Pandora 2 Concept

[SirAileron]

At least this phrase will finally become true:

Linux can even run on a toaster

*ahem*
Linux has been run on a potato as well, in case you didn't know.
Toasters are easy.

 

[danielliu88888]

 

[daffy]

Apart from speed/memory/etc, at least:

• HDMI out
• GPS
• Orientation sensor

HDMI is of the most use to me, so I can do presentations from it.
If a suitable 720p display is available, I'll have one of those also.
And offer a convertible tablet version (or make the keyboard removable), costing enough extra to cover patent costs plus a bit.

 

[kingoddball]

Apart from speed/memory/etc, at least:

• HDMI out
• GPS
• Orientation sensor

HDMI is of the most use to me, so I can do presentations from it.
If a suitable 720p display is available, I'll have one of those also.
And offer a convertible tablet version (or make the keyboard removable), costing enough extra to cover patent costs plus a bit.

You're getting far too serious, Mr!

Just get a GPS USB dongle online and get Linux drivers.

There won't be a Pandora2 for a long while hopefully.

 

[daffy]

Apart from speed/memory/etc, at least:

• HDMI out
• GPS
• Orientation sensor

HDMI is of the most use to me, so I can do presentations from it.
If a suitable 720p display is available, I'll have one of those also.
And offer a convertible tablet version (or make the keyboard removable), costing enough extra to cover patent costs plus a bit.

You're getting far too serious, Mr!

Just get a GPS USB dongle online and get Linux drivers.

There won't be a Pandora2 for a long while hopefully.

A built-in GPS chip should be cheap by the time P2 comes along. Having it built-in means developers will be more likely to code for it. And I want a simple device I can just take everywhere with me; I don't want to have to carry a bunch of crap everywhere, nor have all sorts of crap sticking out of it.

 

[akarolick]

@Xian Long

Oh....My....God....Whatever you are charging I will pay it.....

 

[danielliu88888]

@Xian Long

Oh....My....God....Whatever you are charging I will pay it.....

epic thread

 

[kin]

For the non-sarcastics, here's a concept (don't mind the keylayout):

The pandora II features:

- A touchpad used for the left thumb... maybe an experimental D-pad.
- L and R buttons are relocated and also used as left/right mousebutton for the right thumb.

 

[TheRain]

For the non-sarcastics, here's a concept (don't mind the keylayout):

The pandora II features:

- A touchpad used for the left thumb... maybe an experimental D-pad.
- L and R buttons are relocated and also used as left/right mousebutton for the right thumb.

That..... actually looks pretty damn sick if you ask me :unsure:

 

[WizardStan]

That..... actually looks pretty damn sick if you ask me :unsure:

is that sick in the good way or sick in the bad way?

 

[skyeyemachine]

Mm. Personally, I thought the gaming controls on the original made a lot of sense, and cutting out three of the four options for a touchpad seems like a bad move to me. The analogue nubs can serve as a half-decent mouse for non-gaming purposes, and in my oppinion, it's not a lot to ask to either focus on keyboard control and/or hook up a mouse, or something similar.

Also, again from a gaming perspective, moving the L and R buttons onto the main keyboard area means you can only access the two of them with a single finger, and only one at a time unless you try to press them both down in a rather awkward way, reducing control flexibility. That and they take up room that other features could occupy as a result.

Moving all the number buttons into a numpad configuration would be convenient, but there's so little space on the Pandora as is, and lining them up along the top so they took a minimum of space -and- retained a standard configuration made a lot of sense to me.

I'm not trying to be overly negative, so I hope I don't come across too harshly. Those are my thoughts, however. The current layout does an excellent job of efficiently cramming tons of functionality into a small space, without expecting you to break your thumbs using it.

All that said, I liked the feel of the LEDs, and I think you did an excellent job of making the device look very slick in terms of general aesthetics.

 

[Mr.Confuzed]

@ kin, something about that made me think it was a calculator. That's not a bad thing though, I still got that trusty TI-83

Obviously, the Pandora 2 is going to be/have virtual reality glasses.

edit: oh and skyeyemachine is right

 

[mali]

For the non-sarcastics, here's a concept (don't mind the keylayout):

The pandora II features:

- A touchpad used for the left thumb... maybe an experimental D-pad.
- L and R buttons are relocated and also used as left/right mousebutton for the right thumb.

Apart the fact that I prefer sarcasm regarding a P2 right now, I like the idea of a touchpad or even better would be one of those mini optical pointer thingies that are common on UMPCs/MIDs. I might try to mod my Pandora if I can find a way to connect it to the USB port. First person shooters are what I like the most when I don't want to use my brain, but if I can get used to dual nub action, I might drop the idea.

 

[B-Man]

All you guys need is the new xPhone.
The commercial is in German, but I bet you get it anyway.

It even has the already proposed toaster plus "SMS-to-toast".

 

[skyeyemachine]

All you guys need is the new xPhone.
The commercial is in German, but I bet you get it anyway.

It even has the already proposed toaster plus "SMS-to-toast".

That commercial will never die. :lol:

 

[El Jefe]

Anglish, DAS XPHONE
ultimate feature creeps are the germans of course

 

[kin]

Heheh indeed a bit controverse with the controls but I've never thought of connecting an usb touchpad.
Could be comfortable using it and placing over the front console while standing at a busstop.

 

[darien]

Heheh indeed a bit controverse with the controls but I've never thought of connecting an usb touchpad.
Could be comfortable using it and placing over the front console while standing at a busstop.

Wouldn't the touch screen be sufficient? I semi-understand the aforementioned FPS use, but I once had a several hour session in L4D with my laptop touchpad and managed to get some carpal tunnel symptoms.

 

[skyeyemachine]

Heheh indeed a bit controverse with the controls but I've never thought of connecting an usb touchpad.
Could be comfortable using it and placing over the front console while standing at a busstop.

Wouldn't the touch screen be sufficient? I semi-understand the aforementioned FPS use, but I once had a several hour session in L4D with my laptop touchpad and managed to get some carpal tunnel symptoms.

I think it probably would be, frankly; you can tilt the Pandora screen back so far it's basically parallel to the bottom half of the unit, giving you a flat surface for drawing or intensive screen-interaction. If you put it on a table, you can probably prop your hand up comfortably enough with a book or small cushion or some other random object to keep your wrist at the right level. Not ideal for fast-paced shooters though, I suppose.

Thinking about it more, a touchpad is almost identical in funtionality to the touchscreen, albeit a little more convenient in the respect that you don't have to worry about your hand blocking your view, and there's less chance of damaging the screen by accident, I guess (which is what screen protectors are for, I guess!). Overall I think dual analog nub control is pretty dandy, but, to each their own; I know I'm not going to be worried about it.

Personally, I see the Pandora as, in addition to being a great handheld gaming system and portable computing solution, a possible remote-control development platform for robotics and the like; the gaming controls provide a lot of flexibility that way. That's assuming I can ever figure out wireless protocols and other such technical goodness. Swapping out three of the controls for a touchpad would make the device far less flexible in my mind.

 

[mali]

Hehe, I played Quake II completely through on my N800 using the screen as touchpad
On the left side of the screen is the dpad and the right thumb is used as mouse.
I think it would work best to use a thumb on a touchpad or optical pointer on such a small device instead of a finger, so carpal tunnel syndrome couldn't happen. A very sensitive and small capacitive touchpad on the right side of the device or the aforementioned optical pointer would be ideal.
If I mod something like that, I will make it detachable on the right side of Pandora and add two or three shoulder buttons(maybe even a scroll wheel for changing weapons).