Pandora Suitability

[TornadoCreator]

Hi. I'm new to the forums. I appologise in advance as this is most certainly something you hear on a regular basis but I've checked online reviews and websites for information on the Pandora as I'm planning on buying a new system. I've been very tempted by the Wii because of it's Virtual Console but having so many of my games as ROMs now (so as not to damage the originals) I use my PC to game more than my consoles and I'd really rather I had them all portable anyway. Basically I just want to know as best as possible if the Pandora is for me (I'm already very impressed).


Ideally I want it to be able to do the following.


1. Emulate classic consoles such as the Mega Drive, SNES, Master System, NES, Turbo-Grafx16, Neo-Geo.


2. Emulate early disc based systems such as Sega CD, Sega Saturn, PSOne and if possible Dreamcast (my favourite system) and PS2 but I'm not expecting much there.


3. Play PC games such as Command & Conquer: Red Alert, Populous 2, Diablo 2, Star Wars: KOTOR, Neverwinter Nights, Baldur's Gate etc.


4. If at all possible, play MMO's specifically World Of Warcraft and The Realm Online. (I realise WoW may be a bit too much for a handheld to cover, but I can be hopeful)


5. Watch YouTube/Blip.tv videos and watch .mvk/.flv/.avi/.wmv video files (I have a lot of my DVD collection backed up in various formats).


6. Talk on forums and browse the internet in general.


7. Chat on Skype using audio.


8. Full compatablitiy with Open Office so I can do some college work... when I'm not gaming (rare).


Basically my questions are as follows; Would the Pandora be able to cover most of those areas? and, Does it have any internal HD memory or is in entirely reliant on SD cards? I've looked around various websites and from what I can tell, numbers 1, 6, and 8 I'm sure it's capable of. The others I'm not sure of.


Thanks for you time everyone, Hopefully these topics aren't so irritating you're wanting to kill me, and if the Pandora can do what I want I look forward to joining the fold as it where.

 

[Xenu]

i'm lazy too at this moment, i've answered some of your questions over here


good luck


FAQ - http://pandorawiki.org/FAQ

Yes please check the faq, and if you have any more questions we'll be happy to answer them.

 

[Prometheus]

1. Emulate classic consoles such as the Mega Drive, SNES, Master System, NES, Turbo-Grafx16, Neo-Geo.

Believe it or not, we have all of these already. Granted, they are in quite an early state right now, and there's no doubt that there will be improvements, but they are there.


As an aside, I've completed a few SNES games already - I found them an absolute joy to play through with the Pandora's controls.

2. Emulate early disc based systems such as Sega CD, Sega Saturn, PSOne and if possible Dreamcast (my favourite system) and PS2 but I'm not expecting much there.

PSX and Mega CD are already here too - again it's early and there will no doubt be improvements (Mega CD support in PicoDrive is already very good, but it won't run games from some regions at the moment - some of my discs are Japanese, so I figure that this is worth making a note of), but they are here. My understanding is that the Saturn, Dreamcast, and PS2 are unlikely to run in a usable fashion, due to their complexity.

3. Play PC games such as Command & Conquer: Red Alert, Populous 2, Diablo 2, Star Wars: KOTOR, Neverwinter Nights, Baldur's Gate etc.

If there are open source engine-replacements for these, which will work under Linux on an ARM processor (the Pandora uses an ARM processor, not an x86 one as most Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X personal computers use), these would be possible. However, I am not familiar with Microsoft Windows gaming, or any of the titles you listed, so I don't know whether such engine-replacements exist for these games at all. To be on the safe side, since I don't know, I'll say that you'd probably be better off not expecting these.

4. If at all possible, play MMO's specifically World Of Warcraft and The Realm Online. (I realise WoW may be a bit too much for a handheld to cover, but I can be hopeful)

World of Warcraft is impossible, and I'm afraid I've never heard of The Realm Online. I know that World of Warcraft, at least, is closed-source and highly unlikely to be ported to ARM Linux. Would I be correct if I were to hazard a guess that the same is applicable to The Realm Online?

5. Watch YouTube/Blip.tv videos and watch .mvk/.flv/.avi/.wmv video files (I have a lot of my DVD collection backed up in various formats).

I haven't tried any of those containers myself, but the Community Codec Pack opens up playback of a lot of video formats, as it includes mplayer (the Linux player - I don't believe this is of any relation to a Microsoft Windows program I've heard of, by the name of "MPlayer Classic").

6. Talk on forums and browse the internet in general.

You can definitely do this. Software to do so is included on-board, in fact, and alternative browsers are available in PND format (the way many Pandora applications are packaged) as well.

7. Chat on Skype using audio.

Skype is, to my knowledge, closed-source. I'm pretty sure that others have been able to use other VoIP solutions, though.

8. Full compatablitiy with Open Office so I can do some college work... when I'm not gaming (rare).

This has been done, but I don't believe that OpenOffice.org is available in PND form just yet.

Basically my questions are as follows; Would the Pandora be able to cover most of those areas? and, Does it have any internal HD memory or is in entirely reliant on SD cards?

