Pandora 2 specifications and price

[Znirk]

Trying to sell a P2 arguing from its hardware specs seems an odd choice: this strategy invites customers to compare the product to other devices based on hardware specs. The P2 might win this round about the time it becomes available, but soon afterwards some cheapoid from china will have a higher figure somewhere in the datasheet.

 

[Lafazar]

A 3D printer is like ~$1200.


Most of those online print shops end up charging you about $150 for a single print. It's far cheaper to just buy the printer.

Craig, those $1200 printers have way lower print quality and resolution compared to what these online print shops (like Shapeways) offer. Their machines cost ten to hundred thousands of dollars and use completely different 3D print techniques (https://en.wikipedia...rinting#Methods). You will most definitely not be able to make good (or rather: satisfactory) quality cases with one of these $1200 printers. Here's what's considered a really good quality print from one of those ~1200$ fused deposition modeling printers (left side), and you can only achieve this after calibration, which requires lots of trial and error and/or experience:

Source: http://blog.reprap.o...lity-mixup.html


Some more detailed information and a pretty up to date comparison of current personal 3d printers:


http://www.protopara...ing-3d-printers


EDIT:


However, some time ago I stumbled upon this, perhaps it could be a cheap and fast alternative to produce cases if OP want to switch away from the chinese company? They state on their website: Prices from $1495. Best for 10–10,000+ pieces.

There is a plastic injection molding shop called Protomold in Minnesota whose business model is based on this thinking.

You can upload a 3D solid model of your plastic part at their website, and if it's well-designed, they will quote it and take your order on-line; CNC machine a mold from aluminum; and deliver you a few molded plastic parts the next day, with 5,000 to follow if you like them. Not stereo-lithography prototypes, but actual ABS plastic production parts. Not $40,000 and 12 weeks to deliver hard steel tooling, but $2,000 and overnight to deliver injection molded parts from an aluminum tool. Radically revolutionary in that small world and a sign of things to come.

source: http://www.itulip.co...9592#post179592


http://www.protomold.com/

 

[BaDToaD]

Who do you think is spending $700 on a phone? In this country you usually spend $200-300 at the most on a phone,

In this country you are often tied in to a data plan for two years when you get a top of the range smart phone. Anyone that doesn't think that dataplan is paying the rest of your "insert currency here" is being naive.


Personally I prefer to buy my phones sim free and use pay as you go, which for me amounts to about £3-4 a month.

 

[fusion_power]

A 3D printer is like ~$1200.


Most of those online print shops end up charging you about $150 for a single print. It's far cheaper to just buy the printer.

It depends on the object but like already mentioned, professional print services offer much better quality than some $1200 home-devices and especialy hobby stuff like "reprap" or so.


http://www.shapeways.com/


People already use it to make parts for custom model kits, very interesting stuff:


http://www.therpf.co...-cygnus-145563/


no 1200$ 3D "home" printer can do this quality.

However, some time ago I stumbled upon this, perhaps it could be a cheap and fast alternative to produce cases if OP want to switch away from the chinese company? They state on their website: Prices from $1495. Best for 10–10,000+ pieces.

There is a plastic injection molding shop called Protomold in Minnesota whose business model is based on this thinking.

You can upload a 3D solid model of your plastic part at their website, and if it's well-designed, they will quote it and take your order on-line; CNC machine a mold from aluminum; and deliver you a few molded plastic parts the next day, with 5,000 to follow if you like them. Not stereo-lithography prototypes, but actual ABS plastic production parts. Not $40,000 and 12 weeks to deliver hard steel tooling, but $2,000 and overnight to deliver injection molded parts from an aluminum tool. Radically revolutionary in that small world and a sign of things to come.

source: http://www.itulip.co...9592#post179592


http://www.protomold.com/

I know this company, they seem to be international since there is also a german site and web adress. I found this Company years ago while searching for possible Pandora Case Company alternatives (History repeating ) It looks pretty solid what they offer.

 

[craigix]

We have sampled quality from both types of 3D printer and both types are horrible, but they let you see if the design works.


That's all we want the 3D printer for, to see if the design works and to allow us to try many different things.

 

[mcobit]

If a lot of people have their own 3d printers in the near future, you could just print your own case

 

[Exophase]

In this country you are often tied in to a data plan for two years when you get a top of the range smart phone. Anyone that doesn't think that dataplan is paying the rest of your "insert currency here" is being naive.

It's not naive. A data plan is not simply the cost of hardware. You can't separate the two, so why try? Data plans actually do cost money and resources to provide.


