Pandora 2 specifications and price

[SNESFAN]

I dont think ed cares too much for android as primary focus of an os, and as that is very important to me that android is also supported out of the box i really hope craig stays with the project as he is openly supporting of android as a priority (with standard linux of course)

 

[craigix]

I dont think ed cares too much for android as primary focus of an os, and as that is very important to me that android is also supported out of the box i really hope craig stays with the project as he is openly supporting of android as a priority (with standard linux of course)

The P2 cannot happen without Me, Ed and Michael. That's how it will be. Nothing will change that.


The P2 *has* to have Android as an option because that is what we are tied in to in order to get the hardware. Fortunately we don't have to worry about getting Android working, it's being done for us.

 

[Wrath Of Khan]

^^^^^Interesting snippet about being tied in to get the hardware.What will it be.What will it be.

 

[Foxgod]

^^^^^Interesting snippet about being tied in to get the hardware.What will it be.What will it be.

That could be a massive hint towards a deal with samsung/google ?


Cant imagine much other company's to demand the P2 runs android

 

[Wrath Of Khan]

^^^^^Interesting snippet about being tied in to get the hardware.What will it be.What will it be.

That could be a massive hint towards a deal with samsung/google ?


Cant imagine much other company's to demand the P2 runs android

Youd never know. Its a big hint alright.It must be android hardware or something.

 

[Binky]

must be android hardware or something.

explain...

 

[EvilDragon]

I'm not sure what kind of hardware is tied to Android either, there's no 100% decision for an SoC yet, but last time I spoke with TI in Germany about the next OMAP, I got the confirmation that they support both Linux and Android.


Maybe it was one of the other SoC manufacturers that Craig already contacted, though it sounds like a reason for me to NOT use their SoC.


About pricing:


I think it's pretty useless to discuss about prices right now.


There are so many things that make the Pandora 1 expensive that could be improved (i.e. LCD Cable, a lot of components on the PCB, complex assembly, etc.)


With the knowledge we gained, we can probably lower the production costs.


I won't say it will be a cheap device nor can I tell yet if it will be more expensive than the current unit or not.


We need to make enough profit to get the development costs back and also ensure the future of possible new products, so it won't be a low cost device.


But it also shouldn't be overpriced as well. It needs to be fair for both manufacturers and customers.


So as long as we don't know the production and development costs, it's pretty useless to discuss about a price yet.

 

[craigix]

Ed, I am surprised by what you have just written as you got the same email about Android as I did.

 

[EvilDragon]

Heh, in fact - this was my bad.


I have to apologize here, I rechecked the mail.


I think it was written a bit weird - when I first read the mail, I read the "Would want it to run Android" as a question - but in fact, it's what the dev team want.


But to clear it up for others:


Android is not needed to buy the hardware later, they want us to support it in order to give us access to the hardware details earlier and support us to set it up.


That's fine with me, I wouldn't support some hardware manufacturer who forces you to use Android to buy the parts, but I'm perfectly okay if this is for some early details upfront


Especially if he supports Linux as well, and that's something he does


Geez, I need to drink more coffee before I read mails


Sorry about that.


I wouldn't want it without Linux, having Android as second (or for someone: first ) system is fine as well

 

[Exophase]

I'd still like to hear from both sides (Craig and ED) if they're committed to shipping the device with both Android and Linux, both receiving official support. The impression I get is "no" for Craig and "yes" for ED..


This really is important, it really isn't the same as being able to install your own OS at your own discretion.

 

[EvilDragon]

I'd still like to hear from both sides (Craig and ED) if they're committed to shipping the device with both Android and Linux, both receiving official support. The impression I get is "no" for Craig and "yes" for ED..


This really is important, it really isn't the same as being able to install your own OS at your own discretion.

Too early to tell, as we don't know the NAND size so far.


If the internal memory size is big enough, I'd be happy for dual boot.


We could also offer them with Linux or Android-preinstalled.


Who knows?

 

[Exophase]

Too early to tell, as we don't know the NAND size so far.
If the internal memory size is big enough, I'd be happy for dual boot.


We could also offer them with Linux or Android-preinstalled.


Who knows?

Does that mean you think it'll have NAND instead of booting off of an internal SD, for instance? ;p (you may have not noticed, bit this has been part of a big topic of argument around here lately) But it sounds like you want to do it if it's physically possible. Offering either pre-installed is a little better than having the user install it later, but only a little.. dual boot is ideal.


Hopefully by the time P2 development is further underway it'll be feasible to get Android and some Linux distro sharing the same kernel, and instead of dual booting you'd be able to switch between the two live, sharing the same filesystems. This would reduce the space overhead of supporting both, and is probably what most people who want both want. Ubuntu is working towards this direction, so this might be a good reason to go with Ubuntu.

 

[Mr_Loon]

Having fully supported Android and Linux out of the box would be a great selling point IMHO. It might not be a unique selling point but I can't actually think of any other handheld / tablet / laptop that offers this.


Sounds like there is some intriguing stuff going on behind the scenes.

 

[EvilDragon]

Too early to tell, as we don't know the NAND size so far.
If the internal memory size is big enough, I'd be happy for dual boot.


We could also offer them with Linux or Android-preinstalled.


Who knows?

