Pandora - Obsolete?

[Mithrildor]

What? Pandora is not for me?

 

[Wolenber]

So, speaking of portable retro gaming, how many Pandora variants until we get portable PS2? I'm gonna go with Pandora 4.

 

[Loon]

So, speaking of portable retro gaming, how many Pandora variants until we get portable PS2? I'm gonna go with Pandora 4.

No way, Pandora 4 will be doing PS3.

 

[levi1123]

So, speaking of portable retro gaming, how many Pandora variants until we get portable PS2? I'm gonna go with Pandora 4.

PSP 3000 can emu Ps2 on mem stick if CFW ( I think.. dont kill me if im wrong but i do believe i recall hearing about that sometime.... )

 

[rabidpoobear]

PSP 3000 can emu Ps2 on mem stick if CFW ( I think.. dont kill me if im wrong but i do believe i recall hearing about that sometime.... )

I'm not gonna kill you but you are wrong.

 

[CokeCanNinja]

I just found out about the Pandora, I don't think it's obsolete FOR WHAT IT IS DESIGNED FOR. Are desktop computers obsolete because laptops have come out? No. Are bikes obsolete because cars have come out? No. I'm still going to wait for the Pandora 2 to come out, but that is because I always buy at least 2nd gen. products.

Did you mean the 2nd batch, or really a new Pandora design? This would be equivalent to saying you wouldn't buy a PlayStation, but would rather wait for the PS2. You could almost say the Pandora is "2nd generation" to the GP devices, being a combination of improvement over these devices and community input into the design. But then again, I somewhat feel a bit like waiting for "2.0" of many things, as I don't often hop onto bandwagons before knowing that something will really catch on a be a quality product (3D TV, anyone?)

A Pandora redesign. Maybe with a faster processor (~750Mhz), more ram (~384MB), and a larger onboard memory (1GB), and maybe wireless N connectivity.

 

[Pleng]

Some people are just stupid and think they really are being helpful. I've met such people in person.

:blink: we've met??

 

[WizardStan]

Some people are just stupid and think they really are being helpful. I've met such people in person.

:blink: we've met??

If you are a lot of people, including myself, then yes

 

[paddy]

Yes the Pandora is not in spec with some other future devices that have not been built using this
new tech yet.

 

[verm71]

I get freaked out every time someone mentions a Pandora 2. I really hope there are no plans for one, since that would insta-kill dev on the Pandora.
...
I certainly hope they're not thinking about a Pandora 2 for at least another 3 or 4 years...

Yeah, I've kind of accepted it as inevitable, but it would surely mean less community support for Pandora. Hopefully by then all the software for the Pandora will be humming along smoothly.

Did you mean the 2nd batch, or really a new Pandora design?

A Pandora redesign. Maybe with a faster processor (~750Mhz), more ram (~384MB), and a larger onboard memory (1GB), and maybe wireless N connectivity.

As the first Pandora, I think the design of the second one will materialize once there are sufficient reasons for its existence in the community. Perhaps once the OMAP platform evolves to a point where it can emulate more stuff (I'm not sure if ~750MHz is that much of a leap). If we look 3 to 5 years into our crystal ball, we can easily imagine cheaper multi-touch screens, SSD storage... Is there an absolute need for these things today? Not really, which is why the Pandora still is not obsolete. But 5 years from now perhaps these will be considered so commonplace that any system without them would be inferior. 5 years ago, WiFi wasn't all that ubiquitous (who would have imagined an MP3 player even with WiFi?). But once we get used to a particular technology and we want it badly into the next Pandora, these "must-haves" will pile up and eventually make their way onto a new Pandora design.

 

[input_cords]

The - iPhone - 3GS - is - not - as - powerful - as - the - Pandora.

The 3GS has a crappo memory-hog OS, permanent memory, and a 620 MHz clock speed for the CPU. The Pandora.....

Has a 600MHz CPU plus a 420MHz DSP core. Not to mention interchangeable memory cards.....

 

[Exophase]

The - iPhone - 3GS - is - not - as - powerful - as - the - Pandora.

How important is it exactly? Would you be upset if the 3GS were, by your own arguments, still more powerful?

The 3GS has a crappo memory-hog OS,

Prove it's worse than Pandora's.

permanent memory,

Removable media is usually not what people think about when they consider "power."

and a 620 MHz clock speed for the CPU.

Also probably 2x the L1 cache and quite possibly memory latency that's not as severely high (but that's sort of speculation)

The Pandora.....

