Pandora - Obsolete?

[coisman]

Hey guys, take a look at this:
http://www.intomobile.com/2010/01/07/nvidia-tegra-250-dual-core-arm-cortex-a9-running-up-to-1-ghz-full-1080p-encodedecode.html

This is one of the reasons I believe the Pandora is actually becoming pretty obsolete. Some smartphones have the same hardware specs as the Pandora now (iPhone 3gs) while others may even surpass it, and if they don't, will in the very near future.
The NVIDIA Tegra 250, to be released soon, will feature a dual core processor up to 1GHz. This processor will be present in mobile phones and portable devices. It also features FULL 1080p hardware decoding. The Pandora's CPU obviously can't hold a candle to this.

In addition to that, there's the issue of HD playback and TV-Out. Kernel mismatches aside (nice excuse btw), there's no way the Pandora will ever be able to decode 1080p like the Tegra 250 can. As for TV-Out...come on, S-Video? Where's my HDMI? S-Video has been used for over two decades, and it's NOT hiding its age.

All in all, I'd say the Pandora was a cool idea 2 years ago, when I first heard about it, but technology has moved ahead, while the Pandora has remained stuck in the same place. I'm not really interested in getting a product that's obsolete as soon as I buy it.

 

[darkblu]

not_sure_if_serious.gif

but in case you are serious, NV are yet to introduce a tegra2-series chip that can fit in a handheld. tegra250 is for tablets/netbooks. so far any tegra that has found a way into a handheld has been of the APX series (tegra1).

 

[Phawx]

Yes and no. I'll let others explain.

 

[Exophase]

This comes up a lot.

Pandora's SoC is obsolete and will be made more so by Tegra 2, OMAP4, and other applications processors. But Pandora itself is not obsolete, and won't be until another product is out which provides the same form factor Pandora does. At the very least that something must have a physical keyboard, a touch screen, and gaming specific controls. If the controls meant nothing to you then Pandora was probably meaningless from the start.

Anything else is just not comparable. It's like saying that Pandora was made obsolete by netbooks or UMPCs, which have had more CPU power for years. Or that netbooks were obsolete on arrival by higher end laptops.

 

[Prometheus]

As for TV-Out...come on, S-Video? Where's my HDMI? S-Video has been used for over two decades, and it's NOT hiding its age.

It's either an internal display or HDMI. It is my understanding that you can't have both.

 

[jocejrod]

Yes and no. I'll let others explain.

+1

 

[marshal]

Yes and no. I'll let others explain.

+1

+1

I guess the n900 is also obsolete by the same standard

 

[verm71]

I thought we learned back in the 80s that by the time you buy a computer, it's already obsolete. If you define the term "obsolete" by the age of its components and the power of newer similar components on the market, then yes, it's obsolete and it sucks to be you because you'll never, ever be happy.

I prefer the definition of the term "obsolete" as being "it doesn't do what I want it to do anymore", or "Something newer is doing it much, much, much faster than mine, to a point where mine is actually painful to use". For playing PS3 games, yes, the Pandora is obsolete. But do I want it to play PS3 games? No. Therefore...

 

[rabidpoobear]

God damn, you're right! Why oh why have I been waiting for 2 years for this device? I could've had a netbook that could do everything I wanted this whole time!
Oh, except a lot of them DON'T actually play 1080p video that smoothly, or expect you to have it in an easy-to-decode format. Oh, but I desperately want to be able to play 1920x1080 videos on my 800x480 screen! What am I to do...

Since when is releasing a device around the same time as other devices that have the same hardware considered "obsolete"? Are you saying the Nokia N900 and the iPhone 3GS which are both selling for $600 are obsolete too? If it takes ANOTHER 2 years to come out, then yeah, it'll be obsolete. If it does ship in the next few months, it's not obsolete, it's current-gen. I may be mistaken, but do the iPhone and N900 even have TV-Out? TV-Out is not really a necessary feature for me, and s-video is the "free" tv-out that is provided by the SoC, so I'm glad they wired it up even if I don't really use it. I don't think you understand the hardware implications of adding HDMI. In fact I don't think you understand cost-benefit analysis at all.

And I think you are missing the whole point. Once a cell phone gets "obsolete" people stop supporting it. That community is very volatile. In cell phones, everyone just wants the newest, greatest thing. But you can almost guarantee that the Pandora will be supported for many years. Just like the PSP... that hardware is terrible compared to current-day hardware, yet there are still people in the homebrew scene writing new / exciting software every day. Pandora's scene will be like that, except massively better. Or the DS... don't even get me started on how "obsolete" that hardware is. Do you consider the DSi and the DSiLL themselves to be obsolete? I think the millions upon millions of sales of those devices will beg to differ with you.

Anyway, it's clear that you have no perspective at all on this issue, I'm not sure why I even bothered replying. I should've just said ... "+1 to Exo".

 

[coisman]

Maybe I'm just the only person who wants to use my Pandora for more than playing 10-20 year old games that I've played hundreds of times already. HDMI output would allow me to say, go over to my friend's house, whip out my Pandora, and show him some new TV show I'm crazy about (like that crazy new Spartacus show). The PSP is obsolete, yes, but it was also released in 2004, and was great hardware-wise back then.