Whilst the Pandora does have 512MB of internal NAND flash, this is reserved for the operating system and its updates, so I would strongly advise not touching it. Stick to SD Cards.

Thanks for you time everyone, Hopefully these topics aren't so irritating you're wanting to kill me, and if the Pandora can do what I want I look forward to joining the fold as it where.

There's no irritation on my part, at least - I always enjoy helping out if I can. I hope my post is useful to you.

 

[b1ueskycomp1ex]

1. Emulate classic consoles such as the Mega Drive, SNES, Master System, NES, Turbo-Grafx16, Neo-Geo.


Yes.


2. Emulate early disc based systems such as Sega CD, Sega Saturn, PSOne and if possible Dreamcast (my favourite system) and PS2 but I'm not expecting much there.


Sega CD - Yes


Sega Saturn - Doubtful


PSOne - Yes


Dreamcast - Doubtful


PS2 - No.


3. Play PC games such as Command & Conquer: Red Alert, Populous 2, Diablo 2, Star Wars: KOTOR, Neverwinter Nights, Baldur's Gate etc.


No, these are all closed source games intended to be run on x86 compatible processors (Your standard computer, intel, AMD, etc.) So there's no way to run them on the pandora.





4. If at all possible, play MMO's specifically World Of Warcraft and The Realm Online. (I realise WoW may be a bit too much for a handheld to cover, but I can be hopeful)


These are also closed source games that won't run on the pandora.


5. Watch YouTube/Blip.tv videos and watch .mvk/.flv/.avi/.wmv video files (I have a lot of my DVD collection backed up in various formats).


Yes and no. Flash doesn't quite work at the moment, but youtube viewing should be possible with another application. You should be able to play all of those formats, though I'm not entirely sure about .WMV files.


6. Talk on forums and browse the internet in general.


Yes. There are several browsers that are being worked on at the moment ranging from full-blow Chromium and Firefox to smaller, more touchscreen-friendly browsers like Fennec. There are also IM clients for things like AIM, MSN, Etc.


7. Chat on Skype using audio.


Skype will, in all likelyhood, never be possible on the pandora. It's closed source, and like the PC games, would only run on an x86 Processor. There are some alternatives available, including ekiga. Although I wouldn't rule out some sort of hack to bring skype over from Android or something.


8. Full compatablitiy with Open Office so I can do some college work... when I'm not gaming (rare).


Yes. Openoffice in it's entirety runs on the pandora. There are also some other apps


Does it have any internal HD memory or is in entirely reliant on SD cards?


It's more or less reliant on SD cards, for various reasons. The pandora DOES have two SDHC slots capable of carrying a 32GB card each, a total of 64GB. It may be possible for higher capacity SDXC branded cards to be used - as long as they fall within the SDHC specifications otherwise.


Hopefully this clears up your specific questions. For more information you could try visiting the FAQ


Edit: ninja'd.


Additional: This forum needs a ninja smiley.

 

[Asiyura]

^ This forum has a

simley.


Well, they've answered all you questions…

 

[TornadoCreator]

I've been looking around on YouTube and a few other sites and I've seen mixed reviews and information. Some saying it doesn't even emulate SNES and one video of someone successfully emulating Dreamcast on the Pandora, so I'm not quite sure what to believe when I see it now. Thanks guys for the information. I must say I'm a little disappointed that the old classic PC games wouldn't work but I can always play them on my PC. I know some of the games work though Wine, even WoW does, but I don't really understand what x86 is and how it all works. I know more than the average person on computers, but not enough to not be baffled when people start discussing the differences in processors or chipsets etc. I was assuming if it worked on Linux for my PC it would work on the Pandora... but I'm sure I'll get used to it.


I've decided I will be getting the Pandora. The classic consoles are worth it for me and Sega CD and PSOne games will make me very pleased. If we do have working Saturn and Dreamcast emulation eventually (and assuming the video I saw wasn't bull, I hope it'll be a reality soon), I'll be very happy as I'm admittedly a child of SEGA.


The main reason I'm interested in the Pandora is I'd like to be able to play games on the train as I have a twice weekly 2 hour commute to do and I frequently find myself wanting to write notes, touch up my essays etc. on the move. It would be so much easier than lugging a high end gaming laptop around which is the least portable a laptop can get without officially becomming a desktop. My other basic choices I could see was the iPad/iPhone 4, GPH Wiz, Samsung Wave, Dingoo A320, the new Blackberry comming out this year or a modded PSP... as I'm not really looking for a Phone the Pandora just seems like the best by far. Sure the others can do Mega Drive and NES emulation but some of them need unlocking, the iPad (although it has it's own line of games) is a little too big, and emulating PSOne seems way above what any of the others can do.


Looks like I've "joined the family"

 

[Prometheus]

If you have any further questions relating to usage, please feel free to ask. Some of us have our First Batch units already and have a couple of months of day-to-day practical experience under our belts, and are happy to elaborate on particular things, if possible.