Has a 600MHz CPU plus a 420MHz DSP core.

A DSP core that so far isn't being used for much aside from video acceleration that 3GS probably has dedicated hardware for. We'll have to see what it does end up being used for, of course.

Meanwhile, you've neglected to mention the 3D capabilities, where 3GS has an SGX 535 (more functional units although to be honest don't remember what it was exactly, maybe 2x TMUs instead of 1x) running at a higher clock speed (I believe 166MHz, vs 110MHz max). And 3D is something that is in fact being used on both fronts already, especially 3GS.

 

[lulzfish]

I really wish people would stop throwing that word around. It spoils the meaning when used where it doesn't actually apply.

YES.

 

[torpor]

The CPU in the Nintendo DS is obsolete too, you know, but it doesn't stop folks from writing amazing games for the thing.

The point is this: what software can't you run on the Pandora CPU right now? (The answer: any, because we don't have Pandoras yet..) .. but anyway, I'm sure that once the Pandora is actually in the hands of users, the level of obsolescence will be perceived to be irrelevant to the true perceived level of actual *usage*.

 

[Sugar_Kane]

I'm being dangerously tempted to buy a dsi xl while I'm waiting for my pandora, as I'm probably near the back of the list and I'm starting to get the itch. Would I be making a horrible, eggy mistake?

 

[Prometheus]

Well, I have a DSi (which is the same as the DSi XL, only smaller ), and it's rather good. If you don't already have a DS or DS Lite, and there are titles that you want for the system (be they retail releases, or stuff available from the DSiWare download store), it's probably worth it. If there aren't any games you want to buy, though, it probably would be a mistake.

 

[EmuGuy]

I certainly hope they're not thinking about a Pandora 2 for at least another 3 or 4 years...

I agree. Short speech here...not directed at you, but your post got me thinking.

I think there won't be a Pandora 2 until they make at least all their money back off the first one, if that's even possible, and I hope it is! This isn't a huge company, and Pandora isn't a phone, and it's a small audience at this point, and they're only making money on the hardware, so I'm not worried a new model every year. There was speculation in another thread about skipping OMAP4 and going to OMAP5 for the next one 2 or 3 years from now...that made some sense to me. But I'm far from an expert on that stuff.

In any case, folks who want a Pandora 2 someday should really buy the first gen to show support and 'vote with their dollars' so to speak, rather than assuming there will be a new one next year, just because that's what the Big Boys do. Amazing amount of 2nd gen speculation on this board and the first gen isn't even out yet! . But whatever...I'm buying it mainly to be a portable Amiga, so it meets my needs and then some! OTOH, of course they shouldn't buy it if it doesn't meet their needs.

I don't think we'll see any devices with built in gaming controls like Pandora. Sony refuses to use 2 nubs for some reason, and many other companies are caught up in the touchscreen keyboard hype. I'm excited about the physical kb on Pandora.

Anyway, it's late, i'm ranting. Time for a break. I hope the assembly webcam starts up this week.

 

[Sugar_Kane]

The way I see it, the Pandora was created to do exactly what it already does. The community was crying out for a device that didn't have the eccentricities of the asian devices available (the wiz buttons being a good example), and a bit more functionality. There is no question that the guys have delivered on our expectations.

Anyway, my point is (and I've made it before)that it already is more than powerful enough to do all of the tasks that it was designed to do. We could go on forever about how it could be now using more powerful chips, or how x device is way more advanced, but you're probably looking at the wrong machine and what you really want is a high end tablet pc or next gen gaming device, which this is not and never was. The fact is that it will never be obsolete unless another company actually understands what its audience wants. They have had their chances and because they never listened to us the Pandora was born, this is what we want.

 

[Prometheus]

Couldn't have put it better myself.

Actually, your post reminds me, Sugar_Kane... The GP2X didn't attract this sort of "It's not high end enough!" chatter, did it? Or at least, I don't remember it doing so...

 

[Sugar_Kane]

I think that this is probably the downside of having such a close relationship with your customers. On the plus side you get a great idea of which direction you should be going, but you also have reams of 'suggestions' that ricochet off of the toilet bowl and land in your lap when they should have been flushed.

A lot of peeps want to see their ideas get taken on, even the outrageous ones. If the likes of Nintendo directly spoke to their audience as OPT do, I guess they would have their share of "can we have 3 triangular touch screens and a slide-out keyboard with lcd keys?"