Pandora 2 wish list - Ultimate Pandora

[Sugar_Kane]

I'd be more than happy for the pandora 2 to be an upgraded board that would fit into the current case design. That way we have the option of buying the board and fitting it ourselves.


As far as features go: a faster processor, bigger NAND, and more memory is all I would ask for. I think that sometimes people forget that the pandora was created to provide an emulation console with decent controls, because GPH and their brethren can't seem to ever get dpads and buttons right.

 

[tsh]

Earliest this could ship would probably be 18 months, regardless of any talk of canibalising the pandora market. An upgradable PCB would be cool. I don't see the need for any extra features in the hardware, but a CPU/RAM spin makes sense (OMAP4 or wait for OMAP5?).


3G - I use my phone for tethering my tablet, and I always have my phone. Why would i want 2 sim contracts?


Touch - hardly use it on Pandora, but would stick with it.


Resolution/screen quality - could be improved, but not if it is a cost option. Something like Pixel Qi maybe.


Camera for AR - I'll just get an AR Drone if I want that.


GPS - better by bluetooth, already have one for my tablet (and backup for the phone since it seems to be on the blink)


Critical features for me are price and battery life, which with the form factor seem to be met already.

 

[Caine]

Ok. I'll bite.

• Multitouch Capacitive touch screen - Higher resolution and perhaps 3d viewing capable such as per the 3DS
  Don't really care about this myself. You will not utilize the touchscreen with two hands as you have to hold the bottom half. One-hand multitouch gestures are only really useful to compensate for lack of other inputs methods (which the Pandora has plenty).
  
  
• 3G with full phone functionality
  This will greatly increase the price of the Pandora. I like the idea of having a phone not running out of batteries too soon. If you use smartphones like a laptop computer they will run out of power very quickly. My preferred solution would be either a dongle or even better to tether the Pandora to a phone.
  
  
• 3 axis Accelerometer
  Yes, this sounds quite feasible and would add a few nice possibilities. I wonder how hard it would to mod one into the current Pandora. Perhaps it can be connected to L2/R2. Does anyone know of any tiny usb accelerometers?
  
  
• Magnetometer for digital compass etc
  I fail to see the use.
  
  
• GPS
  You can get very compact GPS dongles over USB or self powered ones which connect over bluetooth. I think that's a better option for reception, battery life and price.
  
  
• Ability to run Android (probably can now?)
  Does not really depend on the hardware. I saw an experimental setup of android running on the Pandora some time ago. Probably someone will get it to run at some point in time. For the record, I'm against Android as main OS.
  
  
• Faster Cpu at least 1ghz, probaby need to be a lot more considering todays products seem to have 1ghz cpu, future products would be expected to be a lot faster.
  I think that the team should switch to the newer 1Ghz CPU asap. For a Pandora 2 however, I would like to see a Cortex A9 based solution (e.g. OMAP 4).
  
  
• Front and back facing cameras(5mp at least) with a LED flash - perhaps dual cameras front and back for 3d photos and video recording
  Wouldn't really use it. Pandora has an odd form factor to use as a camera as well.
  
  
• Better speakers
  I was lead to believe the Pandora speakers were already quite decent. Get a good headset instead.
  
  
• Dual/Stereo mic
  Only if it can be done cheaply. Don't really care about it.
  
  
• USB3 ports
  I highly doubt this will happen.
  
  
• 3 axis gyroscope
  Please no. Gyroscopes are power hungry devices. Besides, you wouldn't be swinging your Pandora around. Subtle tilting yes, but for that accelerometers suffice.
  
  
• Proximity sensor
  Ehhh. Interesting thing to mention. How would you use this? I haven't got the foggiest idea of how this would be useful.
  

Personally, the main things I want to see are an upgrade to a Cortex A9 processor and as a consequence of that a better video out port (VGA, DVI, or HDMI). Probably DVI is the best choice.


To be honest, it sounds like most of your wishes are driven by the wish to have an android smartphone. Why don't you just buy an android smartphone instead?

 

[SNESFAN]

now that the trolls are hopefully settled some, I got a couple to add, some gimmicky, some practical, some curious why they weren't included with the current gen, nothing just stupid.


-haptic feedback/rumble pack


force feedback might be gimmicky but it adds a certain quality to fps games etc that gets you much more immersed if done correctly.