Nintendo's hardware is ALWAYS obsolete, but it works because Nintendo are god tier developers. However, there aren't going to be any developers supporting the Pandora.

 

[verm71]

Once a cell phone gets "obsolete" people stop supporting it.

Very true, and another definition of "obsolete" : when support for it ends. How do you make obsolete a device that is community-supported?

 

[paulguy]

I still find the pandora useful, and it's still pretty powerful, at the moment. But I don't see it being very comparable or competitive to available devices in a couple years, with the way cell phones are going...

I know there's been talk of Pandora 2, occasionally, and I think it's definitely something to consider in ~3 years... and it should be a bit quicker, since there's more experience behind it and I imagine a lot of design could be reused, especially the case, which is perfect as far as I'm concerned. I kinda liked when the pandora was first coming out and the competition was the DS, PSP and a few crappy ARM11 phones, but if the pandora comes out any time soon, it'll just be kinda on-par, or even behind compared to some other devices (Nexus one). A few more months and, who knows? I'll always want a pandora because of the control scheme which probably wouldn't be very popular outside of this group of people (not retardedly small for no reason) and will probably remain unique to the pandora, but it'd be a bit disappointing to have something that is useful in one way, but doesn't quite cut it in another way, then have one device that'd be powerful enough but only has a retarded touch screen and a few stiff, hard to use buttons or something, or it's stupidly small and hard to see/read or has a shitty battery that dies from playing a game after an hour or 2.

Just my few cents.

 

[Prometheus]

However, there aren't going to be any developers supporting the Pandora.

I think you'd better tell that to the developers around here. Do be a dear and bring some tissues for them, though - I suspect they may be a bit upset when they learn that they don't exist.

 

[kingoddball]

Get an N900 and if you want speed - Overclock it. They have it at 1.2GHZ and higher on some. Bye.

 

[coisman]

I think you'd better tell that to the developers around here. Do be a dear and bring some tissues for them, though - I suspect they may be a bit upset when they learn that they don't exist.

I meant official game developers such as Nintendo.

 

[puppydee]

Pandora - Obsolete? Dude, some people are still using the ZX Spectrum and that was out aaaaaaaaaaaaaages ago so the Pandora will live foreverrrrrr. It may well be eventually, it just depends what you want from a device besides there's still NOTHING like the Pandora on the market yet. There might be a device with a faster processor but not with the same features as a Pandora so until someone can find a faster chip with all the same features and not at a silly price the Pandora will not be obsolete.

 

[Exophase]

Maybe I'm just the only person who wants to use my Pandora for more than playing 10-20 year old games that I've played hundreds of times already. HDMI output would allow me to say, go over to my friend's house, whip out my Pandora, and show him some new TV show I'm crazy about (like that crazy new Spartacus show). The PSP is obsolete, yes, but it was also released in 2004, and was great hardware-wise back then.

Nintendo's hardware is ALWAYS obsolete, but it works because Nintendo are god tier developers. However, there aren't going to be any developers supporting the Pandora.

You knew it wouldn't have HDMI out two years ago. Why are you complaining now?

If you want something with HDMI out and 1080p support then wait for a Tegra 2 device that has it.

If you want something that can do that AND play those 10-20 year old games that you've played hundreds of times already.. well tough shit.

 

[Prometheus]

I think you'd better tell that to the developers around here. Do be a dear and bring some tissues for them, though - I suspect they may be a bit upset when they learn that they don't exist.

I meant official game developers such as Nintendo.

I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean. There's no such thing as an "official" game developer - anyone with the ability can develop a game.

 

[Exophase]

I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean. There's no such thing as an "official" game developer - anyone with the ability can develop a game.

He means that if you didn't spend at least $100,000 USD on your game he doesn't want to play it.

 

[renegadechic]

Maybe I'm just the only person who wants to use my Pandora for more than playing 10-20 year old games that I've played hundreds of times already.

the pandora is a device. its not The One Device To Rule Them All. its a very capable gaming handheld, running on very versatile and open software, with proper gaming controls and very good connectivity. its not there to replace the mobile phone, its not there to replace the laptop, its just another well made option that covers a lot of bases for a lot of individuals.

i am a pretty late bloomer when it comes to gaming and the biggest thing ive noticed is that a good game is a good game irrespective of what system it is and what the graphics are like. hardly a very sophisticated epiphany i know but i have been playing a range of ps2, gamecube, snes, and GBA/gameboy games recently. i am actually yet to find a ps2 game that suits me (i am sure some are out there), the gamecube has had a few great games and the same with the snes and gameboy but i think it is down to franchises. if anything i have also enjoyed the older games more. its a preference but then i have been playing good and classic games.

if what you need for a device is out there on something else then by all means go and get it, but dont come on to what is essentially an emulation and homebrew device forum and bitch about how it will only play retro games, and dont bleat on about the pandora being obsolete until their is either something out there to compare that is anything more than a chip with no similar device using it yet. i think you would seriously struggle to find a single device that could replace what any of us intend to use the pandora for overall.