Our New Machine, Pandora

Should this thread die?

  • Yes, kill it now!

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Maybe move it to off-topic?

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • No, let it live until its natural death!

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    0

Status
Not open for further replies.
icurafu said:
I hope 13.5 is realistic and not just a best case, making strong use of T&L figure.
I don't know. Nintendo is pretty conservative about their figures, at least compared to Sony and MS. Who knows, maybe 13.5 is a conservative number as well, but I wouldn't get my hopes up that much.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Exophase said:
IR is only ever used by anyone for one application, and it's kinda silly seeing as how TVs/DVD players/etc actually do come with remotes that are probably better suited for them than some handheld is.
High end universal remotes, some of them costing as much or more than the projected price for Craigix's new machine, use LCD touch-screen controls which can be customized for the particular equipment combination. With a built in IR LED and the proper application software, his machine could easily equal these very expensive remotes. Even though implementation of a high output LED wouldn't cost much, in the interest of not adding to the "include the kitchen sink" trend here, I won't claim that it's a must have feature. The only "must have" in my book is a powerful portable gaming machine at a reasonable price. An optional USB IR emitter powered by the USB port could be added to the game system to allow it to serve as a remote.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Eolair said:
It would be nice if the OMAP3430 is using the SGX530. It has an effective fill rate of 1200M pixels/s and 13.5M polygons/s. It's not the highest mobile SGX but has more than enough power for our uses IMO.

i.MX31 comparison:
135M pixels/s and 1.7M polygons/s
Don't get excited, DON'T GET EXCITED!!!.... AARRRRGHHH, Mewants! :lol:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
mavsman4457 said:
sam fisher said:
I just really hope it doesn't have rumble.
Don't worry, there probably won't be rumble anyways since this is the first time it's been brought up


Nope, it's been brought up and shouted down before. Rumble is a sucky idea. Dont.

Lurkio said:
Since this is stupid ideas day here's a list of stuff that i'd like to see included,

Able to fold out into a bicycle.

Has a pop out umbrella for playing in the rain.
What? Is Sir Clive sponsoring this? :ph34r: :D
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Some GP2X First Edition consoles had a rumble simulation if you shook them hard enough :D

-

Craig is right, this should be kept simple or it's going to grow in size and price :)

-

BTW. zaffercharles, where does the keyboard go in your design?
 
Dubya' said:
High end universal remotes, some of them costing as much or more than the projected price for Craigix's new machine, use LCD touch-screen controls which can be customized for the particular equipment combination.
'IR' isn't the end of it all though. To be understood by a TV, DVD Player or whatever, the IR needs to be placed on an appropriate carrier. 38Khz is typical, but some devices do expect others (I've seen 36Khz too for example). This could be done in software, but is Linux's timing that accurate?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
X-Code said:
BTW. zaffercharles, where does the keyboard go in your design?
You know, the other day I thought of that myself. Where indeed! the thing is, originally I wasn't even looking to designing the look of the console, as I don't know where to put the connections - headphone socket, usb etc. Sure I could draw them in anywhere but that doesn't neccesarily make it possible or the most practical way of doing things.. To a degree I suppose the board is designed around the casing, and so what began as a pic to illustrate the trigger idea has moved up a little. You'd think that considering the main point of the pics were to show the triggers I would have drawn them wide enough for your fingers, wouldn't you :p
Anyway, I'll modify what I have trigger- wise and as for a keyboard how thick do you think this thing needs to be to fit everything in? I don't mind at all drawing stuff and ideas but it would obviously be better to make it feasible too, if I'm to go for actual possibilities :)

Lastly I liked DaveCs' detatchable clam especially if it could be rotated 180 and clipped on the back while not in use, but nobody wants detachable by the look of things and that wouldn't be any good if it were to use triggers either.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Eolair said:
Lazy8s said:
Intel's Menlow chipset is being fabricated in their 45nm process, so it's purported to be affordable and battery efficient despite performing nearly as powerfully as modern laptops.