-ir sensor/transmitter/camera


remote controls, being a remote control, maybe even mini-kinect to track face/head movements etc


-rfid


not sure what it could be used for just yet, but eager to see what people will come up with as they start finding their ways into smartphones.


-socket analog controls


add in controls such as trackball, joystick, or twisty pong controller thing for all you retro arcade gamers


-second set of shoulder buttons


for all your sony emulation needs etc possibly analog rather than digital ala xbox 360


-docking port


much interest has been shown in tv out or turning it into a "console", remove the constant charging of the pandora battery, tons of cables etc etc.


-sd card storage


multiple sd card storeage into the battery cover plate. I can appreciate the retro feel of swapping sd card "cartridges" in and out of the pandora.


-slotted notched hinge


unless patented by nintendo or similar, different viewing angle preferences. Some like to hold the device differently than you do... obviously YMMV


-backlit keyboard


when typeing by screen brightness alone is just not enough


-x86/arm hybrid chipset


steveaustin brought up this idea... I silently thought it an amazing idea. arm for when you want arm and power efficiency, x86 for when you want power and speed. How much this would increase the cost and power expense... this might be the most pipe dream of the requests.. probably by a lot.


now most of these things I don't think would use much power if you just not enabled when not being used (except where noted) And as far as R&D costs extra hardware costs take a look at http://www.dynamism.com/ some of the "handhelds" are $1,000+ so... the pandora is still "cheap" and plus this is a dream sheet... but I understand haters gonna hate. I'm not actually expecting any of these, but these would be in my dream handheld along with mostly everything listed in the OP.

 

[kaiserpc]

okay while we're at it


- fix the case design - no bulges, screw over tightening probs, all buttons (inc. shoulder) work properly straight out of the box)


- slightly larger LCD and increase resolution to 1024x600


- 1ghz+ next gen Arm cortex


- improved software xfce 4.8, dsp and opengl fully working, DS like sleep mode, wifi more reliable


- increased memory / nand

 

[Arkay Firestar]

Hi,


Looking into the future I was thinking about what features the next Pandora may have and decided id post my wish list for others to discuss and expand on:


My wish list for the ultimate Pandora would be (in no particular order):


1) Multitouch Capacitive touch screen - Higher resolution and perhaps 3d viewing capable such as per the 3DS


2) 3G with full phone functionality


3) 3 axis Accelerometer


4) Magnetometer for digital compass etc


5) GPS


6) Ability to run Android (probably can now?)


7) Faster Cpu at least 1ghz, probaby need to be a lot more considering todays products seem to have 1ghz cpu, future products would be expected to be a lot faster


8) Front and back facing cameras(5mp at least) with a LED flash - perhaps dual cameras front and back for 3d photos and video recording


9) Better speakers


10) Dual/Stereo mic


11) USB3 ports


12) 3 axis gyroscope


13) Proximity sensor


What would you like to see in it?

I would hope this kind of foolish post would only be made by someone with a unit on pre-order. The majority of people funding this project are still waiting for theirs. Unless you've put some money up and waited a bit (or a lot) like the rest of us, please, just keep your fantasies to yourself.


There's still a percentage chance this project collapses on itself before it concludes.

 

[maplesugarlover]

I normally don't agree with johnsongrantr , but I do wish the Pandora had a 2nd row of shoulder buttons and a back-lit keyboard. Of course the existing Pandora board already has that stuff. The pandora 2 just needs to use it.

 

[ManlyStump]

okay while we're at it


- fix the case design - no bulges, screw over tightening probs, all buttons (inc. shoulder) work properly straight out of the box)


- slightly larger LCD and increase resolution to 1024x600


- 1ghz+ next gen Arm cortex


- improved software xfce 4.8, dsp and opengl fully working, DS like sleep mode, wifi more reliable


- increased memory / nand

Decent suggestions! It's a miracle!

 

[Norfen]

I want the Pandora 2 to give me the Power of a God so I can finally defeat Ares, God of War.


Kratos

Ares? :blink:

 

[sverm]

I'd like to see a handheld C-One-based device. The mother of all emulators: reprogrammable CPU.

 

[Coldbird]

A nuclear cell powered battery with a average runtime of 80 years.


1GB RAM minimum.


2GHZ CPU.


All I need in addition to current gen Pandora, then emulation will be a lot easier too.

