Pandora vs Nvidia Shield vs Yinlips YDPG 17

[robohappy]

These are the three devices I am thinking about getting. The Pandora would be my obvious #1 if it was not for the price. The Nivida Shield is cheaper and more powerful but very ugly looking. The YDPG PG17 its  more portable, and really cheap. But I heard it breaks easily. Thoughts?

 

[hipnotoad]

Having both the Nvidia Shield and Pandora, I prefer the Pandora. The Shield is a beast when it comes to raw power and has a very high build quality, but something about it just doesn't add up to the Pandora... Can't quite put my finger on it. Could be the Android OS but not sure. It really is up to you and your preferences though.

 

[SNESFAN]

What do you want to do on it as your primary and alternate uses? I feel each has its advantages and what it does better than the others. As specific as possible because there is quite a bit of overlap that each are capable and ideal for.

 

[levi]

Couldn't you put all these questions and comparisons in one 'Thinking of buying' thread?  It's getting a little repetitive to see a thread by you every time I open the boards.

The Shield is a big competitor to the Pandora in a lot of ways.  Not as portable sure, but it's better at emulating those old consoles thanks to its power.  It is however pretty rubbish at emulating old 8-bit micros, the Amiga, ST and DOS due to its lack of in-built keyboard.  It's also not as hackable as the Pandora, and you probably can't send it back to the manufacturer and get a close-to-cost repair (or even below cost a lot of the time) after you've messed it up with your hacks.  It's also not yet offically available outside of the US as far as I know.  You can make your own decision whether any of that makes sense you you.  The Pandora is not a particularly elegant device either - like the Sheild it's got a certain air of function over form about it.

I don't know anything about this new Yinlips device, but assuming it's like the many and numerous previous Yinlips devices, much of the above also applies to it to a greater or lesser extent.  I don't know what the Yinlips community is like, which it a big plus about the Pandora for me in both its developers and its users.

 

[robohappy]

Couldn't you put all these questions and comparisons in one 'Thinking of buying' thread?  It's getting a little repetitive to see a thread by you every time I open the boards.

Sorry still new to the boards

 

[Natsu]

Might as well wait for the Pyra or get a Pandora then upgrade. While Pyra still might not be as powerful ( better yet if it is ) than the shield, at least it will be closer to it, have a ton of features and you can still put it in your pocket.

Not sure when Nivida Shield 2 is going to come out, but it's most likely not going to fit in your pocket either.

 

[_wb_]

As always, it depends on your budget and on what you want to use it for. If you mostly want to play cutting edge games and pocketability is not important, then the Shield is probably best. If your budget is tight and you mostly just want to play emulated console games, the Yinlips thing is probably OK -- you could also consider a GCW Zero or even a GameGadget. If you want to do other things than playing games, if you want to play games that require a keyboard, or if you like to explore homebrew stuff, then the Pandora is best.

The Pandora is basically a mini-laptop that also happens to have excellent built-in game controls. It's a category of its own.

 

[sebt3]

stay away from the yinlips products. cheap that all about them

 

[SNESFAN]

Android also offers homebrew, its not an exclusive to the Pandora, and even some of the same ported commercial that exist on Pandora also exist in android. I would go as far as to say the majority of the million apps in its catalog are homebrew, there is also commercial software interweaved. Pandora is 100% homebrew, where android is maybe 95% if I had to take a guess but the quantity makes up for the percentage. Also in both systems catalogs exist some crap apps with real gems intertwined.

For me the keyboard, the pocket mobility, the ability to develop on the go, max potential storage, and the user interface are the main differences. Application availability becomes more of a grey area with either maybe or maybe not having alternatives currently available that the others offer. By and large those difference are of normal PC functions and tools. If those are important then pandora /pyra is the better choice.

Gaming centric would in my opinion would be better served with shield. And instead of the yinlips, I would rather suggest the much i5 as it seems to be a good all around and pocketable android player with great controls, battery life, and 3g modem to boot at around $200.

 

[Jumpman]

I own the Shield and Pandora, and I use my Pandora way more, but the Shield is a very good alternative. I have never owned any Yinlips devices, but they seem OK, if you want cheap and not much long term support. A shield can be had for slightly more, and offers 100% more in almost every possible way, shape and form.

The Pandora is the "Ultimate" emulation device, and although the Shield has more raw power, the Pandora has the better overall design and form factor. Due to having an actual keyboard, the Pandora can do many things better than many devices on the market. But, If your not looking to emulate computer games that require the KB, or other "office" type apps, then the Shield would probably be a better buy. The KB can be a waste of space and time, if you never have a need for it.

