Thank you all. This is great to have this feedback from the community. Maybe we can stir these ideas into something Openpandora can use down the road.
Problem is that such (or very similar) devices are available for $85. We have no hope competing with such pricing. Openpandora must stay in its niche to be profitable. From there, the niche can be expanded.
I agree with you but I also have to add that niche products have a tougher time after their markets are either saturated or their inhabitants have moved on to something else. Unfortunately, what has happened to the Pandora community since it was first developed is a lot of the same faces have stuck around while many of the, maybe not so devoted, have moved on with only some being replaced by new people. With production starting soon again we should see another influx, but beyond those I have my doubts that many outsiders will look at the Pandora as a purchase they need today when on the horizon there are other options like the Vita, Smartphones, and iPad 3's. Sure, nothing is like the Pandora, and that is a good thing but it also makes it appealing only to those here or within earshot.
Many of the comments on the news sites are, when you take into account the misinformed and the usual haters, people who look at the Pandora and say, "well, my such and such can do that for the same price or cheaper". They don't understand it to be honest and even with another round of Pandora videos uploaded to youtube praising its uniqueness, they will probably never give it the time it deserves. Now in comparison to the ICP, sales for Pandoras will be decent eventually but probably not spectacular, even when availability becomes a non-issue. Price and specs will decide how many they sell. Many don't want anything but the Pandora which is fine, but many more might like a cheaper alternative in a more familiar form factor. I believe the public would be intrigued by what I thought up. With the designs inherent inexpensiveness and the iControlpads popularity, this could lead to some real success, in my opinion of course.
I'd love to see an alternate version of the Pandora very close to what you've specified. And Binky is probably right with this form factor being a tough sell. After all the Vita pretty much ticks most of those boxes, and when it gets rooted it'll be a pretty nifty little emulation device.
Actually, the slate or ovalish design is extremely popular. Just take a look at all the handhelds ever produced. In reference to the Vita, it's true that is a beautiful piece of gaming art, but sadly it's using notoriously inflexible firmware preventing any kind of side loaded emulation. Don't get me wrong, SNES would be a joy on Sony's next handheld, but that seems a long way from happening. This is where the Pandora Slim fits in.
Six buttons adds a lot of width, which Pandora's design has been very shy about pushing (I remember ED commenting that the original PSP was unacceptably wide). When pushing back against that it's also a bad idea to shave off margin on the edge, something which a lot of handhelds have seem to have done (Wiz for instance) and which I find makes it a lot less comfortable to hold.
With six buttons on one side in a two column arrangement, we could still maintain the
narrowness.
Also, i've owned a PSP and it was hardly unwieldy to play with. I've also owned a Pandora and while it reduced width, it increased depth and thickness not to mention weight. One of the densest gadgets i've ever owned. Almost like a kettlebell with a screen that plays Q-bert.
It seems that you might be looking for a different device entirely.
I think most would agree that when you remove particular features, it ceases to really be a Pandora. The device has sold, to date, precisely because it is not the same as the "mass market" items out there, and thus offers what a smaller number of users have been completely unable to buy elsewhere. On the other hand, there seems to be no shortage of devices in the vein that you suggest.
Moreover, and please do pardon my saying this, but your entire posting history consists of slightly rejigged repostings of this very idea. I get that this is what you're after, but I'm not sure that posting the same thing three times, to date, is as productive as looking at the many PSP-styled Android devices that already exist, to see if there's already one that will suit your requirements.
There is no shortage of Cannoo, Dingoo, and JXDxxx devices for sale, but none of them are mini-computers like the Pandora. I'm not suggesting the Pandora be replaced entirely, but from a business view, it will always be a device with modest sales. That's where a third product like I suggested could come into play, so to speak.
As for my posting history, in that other thread I only stated once the specs i'd like to see for a Pandora 2 and then responded to someone with a second post. By my count that brings me to just two posts with one being the original and one being the reply. I then created this thread because I liked my ideas and thought they could generate some feedback in a post on their own rather than being buried in that thread. I further added my thoughts on the external plug-in keyboard which I didn't think of until later. I'm sorry but my suggestions were my small way of offering something to Openpandora's success.
Furthermore and pardon me for saying this, but weren't you the one who posted the same exact thing half a dozen times on gp32x about how you dreamed The Misadventures of Tron Bonne would finally be emulated correctly on the Pandora. I thought you were related to Mel Tillis for awhile there.