The SGX530 core was the first one PowerVR had available for the portable, handheld, market, so that's the one that the OMAP3430 is probably using considering the 3430 is among the first portable SoCs using SGX.
It would be nice if the OMAP3430 is using the SGX530. It has an effective fill rate of 1200M pixels/s and 13.5M polygons/s. It's not the highest mobile SGX but has more than enough power for our uses IMO.

i.MX31 comparison:
135M pixels/s and 1.7M polygons/s

I wouldn't expect that kind of performance from any embedded processor. There are two things that stand in the way of achieving those "magic" numbers:

1. Memory interface - must have dedicated RAM on a dedicated channel which no SOC has, it is always shared with main memory. For example, yes the MBX lite is rated up to 1.7M polys but the i.MX31 is rated at only 0.8M polys realistic throughputs with effects applied. If the OMAP SGX core can do 13.5M polys, maybe we can see 3M? (still very impressive and beats Nvidia or ATI's embedded graphics chips) I think some of those MIPS chips with GPUs use 64-bit interfaces to double date throughput, but it's MIPS, so nevermind. :)

2. Clock speed of GPU core - I believe that clock can be up to 200MHz but isn't likely to run at that speed once the core is inserted into a chip design and has to scale back according to the architecture and transistor layout it needs to mesh with.

Having said that, the OMAP3430 should kick the crap out of the I.MX31 in many applications. :ph34r:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
cowai said:
And who wants a remote with 10hour> battery time?
I agree, a £200 remote control that needs to have its batteries changed on a daily basis would suck! (Whether it had an analogue control or not :p ;) )
 
Last edited by a moderator:
My old TRGpro (basically a Palm III with 8MB of RAM, 2MB of flash, and a CF slot) could act like a remote... from three feet away. :p

Also, I just had an idea. How about a modular connection on the bottom of the unit? For instance, a special Ethernet thing. The console would contain an FPGA, with a number of general-purpose pins being routed to the expansion port. The ethernet adapter would connect via USB, upload an Ethernet controller core from Opencores, and would just need a small amount of USB hardware, and an RJ45 socket. Just a thought. :ninja:
 
why do you want an ethernet socket when you have wifi?

If you do want wired ethernet for some strange reason, there are plenty of usb->ethernet converters around. No need for an fpga in the console.
 
Squidge said:
why do you want an ethernet socket when you have wifi?

If you do want wired ethernet for some strange reason, there are plenty of usb->ethernet converters around. No need for an fpga in the console.
The ethernet was just an example. With proper libraries and a good connection to the other components, an FPGA would be awesome. Look at these:

http://www.opencores.org/browse.cgi/by_category
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Ive got a zodiac; it works poorly as a tv remote; needs to be less than ~1.5m away to work anywhere near reliably enough.


Personally here are the features I would like to see for the sake of the handheld succeeding (Im including those already confirmed);

Highest performing hardware without breaking £200 barrier - (omap3430 Looks awesome)
Hi-res touch screen
Dual Analogs
2x2 Shoulder buttons
Wifi (external switch would be cool)
Bluetooth (I've explained why in previous post)
SDHC support (2 slots would be awesome but not necessary with the new 16GB/32GB capacites coming)
Built in microphone (dirt cheap but will be highly useful to some people like me)
 
Dual SD slots would be nice indeed and do you guys think that IR would add much space or price to this thing? I think it would be worth it even if most people don't use it. I'm assuming that it would add a tiny bit of space and price.
 
craigix said:
OMAP does not support 2xSD

Wifi yes, bluetooth no (sorry).

Microphone yes!

:)
Still not revealing the number of shoulder buttons eh (or at least the number of inputs available on the shoulders) ;)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Nope, seems not, but he considers the OMAP :D

WiFi yes, bluetooth no, one SD slot... Nice so far.


Craig, don't leave this beast without shoulder triggers/buttons... It's against evolution :lol:
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top