Pandora = Zaurus ?

[puckman]

I'm into mini computers, the smaller the better, so been using a Sharp Zaurus for some time but using expansion cards to add wifi etc plus the limited battery life compared to the Pandora I'm tempted to buy one.

Question now. Is the Pandora a games machine that happens to run Linux or is it a Linux mini laptop, like the Zaurus, that happens to do gaming well? I'm sure I would install some emulators on it but the main function would be email and chat on my person. (I hate my data in the cloud, much rather have it on me).

Spec wise it looks like the the Pandora is a Zaurus done well with gaming added for good measure.

Help!

 

[OrR]

It is both. In fact, it is everything! (Except a phone.)

 

[mali]

It is both. In fact, it is everything! (Except a phone.)

I fully agree with this.

 

[craigix]

It's a coincidence but yes, it's like a Zarus but much more powerful and you get free game controls thrown in.

 

[neko]

Sharp has largely replaced the Zaurus with the Netwalker. It's a little bigger than the Pandora, and not aimed at gamers.

 

[DaMummy]

the pandora is god, preorder NOW!

 

[WizardStan]

Is the Pandora a games machine that happens to run Linux or is it a Linux mini laptop, like the Zaurus, that happens to do gaming well?

Yes, it is one of these two things.

 

[vampire8bit]

It's a coincidence but yes, it's like a Zarus but much more powerful and you get free game controls thrown in.

I thought it was a handheld gaming console with a free keyboard.

 

[Consequence_9]

The beauty of it is that it is whatever you want it to be =]

 

[mali]

I thought it was a handheld gaming console with a free keyboard.

It depends on the angle you look at it

 

[Polossatik]

Sharp has largely replaced the Zaurus with the Netwalker. It's a little bigger than the Pandora, and not aimed at gamers.

and about 500 - 600 usd if i'm right.

 

[Vitel]

Pandora = Zaurus ? I'm looking to replace my Zaurus c3200, is the Pandora it?

I hope it is, because I ordered Pandora with the same purpose - to replace my obsolete Zaurus C1000.
Pandora is much better in general. Well, yes, it's not a transformer, but I don't really use my Z. in this mode.
The gamepad controls is a cool addition IMHO. It gives us nice arrow keys + mouse pointer/scroller (sometimes touchscreen is not the most comfortable way to click on a button). The shoulder buttons gonna be a great solution for Fn + Shift keys (I use these keys very often).

I agree that it's probably not a perfect replacement, but what else do we have? All the other companies make crappy sliders like N900 with ugly 3-row keyboard and tiny screen.

Sharp has largely replaced the Zaurus with the Netwalker. It's a little bigger than the Pandora, and not aimed at gamers.

No way. It won't fit in my pocket. Size is a matter of centimeters. Pandora fits, but make your device just 2 cm wider and it won't.
Moreover, Netwalker's keyboard is a crappy thing. Developers don't really use their creatures and don't understand that this stuff is not useful neither for two thumbs typing nor for hand typing.

So if you want a powerful pocket-size PDA which does more than just web browsing, then Pandora is for you.

 

[WoD]

Sheesh. I wish I'd had a Zaurus C1000 to replace. That's one awesomely geektastic ship that sailed long before I knew it existed.

The Pandora is a clear and capable Zaurus C1000 replacement. I'm glad it's not a "transformer" as I absolutely love a device with an decently raised screen- ala N810 with stand, HTC Kaiser/TTyN2 and, of course, the Pandora. The N900, which is also a potential Zaurus C1000 replacement, doesn't have the luxury of gaming controls or a decent way to tilt the screen to a usable angle.

 

[zevdawg]

It is both. In fact, it is everything! (Except a phone.)

I fully agree with this.

Somewhat disagree with the phone bit.

USB modem is to Laptop
Is what modem could do for Pandora?

It's possible.

The beauty of it is that it is whatever you want it to be =]

I concur.

 

[pelrun]

I'm a C3100 user (and a C860 before that), and I jumped right on the Pandora bandwagon as soon as preorders started. Oh, the joy of a fast cpu, fast screen and no annoying sticky-outie wifi card!

 

[second exodous]

Wow, that Netwalker is pretty cool. It's still a bit big, if it was the size of the Pandora and I found out I don't game on my Pandora much I might get it. The analog sticks of the Pandora might be the deal breaker for me, one to mouse with and one to scroll might be the best way to compute on a screen this size. Also, right and left shoulder buttons as right and left click might be ideal.

EDIT: Wow, a 30 minute video on the Netwalker. It will take a while to load.

 

[Vitel]

Sheesh. I wish I'd had a Zaurus C1000 to replace.

Z. is very cool device, excellent build quality, but almost useless today. Not because of slow CPU, but because there's no proper kernel for Z. The latest versions are useless, because PM driver is broken. The previous versions are useless, because of touchscreen issues. The 2.4 versions are useless because of crappy SD cards support. So it's a dead device.

 

[ThaDSman]

Whoah,whoah,whoah... Whoah! Why can this low spec'd 4 year old machine run DS emu no$gba with ease?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOtAg1Z0CRw


EDIT: Okay nevermind, I'm retarded, it was running via tightvnc...

 

[WarmFluffyUK]

Couldn't the Pandora become a phone using VOIP over wifi?

 

[zevdawg]

Couldn't the Pandora become a phone using VOIP over wifi?

Easily, someone just needs to port a Skype client (or something) over to it. I was thinking cellphone USB modem cause' a post below OP was asking about using it as a phone (most if not all cell modems are dual purpose for providing calls, sms, and data to device). But it could work both ways (skype would actually be easier, counting you're within the radius of an AP... otherwise a USB modem would work for on the road access).

Pandora ≠ Zaurus
Pandora ± Zaurus (it depends what you want to do with either, so with due respect, this is neutral) IMO though Pandora has a lot of potential here.