All 3 devices meet particular wants and needs, and depending on how much you want to spend, anyone of them can be a good buy. Just do your research, and you should come to the proper conclusion.

Chris

 

[_wb_]

Android also offers homebrew, its not an exclusive to the Pandora, and even some of the same ported commercial that exist on Pandora also exist in android. I would go as far as to say the majority of the million apps in its catalog are homebrew, there is also commercial software interweaved. Pandora is 100% homebrew, where android is maybe 95% if I had to take a guess but the quantity makes up for the percentage. Also in both systems catalogs exist some crap apps with real gems intertwined. For me the keyboard, the pocket mobility, the ability to develop on the go, max potential storage, and the user interface are the main differences. Application availability becomes more of a grey area with either maybe or maybe not having alternatives currently available that the others offer. By and large those difference are of normal PC functions and tools. If those are important then pandora /pyra is the better choice. Gaming centric would in my opinion would be better served with shield. And instead of the yinlips, I would rather suggest the much i5 as it seems to be a good all around and pocketable android player with great controls, battery life, and 3g modem to boot at around $200.

Of course Android has way more homebrew apps than what is on the Pandora repo. But Pandora can run Android. When I'm talking about Pandora homebrew, I'm talking about Pandora-specific homebrew, i.e. games and applications that take advantage of the specific features of the Pandora. Most Android games aren't even made with physical game controls in mind at all.

 

[SNESFAN]

That's true, most have to use touchscreen or a mapper, but last I counted there was at least 200 games that have been confirmed to work with hardware controls on the shield. There was a list with the xperia play that included 500 games last I checked. That is a problem with android market, there isn't a flag in applications that identifies which control scheme it uses, it ends up being community lists and trail and error.

 

[Jumpman]

Sadly, as awesome as I think the Shield is, it's greatest strength is in it's physical controls, and there are very few apps that use them as native options. For as many controllers that are available on the market, I would think Android would have a better standard in place for games to have physical control options. The Shield does have the game mapper which is great, but when games can't get rid of those on screen buttons, what's the point?

Chris

 

[Klumpen]

Having both the Nvidia Shield and Pandora, I prefer the Pandora. The Shield is a beast when it comes to raw power and has a very high build quality, but something about it just doesn't add up to the Pandora... Can't quite put my finger on it. Could be the Android OS but not sure. It really is up to you and your preferences though.

Storage handling/extension, file management, community support, desktop applications, portability?

 

[rohezal]

When I travel I take my Pandora instead of my laptop with me. I can play lots of games, write office documents and listen to music in a zip file without extracting it. I can put stuff on an usb pendrive and put it into a pc and vice versa. Very useful. The Pandora is a great working swiss army knife. The Shield is a stronger game console. 

I bought the pandora for gaming after the caanoo. I keep it for this and it other features.

 

[WizardStan]

When I travel I take my Pandora instead of my laptop with me.

Unless I expect to be doing something while I'm away that is better suited to a full size screen, me too. Even visiting in-laws for a week, the laptop stays at home now. In the early days I couldn't have said this, but with all the PNDs available now my Pandora is sufficiently useful at most things.

 

[edgex004]

When I travel I take my Pandora instead of my laptop with me.

Unless I expect to be doing something while I'm away that is better suited to a full size screen, me too. Even visiting in-laws for a week, the laptop stays at home now. In the early days I couldn't have said this, but with all the PNDs available now my Pandora is sufficiently useful at most things.

I completely agree. I used to bring my laptop everywhere I went. Now I just bring the Pandora.

 

[ekianjo]

When I travel I take my Pandora instead of my laptop with me.

Unless I expect to be doing something while I'm away that is better suited to a full size screen, me too. Even visiting in-laws for a week, the laptop stays at home now. In the early days I couldn't have said this, but with all the PNDs available now my Pandora is sufficiently useful at most things.

Same here. I never bring my laptop or netbook with me when I travel anymore. That saves some weight (more than a kg at least) on my back too. 

 

[edgex004]

When I travel I take my Pandora instead of my laptop with me.

Unless I expect to be doing something while I'm away that is better suited to a full size screen, me too. Even visiting in-laws for a week, the laptop stays at home now. In the early days I couldn't have said this, but with all the PNDs available now my Pandora is sufficiently useful at most things.

Same here. I never bring my laptop or netbook with me when I travel anymore. That saves some weight (more than a kg at least) on my back too.

I bike comute 20 miles minimum every day. That extra kg or more means a whole lot to me.

 

[Hồng Thất Công]

Meh, I commute 2hrs each way a day. That extra kg of mine means more than yours