Does that mean you think it'll have NAND instead of booting off of an internal SD, for instance? ;p (you may have not noticed, bit this has been part of a big topic of argument around here lately) But it sounds like you want to do it if it's physically possible. Offering either pre-installed is a little better than having the user install it later, but only a little.. dual boot is ideal.

Not yet set in stone. NAND currently is faster, but who knows, with MicroSD Cards getting faster, it might not be a difference.


Using MicroSD Cards would make sense, and in this case, I'd aim for dualboot

Hopefully by the time P2 development is further underway it'll be feasible to get Android and some Linux distro sharing the same kernel, and instead of dual booting you'd be able to switch between the two live, sharing the same filesystems. This would reduce the space overhead of supporting both, and is probably what most people who want both want. Ubuntu is working towards this direction, so this might be a good reason to go with Ubuntu.

It should be, AFAIK, from Kernel 3.6 on Linux and Android should work with the same kernel again.

 

[Askarus]

Might there also be the option to boot from Linux into Android as it is now (Using Android Gingerbread or anything else preinstalled)

 

[ShleeDragon]

I'd still like to hear from both sides (Craig and ED) if they're committed to shipping the device with both Android and Linux, both receiving official support. The impression I get is "no" for Craig and "yes" for ED..


This really is important, it really isn't the same as being able to install your own OS at your own discretion.

Too early to tell, as we don't know the NAND size so far.


If the internal memory size is big enough, I'd be happy for dual boot.


We could also offer them with Linux or Android-preinstalled.


Who knows?

Would you be aiming for a dualboot? or would the base OS with android as chroot (similar to the current PND)?

 

[Askarus]

^


That's my question .


Perhaps both. Pandpra 2 is planned to backwards compatible. The Android PND shoould also run on P2 as well as it does now. Perhaps they will improve it.

 

[Wootson]

At 500 euro or above per unit, Pandora 2 needs to be very competitive in terms of design/usability. If it's "just another" Android device at this price, one would be better off by buying a high-tech smartphone with all bells and whistles. Currently a Samsung Galaxy S3 sells for about 550 euro. A Pandora 1 still costs 440 euro today, but still sells. Why is that? Surely not because of its technology (primarily speed). Pandora 1 survived all the struggles because it still is a one of a kind device. If the Pandora 2 looks and feels like any other device in its price range, I foresee a very short lifespan for the device and also the end for OpenPandora. If you don't set yourself apart in todays market, you will be history tomorrow. Especially as a beginner company who does not have the (financial) resources and connections.


No matter what high end technology will be used for the Pandora 2, it will be completely old one year down the road. I would focus on design/usability instead of technology (speed), as you can never ever offer more than the big players of mobile devices for less money. Especially one or two years down the road, people are going to be pointing and laughing at what a device has to offer in terms of technology for a certain price.


A potential buyer is going to do some serious thinking if a device is priced higher than 200 euro. If priced around 500 to 600 euro, almost anybody will compare the Pandora 2 to high end smartphones/tablets and see which has to offer the most.

 

[SNESFAN]

I dont think the os is the main selling point for everyone. Its the only handheld with good game controls and keyboard. It is also the fastest in terms of actual performace in game console emulators on a handheld with game controls built in.


One can argue its native linux as the reason, but theres plenty of exclusive features the pandora has that others dont... you could say its the clamshell design or usb host, battery life... or the combination of all that is what interests people.


The os preference is just what most of the active forum members suggest as the killer feature. I personally would have bought and prefered it if it came with android standard. The software catalog is larger and objectively better in general.


Your viewpoint is that it would get lumped in with what is now a mobile os standard. Much like windows or osx is for comercial selling laptops and desktops. All the features that make the pandora unique hardware wise i believe would still set it above the competition even if it were android only.


I think even at the higher tier price, it wouldn't be compared directly to android/ios tablets for things other than cpu/gpu. In which case they do that now anyway... so nothing will change. What I think OP should do is continue to chisel out that niche in terms of hardware and features that no other device has. As been brought up... dual booting android + linux... and even as far as hot swapping between OS's like is available now, but more polished. THAT is one of those killer features. Something no other device does. That is what is going to demand a premium pricetag.


I think stuff like gps haptic feedback and accelorometer and stuff of that nature should be a standard because anything feaseable that's in a comparable device would just add to the list of capabilities and make it competitive. It would also sway a lot of people in arguements of which is better, components being cheap enough to include but not include them because some don't find the need for it isn't the spirit in the pandora... not everyone indivdually uses absolutely everything the pandora has to offer currently, but everyone collectively uses some of everything. Nothing on there currently can be viewed as pointless for everyone, just some. Craig and them have the right idea as making this absolutely the best of the best at the time of manufacturing.


That is what I think the niche wants, even more so than a lower price tag. Even though I wouldn't mind it if the price was lowered, but if I had the choice between high premium & best of the best, or lower price and mediocre specs, I would choose higher specs every time.

 

[Caine]

The os preference is just what most of the active forum members suggest as the killer feature. I personally would have bought and prefered it if it came with android standard. The software catalog is larger and objectively better in general.

I would not have bought it if it did not run Linux. I suspect that holds for a large portion of its current customers, but I don't have any hard data on that.


I don't think that the higher quality of its catalog is all that objective as you state. What metrics do you use to measure the quality of software?