Pandora As A Netbook

[Kramy]

Mine is 95.xxxx DPI. (close to 96)

By default Windows XP and below assume you're on 96 DPI. There's no text or image scaling. I'm not sure if Windows Vista/7 have scaling, since I don't use either of them, but I do know Linux(Ubuntu) does.

 

[dflemstr]

The picture I made stores it's size information in metadata. You therefore have to view it in a compatible imageviewer (gwenview on linux (I think), for example).

And yes, conetxt etc matters alot. The only way you can really visualize the screen size is by drawing it on a sheet of paper and cutting it out (which I have done with the photo I made, see my previous post)


EDIT: Image optimized for 96DPI. If you have a 96DPI monitor, this is how it will look, even if you view inside Firefox:

 

[ashdjones]

The apparent size of objects varies greatly depending on the context (surrounding objects, patterns, colors, contrast...) and the focus of your sight.

Yeah, I always noticed Nintendo did this with the Gameboy when they used the grey area round the screen to make it seem bigger. I completely missed it for years but if you look carefully you'll notice the screen isn't centered; it's slightly to the right!

I also didn't notice for a long time the bottom-right screen edge is curved like the case, infact there's an awful lot which is strangely aligned or angled.

 

[dsleaf67]

Apparently my screen dpi is incorrect, because that picture was smaller than the screen of my paper model pandora (which is 1:1 scale).

Most people are on 96DPI monitors. Could you check and verify this is the correct size?

This was fine for me.

 

[fischju2000]

The picture I made stores it's size information in metadata. You therefore have to view it in a compatible imageviewer (gwenview on linux (I think), for example).

And yes, conetxt etc matters alot. The only way you can really visualize the screen size is by drawing it on a sheet of paper and cutting it out (which I have done with the photo I made, see my previous post)

EDIT: Image optimized for 96DPI. If you have a 96DPI monitor, this is how it will look, even if you view inside Firefox:

I held my 605 up to that, it's accurate, seems so much smaller 1.5' away on my monitor

 

[White Flame]

The N800 and 24" LCD showing the same content:

link to full image:
CODE
http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs538&d=09152&f=img_2025938.jpg


The handheld is touching the screen, so there should be no distance shrinking of consequence.

 

[DasFool]

Here's a list of devices and ppi (pixels per inch) ratings.

I'm using a 17" laptop with 1920x1200 that's listed as 133 ppi. Setting the image to that in the gimp looks correct.

 

[MrPoletski]

Get a piece of paper or cardboard and cut it to 93.6 x 56.2 mm (3.7 x 2.2 inches). That's the size of the screen
Can you visualize yourself using that screen for taking notes? Maybe write some words on it to see how small you can make them so they're still comfortable to read; can you get enough on the "screen" at that size to make it worth typing?
If yes, you can comfortably do so, then the Pandora might be excellent for you. While the Pandora's keypad is too small for touch typing, I can achieve almost 50 wpm on cell phone's QWERTY thumbpad and it's even smaller than the Pandora's. With practice, I don't suspect the thumbpad will be as great a hinderance as some would suggest.
On the other hand, there are portable fold up/roll up keyboards to be had for $20-$30 that are excellent for touch typing and just as easy to carry as the Pandora.
I can speak from first hand experience: I used an old Palm III and a fold up keyboard for taking notes when I attended university and it was a godsend! All course material was usually available via PDF, so I was able to download slides and text for the day onto it, such that when I went to class that's all I took: palm pilot in one pocket, keyboard in the other. At the end of class, while my classmates were struggling with getting text books and binders and loose sheets into backpacks, I'd just put on my jacket and walk out the door. Good times.
If I had had a Pandora back then, it would have been even better!

yeah you could sit and play games instead of studying

 

[Bosbeetle]

It is tiny now I know why davec always complained the wiz screen was way to small

 

[hells_dark]

Go in a shop, look at the archos 605.
It's quite confortable

 

[ashdjones]

When I put my cut-out rectangle onto my PSP screen I realised that yes, it is indeed the same size.

Out of curiosity I did the following:

- Cut out a Pandora sized peice of paper
- Cut a hole the size of the screen
- Put the paper over the PSP screen
- Looked at some desktop pictures at the Pandora resolution with the image viewer

Although more fuzzy than the real thing I concluded that the screen size is great and reading even tiny text will be okay (but then I do have good eyes).

 

[conso]

does anyone remember those lenses for the gameboy? don't know how well they worked, but they may be an option for the pandora, too.

 

[Prometheus]

does anyone remember those lenses for the gameboy? don't know how well they worked, but they may be an option for the pandora, too.

I remember them. The Sega Game Gear also had one, but it was a bit of a nuisance to fit compared to the Game Boy ones which just clipped onto the top of the unit (with the Game Gear ones, you had to use a coin to screw the base of the magnifier onto the back of the console). Whilst they worked nicely, the trouble with both was that they were fairly unwieldy and generally protruded quite a way from the console, which impeded portability a tad (yes, even with the gigantic Game Gear ). If such an accessory were available for the Pandora, chances are that you'd have to remove it every time you wanted to close the device.

 

[WizardStan]

The magnifier that I had for my gameboy folded back on itself onto the back of the gameboy, thus returning it to its (more or less) portable state.
Something similar could be done with the Pandora: magnifier on the back of the top of the case folds up and forward. Could be made to work.

 

[amortvigil]

to return to the paperwriting... what about this..

http://shop2.outpost.com/product/4914371?s...CH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

yes its a bit expensive but realy cool and still the most compact 64 key keyboard!

 

[conso]

The magnifier that I had for my gameboy folded back on itself onto the back of the gameboy, thus returning it to its (more or less) portable state.
Something similar could be done with the Pandora: magnifier on the back of the top of the case folds up and forward. Could be made to work.

I'm almost sure some brilliant mechanics could be added, so the lense would stick to the bottom or the lid, but what about the picture quality of those lenses? They are probably made of plastic and machine-produced. Could they come up with the resolution of the pandora without adding a lot of blur?

Oh, I just saw similar lenses for the psp exist. they say they increase the size about 1.6 times and are available for about 7$. The mechanics probably won't fit, but I'm reallly interested in the optical quality. Imagine a 7" screen on a device as small as the pandora :huh:

 

[lulzfish]

My plan is to simpler hold the Pandora 1.6 times closer to my face.
It doesn't require extra equipment, so it should be easy to fit the whole thing in my pocket.

 

[White Flame]

Unless you have bad eyes, the given pixel density & size of the screen with normal sized fonts will not be a problem for legibility.