Pandora: Really Out This Month?

[coisman]

OK I've been speculating as to whether or not the Pandora will be ready for shipping this month, or even next month. So far no one has even received a real unit, and I doubt one has even been produced, so I believe it's safe to say that we won't be seeing a Pandora this month.
But is next month even feasible? I'm just wondering as to whether or not this is going to be delayed. Some reassurance would be greatly appreciated.

 

[quote]

No, don't be silly.
Craig has said he will start preorders 4 weeks before they start to ship.

 

[bigtruck]

Well, openpandora.org still says "June/July for casual users" and Craig has recently said "there are no big delays." I would think the upcoming blog post will at least mention an estimate for the release date. Personally, I'm thinking late July at the earliest, maybe August.

 

[Chip]

♪♫The wheels on the bus go round and round...♪♫

 

[craigix]

"When it's ready".

What we can say now is you will see a lot more from devs this month, once that batch which was damaged gets back on its way.

Preordering might start in July. Depends if we feel the system has been fully crash tested.

You *might* see a final Pandora unit (ie one with the 99% final case) this month. The case is a very complex job, especially getting the LCD ribbon to the LCD screen in a way which won't result in too much strain and flex, it's these sort of areas a lot of time is being spent on.

We want the Pandora to be robust and good quality and will delay the launch to make sure of it.

But don't worry, it is all coming along nicely. Will post on the blog soon.

 

[Kyo]

Well that's good news, Craig!

Can't wait to see the final case.

 

[Karel Jansens]

You *might* see a final Pandora unit (ie one with the 99% final case) this month. The case is a very complex job, especially getting the LCD ribbon to the LCD screen in a way which won't result in too much strain and flex, it's these sort of areas a lot of time is being spent on.

Some LCD ribbon horror stories from the past:

- Apple "designed" the eMate in such a fashion that after a certain period of use, the spring in the lid would puncture the LCD cable. Users had to devise a "washer and lubricant" fix to prevent this.

- Psion's 5mx had a LCD ribbon that would break if the lid got opened one too many times. Eventually an enthousiast manufactured an replacement ribbon that was sturdier.

- Having apparently learned nothing, Psion made the Series 7/Netbook with a LCD ribbon that had a "useless" little hole in it by design (rumour has it the hole was a leftover from the early testing boards and got faithfully copied into the final design). Repeated strain (as in: opening and closing the lid, obviously something Psion thought a user wasn't supposed to do B) ) caused microfractures to expand and breakage to ensue. Again, aftermarket solutions came from the users themselves.

Not that I want to give you the idea that you can f*ck up all you want, the users will fix it eventually. But yeah, LCD ribbons are a b*tch...

 

[craigix]

Yeah this is why we are trying to get it right, I'll read up on those cases thanks for the info, and of course unlike apple psion etc. we will always be here in the forum working with everyone to make this a very cool handheld

 

[Karel Jansens]

Yeah this is why we are trying to get it right, I'll read up on those cases thanks for the info, and of course unlike apple psion etc. we will always be here in the forum working with everyone to make this a very cool handheld

I have to be honest here: AFAIAC nobody has been able to equal, let alone top, the Newton MessagePad yet; to me it remains the best thought out PDA O/S that has ever been (and quite possibly ever will be, given Jobs-the-Minion-Of-Satan's shenanigans).

But obviously the Pandora is so totally NOT trying to copy that marvel (unlike Nokia's Internet tablets, but with Fail!), so the comparison wouldn't be fair. I see the Pandora as what the Psions might have become, and that is the second best (see above) compliment I can possibly give to a pocketable computer. So there...

 

[chad78]

AFAIAC nobody has been able to equal, let alone top, the Newton MessagePad yet
I so totally want to get an eMate one day. So many handhelds - so little cash....
QUOTE
NOT trying to copy that marvel (unlike Nokia's Internet tablets, but with Fail!),
I read the same article you did, (one I think you pointed me to before). I don't think the N-Series are trying to copy the Newtons. I think they are just the logical progression of the PDA / pocket computer evolution. And they are freakin' sweet. Handwriting recognition is not as good - I know - but the thing wasn't designed for handwriting to be the main input - just a possible input. The default is the touch-screen keyboard (or, in the case of the N810 and newer - the physical QWERTY.)

As far as Apple products go, I think the N8X0s are far closer to the iPod Touch than the Newton. And as far as any product goes - I'd say they are just non-Windows / non-Intel UMPCs. Somewhere between an Archos media player and an OQO.

