at all - even a USB SD card reader would be better.


However, microSD to SD adapters exist, they are practical, and they are typically even included with the microSD card.