Regarding the SNES thing, I've never seen anyone claim it cannot emulate the SNES - that emulator has been there since day one (and now there are at least two options for the SNES, even) and whilst it's early, it's full-speed at the Pandora's stock clock-speed for most games.


About the Dreamcast, that's a very old video, but as you can see, that's not really what most people would call playable.


Just a quick note regarding your mention of WINE, it's short for "WINE Is Not an Emulator" - basically it only works on x86 processors, and (again basically) translates Windows system calls into ones that Linux can work with. When the processor is something else, of course this doesn't work, as the Windows software was made with x86 processors in mind to begin with.

 

[Xenu]

Some older pc-games can be run using dosbox. However that is really old ones so although I'm not to familiar with the games you mentioned they probably wont run.

 

[Prometheus]

This is anecdotal, but the most recent MS-DOS game I've successfully run in DOSBox is Jazz Jackrabbit CD, from 1994, and that requires a bit of an overclock.

 

[Asiyura]

[…]


I must say I'm a little disappointed that the old classic PC games wouldn't work but I can always play them on my PC. I know some of the games work though Wine, even WoW does, but I don't really understand what x86 is and how it all works. I know more than the average person on computers, but not enough to not be baffled when people start discussing the differences in processors or chipsets etc. I was assuming if it worked on Linux for my PC it would work on the Pandora... but I'm sure I'll get used to it.


[…]


Looks like I've "joined the family"

The whole x86 and ARM is a bit like Master System and NES, some games where the same, but you could not put a NES cartridge in the Master System. The hardware is different, when Windows and Linux run on the same hardware, so some kind of "translators" are possible. That's what WINE is doing, he translate the windows talking software into linux language.


Welcome

 

[TornadoCreator]

Some older pc-games can be run using dosbox. However that is really old ones so although I'm not to familiar with the games you mentioned they probably wont run.

The games I mentioned are largely 1993-1997 games but they are designed for Windows, so I doubt they would work in DosBox, but there are a few that I'd be interested in trying.

 

[DaMummy]

on the other hand, command and conquer is available on the psone, including a red alert and red alert retaliation.

 

[Aninhumer]

Someone is porting GemRB which is a reverse engineered engine for Baldur's Gate among others.


The compatibility is not perfect yet though.

 

[may88]

Unless I missed a memo OpenOffice is not optimised for the size of Pandora's screen and may be a bit too bloated.


AFAKI (still Pandoraless) Abiword and a spreadsheet (I forget the name) are included in the standard build.

 

[Prometheus]

^ I believe the spreadsheet app you mean is Gnumeric.

 

[maplesugarlover]

The only reason I would want open office is for impress, the powerpoint like app.

 

[Tickles]

Just to further simplify the WINE thing: if you're running Linux on a system that could also run Windows, it will probably work. If you're running it on a system that can't run Windows (like the Pandora), then it won't work.


And hi

 

[Prometheus]

While I remember, Alerino talked a little about OpenOffice.org in this thread from the other forums. That might be worth a read.

 

[typs lik dis]

1. Emulate classic consoles such as the Mega Drive, SNES, Master System, NES, Turbo-Grafx16, Neo-Geo.


2. Emulate early disc based systems such as Sega CD, Sega Saturn, PSOne and if possible Dreamcast (my favourite system) and PS2 but I'm not expecting much there.


3. Play PC games such as Command & Conquer: Red Alert, Populous 2, Diablo 2, Star Wars: KOTOR, Neverwinter Nights, Baldur's Gate etc.


4. If at all possible, play MMO's specifically World Of Warcraft and The Realm Online. (I realise WoW may be a bit too much for a handheld to cover, but I can be hopeful)


5. Watch YouTube/Blip.tv videos and watch .mvk/.flv/.avi/.wmv video files (I have a lot of my DVD collection backed up in various formats).


6. Talk on forums and browse the internet in general.


7. Chat on Skype using audio.


8. Full compatablitiy with Open Office so I can do some college work... when I'm not gaming (rare).


yes


yes


no


no


some


yes


no


yes

 

[Wintersdark]

5. Watch YouTube/Blip.tv videos and watch .mvk/.flv/.avi/.wmv video files (I have a lot of my DVD collection backed up in various formats).

To expand on this a bit: My understanding is that as Flash isn't working (yet? not sure if this will change) you can't watch youtube videos within a browser. However, you can download the videos, then watch them with whichever video player you're using (mplayer, vlc, etc). Other videos work fine, though you may need to raise the clock speed to get nice playpack of HD video, at least until they get the DSP helping decoding.

6. Talk on forums and browse the internet in general.

You've basically got a full desktop PC, running firefox, chrome, or other browser options. Note that the Pandora has wifi and bluetooth, but no 3g modem, so if you want to have mobile broadband you'll need to get a USB modem (those "internet sticks" most cell carriers offer freely or very cheap these days).

7. Chat on Skype using audio.

Not yet; but I'd recommend having a chat with the Skype folks. As the current run of skype apps are running on Android - a linux based OS, also under ARM processors - it should be fairly trivial to port. Skype has always been pretty good at getting their app onto various platforms.