But, the Pandora is better, in any case, than ... well any product I mentioned in this post. So, do what it takes to make it right, Craig - but bend the laws of time and space to make it happen immediately. I know you can do it!

 

[PoisonedV]

Yes, the pandora, a device you have never touched or used, or even seen the final model of, is better than established products. Right.

 

[Karel Jansens]

Yes, the pandora, a device you have never touched or used, or even seen the final model of, is better than established products. Right.

Well... its O/S and UI won't be better than the Newton MessagePad, that's for sure. And the Psion Series 5 has arguably the best possible keyboard for that size, so it won't beat that. But given the specs, it'll beat the Nokia Itablets hands down in just about anything bar shiny metal faceplate.

Also, I secretly hope some developer takes a good look at the built-in applications of the EPOC-based Psions and managed to creatively copy them. Psion's Word, Sheet, Data and Agenda are true marvels of productive software, running in amazingly small memory footprints.

But that's just a dream...

 

[Rayek]

Yes, the pandora, a device you have never touched or used, or even seen the final model of, is better than established products. Right.

 

[Karel Jansens]

get an eMate one day. So many handhelds - so little cash....

eMates are pretty cheap these days. Try to get one that had the "hinge fix" applied and, if possible, with the memory upgrade. Don't forget that, to connect your eMate to the outside world, you'll either need a Mac or some tinkering with Windows.

QUOTE
I read the same article you did, (one I think you pointed me to before). I don't think the N-Series are trying to copy the Newtons. I think they are just the logical progression of the PDA / pocket computer evolution. And they are freakin' sweet. Handwriting recognition is not as good - I know - but the thing wasn't designed for handwriting to be the main input - just a possible input. The default is the touch-screen keyboard (or, in the case of the N810 and newer - the physical QWERTY.)


Text input is one of the major problems with the Itablets. As you mentioned, handwriting just doesn't work for anything more than a few words and neither keyboard is substantially better. The small peckboard can only be tapped with a stylus and is therefore bloody slow, and the larger thumbboard is a good idea, marred by several annoying bugs (repeating letters, erratic doubling of parts of the typed text, letter "stuttering", even the keypad disappearing completely).

I'd go so far as to say that the Itablets are completely useless for entering information, but are rather good as passive terminals, where you just consult stuff. Unfortunately that is exactly what I don't want.

QUOTE
As far as Apple products go, I think the N8X0s are far closer to the iPod Touch than the Newton. And as far as any product goes - I'd say they are just non-Windows / non-Intel UMPCs. Somewhere between an Archos media player and an OQO.


<Flamebait warning!>
What with Ari Jaaksi's recent apparently anti-Open Source speech, it would indeed seem as if the Nokia tablets are more like Apple stuff...

 

[waffles]

So let me just make sure i am interpreting this correctly-
given that preorders will probably start 4 weeks before the final release, and preorders may begin in july, Late August/early September is the most likely?
personally i don't mind delays that much, as id rather wait a couple months for a better system i am probably going to use for years.

 

[chad78]

I'd go so far as to say that the Itablets are completely useless for entering information, but are rather good as passive terminals, where you just consult stuff. Unfortunately that is exactly what I don't want.

Hence the addition of a BlueTooth iGo Stowaway keyboard.

 

[chad78]

Yes, the pandora... is better than established products. Right.
Unless Craig & Co. have just been completely lying about the specs and what it's going to be like... Then yes - I can confidently say that. It is better - hands down.

 

[crazedover]

Yes, the pandora... is better than established products. Right.
Unless Craig & Co. have just been completely lying about the specs and what it's going to be like... Then yes - I can confidently say that. It is better - hands down.

I believe he was talking about the interface, not the raw processing capabilities.

 

[christo930]

Well, openpandora.org still says "June/July for casual users" and Craig has recently said "there are no big delays." I would think the upcoming blog post will at least mention an estimate for the release date. Personally, I'm thinking late July at the earliest, maybe August.

I never thought they were going to make a spring release anyway and predicted it in earlier threads. There is no real reason to push it's release until the fall. During the summer people are out enjoying the weather and going on vacation and it's a traditionally slow time for video games and computers. An early September release would be nice. In the meanwhile, it would be nice to see some good software out for the gp32 and the gp2x! For all the excitement about the Pandora, the GP2x and GP32 are in our hands already!

Chris

 

[Sphinxter]

Just a bit longer and it'll be perfect timing for the holidays, they'll make terrific Christmas gifts.