If you don't need the data plan at all (and I imagine most of your pay as you go is for voice) you're better off sticking with a cheap phone and using a tablet for your computing needs, via wifi. Now you're back to something much, much cheaper than $700 again.

Trying to sell a P2 arguing from its hardware specs seems an odd choice: this strategy invites customers to compare the product to other devices based on hardware specs. The P2 might win this round about the time it becomes available, but soon afterwards some cheapoid from china will have a higher figure somewhere in the datasheet.

Yes, and IMO it would also imply that the intention is to either release it at $699 and gradually lower the price as the components are less cutting edge or constantly (let's say, yearly, to keep up with everyone else) update the specs and shortly thereafter discontinue the old model. I doubt either is what's planned.

 

[mcobit]

As stated before: If it will be $700 I'll need to skip it. Can't affort that

 

[peacelovefleshbones]

Just thought I'd sheepishly drop a link here...


http://boards.openpandora.org/index.php?

 

[Exophase]

Just thought I'd sheepishly drop a link here...


http://boards.openpa....org/index.php?

???

 

[Link]

^


+1

 

[peacelovefleshbones]

Wow, this is embarrassing... This is what I meant

^


+1

Sorry for dropping you.

 

[Grench]

The price and spec of that tablet is so cheap it might be cheaper to buy them in bulk and cannibalise it for any Pandora2 than to actually buy the parts ourselves.

You know - that's not such a bad idea - just not using a 7" tablet as a starting point.


Maybe start with a bulk produced 5" +/- phone or media player, crack the back of of it, jack into it and then put it into the back cover of a Pandora II. Then have the keyboard, nubs, battery, USB port, SDXC ports, etc run off of a sub board connected to the 'jack' into the phone. I doubt if the phone/media player producers are likely to give you a complete spec of their system and a handy header to get USB 3 out of it though. Intriguing idea.

 

[Grench]

We entirely intend to come to market with something as close to the bleeding edge as possible.

Bring it in with a 1280x800 screen, quad core 1.5Ghz chip, 2GB RAM, USB 3.0 host - and internal hub running three SDXC slots at 100MB/sec transfer (one hidden for OS - no NAND), high end DSP and audio system, 2/3 the thickness of the existing Pandora, 802.11n (with some range to it), Bluetooth, gyro/tilt/compass/GPS and a price under $1000 with guaranteed delivery by end of January 2013 and I'd pre-order it tomorrow.

 

[Nintendo]

^ That thing would cost $2000.

 

[craigix]

We entirely intend to come to market with something as close to the bleeding edge as possible.

Bring it in with a 1280x800 screen, quad core 1.5Ghz chip, 2GB RAM, USB 3.0 host - and internal hub running three SDXC slots at 100MB/sec transfer (one hidden for OS - no NAND), high end DSP and audio system, 2/3 the thickness of the existing Pandora, 802.11n (with some range to it), Bluetooth, gyro/tilt/compass/GPS and a price under $1000 with guaranteed delivery by end of January 2013 and I'd pre-order it tomorrow.

Some of that ^ is under the spec I want. Because it will be 2013 at the earliest we have to think very big in advance.

 

[Exophase]

^ That thing would cost $2000.

You're just making things up >_>

 

[fusion_power]

I hope the OP Team will this time find a better supportet SOC than the TI OMAP. So no longer messing around with drivers and firmware, I hope they find a "it just works" solution

 

[Exophase]

I hope the OP Team will this time find a better supportet SOC than the TI OMAP. So no longer messing around with drivers and firmware, I hope they find a "it just works" solution

Why do you keep saying this? There's no support problem with OMAP, unless you have a problem with GPU drivers being closed, in which case you'll have a problem with every other SoC. That no one is using the DSP for anything isn't TI's fault.


OPT has hinted pretty blatantly that OMAP5 is their SoC family of choice for Pandora 2.

 

[fusion_power]

I just thought, the general opinion was, that TI did not support their OMAP pretty well, at least not in case of Linux and the Pandora. So the most logical thing would be to find a better (Linux) supported Hardware I guess, but if the devs are happy with TI OMAP, OK, why not. I read in the forums from time to time that there were and still are some obstacles, releated to the Pandora Chipset, also including WiFi as non OMAP part.


Whats wrong to search for the best supported HW solution for a possible future Pandora? If you have the choise to make your next roduct better, why not look for alternative stuff on the Market that may give your devs a more easy life and a general improvement of Pandora Experience?