 

[Asiyura]

I'm still waiting for my quantum handheld computer…

 

[Tickles]

I love mine just the way it is, but a board upgrade at some point in the future is a great idea. Oh, go on then; I'll take a backlit keyboard too

 

[ashcloud]

- 1TB internal ssd memory


- 10 Gigabit ethernet


- coffee brewer


- 3G + phone capabilities + rotary dial for dialing and beeing retro style


- warp drive


- resistive multitouch screen? NO! Let's include a CRT screen.


- 3GHz Quadcore CPU (but please NO x86, let's leave it with ARM)


-- Hehe. All nonsense.


What I would really like is to have is my first Pandora. But let the first-batchers get theirs first.


For a Pandora 2 I could think of


+ DVI/HDMI instead of S-Video


+ Faster CPU (why not?)


+ Solve this problem with the 480Mbit only USB host.


+ Please do nothing that noticeable decreases battery life.


+ Maybe more RAM (but not necessary)

 

[craigix]

I love mine just the way it is, but a board upgrade at some point in the future is a great idea. Oh, go on then; I'll take a backlit keyboard too

A board only upgrade would be a very nice way of recycling a Pandora, but what would you be willing to pay for a new (faster) board? Remember the board is pretty much almost all the cost of the Pandora (the screen is the only other significant part price wise).

 

[SNESFAN]

I love mine just the way it is, but a board upgrade at some point in the future is a great idea. Oh, go on then; I'll take a backlit keyboard too

A board only upgrade would be a very nice way of recycling a Pandora, but what would you be willing to pay for a new (faster) board? Remember the board is pretty much almost all the cost of the Pandora (the screen is the only other significant part price wise).

330 usd for a complete unit...


Pulls number out of ass... 150-200 usd? For just the board and nubs


What does the current pandora board cost to make + reasonable markup?

 

[GunPei2X]

Pretty much nothing I'd want that has been listed.


All I really want is a better low-power/hibernate mode, some TIME to set up everything how I'd like, and some further polish on a few of the programs (which will come) - everything else is pretty much where I want it.

 

[Tickles]

I love mine just the way it is, but a board upgrade at some point in the future is a great idea. Oh, go on then; I'll take a backlit keyboard too

A board only upgrade would be a very nice way of recycling a Pandora, but what would you be willing to pay for a new (faster) board? Remember the board is pretty much almost all the cost of the Pandora (the screen is the only other significant part price wise).

Then when the time is right just put new boards in and start selling Pandora 2 for the same kind of price. As long as you're not thinking of doing it next week I'll buy one

 

[second exodous]

Like the first Pandora with an OMAP4, some sort of digital out at 1080p to hook up to a HDTV, and a microSD slot under the battery to house the OS.

 

[j6cubic]

Wow. The trolls in here are way unambitious.


- 1 THz kilocore CPU based on monolayer graphene


- 1 TiB memristor-based NVRAM; speed comparable to DDR3 or better


- another 80 TiB of memristor-based NVRAM for the file system and stuff. SSDs are so 2011.


- 802.11a/b/g/n/p


- Ethernet/Fast Ethernet/Gigabit Ethernet/Token Ring/Fibre Channel


- full GSM/CDMA/UMTS/CDMA2k/LTE-Adcanced stack and free voice/data flatrate for life in all countries


- hell, let's toss in a satellite telephone as well; wouldn't want to go phone-less in the Antarctic


- satellite positioning through DGPS, GLONASS, Galileo and Compass


- an actual compass would be nice, as well


- gyroscopes and tilt sensors, precise to 0.0001° and 0.01µm


- USB1/2/3, FireWire S/3200, multiple Light Peak ports


- DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort and HD-SDI in/out


- built in DVB-T/C/S tuner


- 4320p (7680x4320 pixel) volumetric touch display; depth probably another 4320 pixels


- gigapixel camera designed by Hasselblad


- slots for SDXC, MemoryStick Pro, CompactFlash; at least two each


- battery life at least twice that of Pandora 1


- pocket-sized solar panel that recharges Pandora 2 in six hours


- same form factor as Pandora 1, maybe more compact


- same price as Pandora 1


- your clothes, your boots and your motorcycle


If your proposed design isn't unfeasible because the speed of light is too low, you're not aiming high enough.


As for things we already have: Don't we already get socketed nubs with the second batch? Those most likely aren't going to be hot-swappable but still, additional types of input device are theoretically possible.