Please Delete:Radical Hardware Idea for Pandora 2(Outdated 2/22/2012)


So, instead of having the buttons on the slate.... put them on the wand.... and then what we have is almost exactly the device we have now except now with a detacheable screen!


Hmmm...
 
What might do it for me is if you managed to fit a second nub in there.


And, importantly, that the slate can clip onto the 'wand' ala clamshell to protect both the screen/buttons and the wand's keyboard. (with this in mind, you could make the keyboard larger, or add more keys as the 'wand' would now have to be large enough to cover the whole slate).


If you also managed to have a hinge where the wand is affixed to the bottom edge of the Pandora Slate (so you can use it in any angle), then you get my vote. :)

I would like a second nub added to the "Wand" keyboard if there is space for it. This could be doable if the keyboard keys were smaller, then you can add all kinds of niceties to it without making it too large.

Problem with putting game controls next to the screen is size. The current Pandora shape could fit a 5" screen in the lid. putting the game controls next to the screen either means bigger device, or smaller screen.

Yes, that's accurate to an extent. The Pandora Slate would need to be stretched a little horizontally to fit the controls on both sides of the screen, but the big plus is the depth and the thickness of it has now decreased noticeably especially with the care taken in engineering it to have minimal bezel above and below the display while also rejecting the rounded sides that Sony's handhelds all have. The Pandora clamshell will allow a bigger screen but the trade off is all the extra material that is required for that complicated form ie: the hinge, front and back screen plastics, etc...


The slate would still be comparatively compact and easier to hold without discarding the Pandora's infinite coolness. :)
 
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The slate would still be comparatively compact and easier to hold without discarding the Pandora's infinite coolness. :)

How complex do WHDI receivers need to be?


I can imagine a Pandora slate containing a WHDI receiver circuit, a screen, battery, and Bluetooth for touchscreen and game controls. all processing etc could be done on the main part of the device which would either be in your bag/pocket, or attached to the slate portion.
 
The slate would still be comparatively compact and easier to hold without discarding the Pandora's infinite coolness. :)

How complex do WHDI receivers need to be?


I can imagine a Pandora slate containing a WHDI receiver circuit, a screen, battery, and Bluetooth for touchscreen and game controls. all processing etc could be done on the main part of the device which would either be in your bag/pocket, or attached to the slate portion.
I'm really not sure but in the WHDI CES video on Engadget, the chip was pretty minute for a first generation chip. In three years time, it should be even smaller. Imagine streaming a game or a video without lag or cables. My room would no longer look like a Borg hive. :lol:
 
Nevertheless...


Pandora Slate Final Version 2.0(mild changes from V1.0):


1. Slate form with rounded top edge corners(think SNES controller) and a more rectangular shape down the sides to the bottom.


2. 4.3"-4.5" Resistive Touchscreen.


***Minimal bezel above and below screen to reduce footprint for achieving pocketablity.


3. Left Side: one D-pad and one Nub above it. Start and select below the D-pad. Right Side: Four face buttons in cross formation(like the Pandoras) then two additional face buttons(labeled 1 and 2) directly above them adjacent to each other.


Proper left and right shoulder triggers along top edge for comfortable finger positioning(SNES pad-like). Pandora menu/power button along top edge(press to use/hold to power on/off).


***Optimal Nub location for simulated mouse web browsing. Face buttons 1 and 2 could function as left and right mouse click when not used for gaming.


3. Optional plug-in bluetooth "Wand" backlit keyboard(three rows with number keys positioned to the right like a traditional numberpad) that can be affixed to the bottom edge of the Pandora Slate for handy non-touchscreen text input.


***Keyboard when attached will serve dual use as a stand on a flat surface.


4. Stylus chute and battery will share the same compartment space.


***Downward angled hole added to the stylus slot's outer entry will allow the pen to be used as a simple kickstand if BT keyboard isn't attached.


5. Android/Ångström dual boot if practicable.


6. SDXC slot, microSDXC in battery compartment for multi OS boot(thanks DaMummy), one USB 2.0, one Headphone/Mic, HDMI or the promising new tech WHDI(when the chip ultimately shrinks enough to fit).

Nope. I wouldn't buy it. Built that way it's a Frankenputer with spare parts to haul around and loose. The screen, d-pad and nubs will be exposed to pocket wear and impact damage every time I go through a subway turnstile. No thanks.


Keep the clam shell design.


Keep the keyboard, nubs and D-pad controls just as they are.


Put in the biggest screen that will fit in the lid. My ruler says a 5" screen might fit. Pixel Qi would be awesome. Or a 720p screen?


Downsize or move the on-board speakers to allow for that. If I'm listening to audio, I'm using headphones anyway.


Put a 2nd audio jack off the right side around the corner from the volume knob so I can listen to music with the device in my pocket.


Soup up the hardware on the SD slots so that they can handle double the speed of the new 400x SDXC cards coming on market.


USB 3.0 host & OTG.


HDMI output with 1080p possible - skip the custom video cable completely.


Thinner would be good - though after having mine apart to change the video cable - I'm not sure how that would be possible.


At least a dual core, preferably quad core ARM CPU and 1GB RAM.


Put in a 3rd internal (behind the battery) super high speed SDXC slot to run the OS from - then remove/delete the NAND.


Get rid of the two plastic flap shoulder buttons and put in four regular (like right side D-pad) buttons in indents like the front SD & controls are.


Maybe make nubs connect via sockets instead of directly soldered on?


Release it sometime in mid to late 2013 or early 2014?


But - all that aside - keep the clam shell, physical keyboard & controls & screen layout the same as the existing Pandora.
 
Put a 2nd audio jack off the right side around the corner from the volume knob so I can listen to music with the device in my pocket.
2 audio jacks? Trying to get some surround action going on your handheld? :p

HDMI output with 1080p possible - skip the custom video cable completely.
The problem is, the ext port is not just a video cable. There are GPIO pins and some other stuff on there as well.

Thinner would be good - though after having mine apart to change the video cable - I'm not sure how that would be possible.
Jamming in a ton of new features while reducing the size is indeed a bit unlikely.

Get rid of the two plastic flap shoulder buttons and put in four regular (like right side D-pad) buttons in indents like the front SD & controls are.
A bit unusual, but an interesting idea.
 
Nope. I wouldn't buy it. Built that way it's a Frankenputer with spare parts to haul around and loose. The screen, d-pad and nubs will be exposed to pocket wear and impact damage every time I go through a subway turnstile. No thanks.
Only the BT Wand keyboard is separate from the Pandora Slate(if it's been unmounted). A protective sleeve/case would solve your destructive encounter with an aggressive turnstile. I'm sure you already use a case for the Pandora on your subway commute.

Keep the clam shell design.


Keep the keyboard, nubs and D-pad controls just as they are.


Put in the biggest screen that will fit in the lid. My ruler says a 5" screen might fit. Pixel Qi would be awesome. Or a 720p screen?


Downsize or move the on-board speakers to allow for that. If I'm listening to audio, I'm using headphones anyway.


Put a 2nd audio jack off the right side around the corner from the volume knob so I can listen to music with the device in my pocket.


Soup up the hardware on the SD slots so that they can handle double the speed of the new 400x SDXC cards coming on market.


USB 3.0 host & OTG.


HDMI output with 1080p possible - skip the custom video cable completely.


Thinner would be good - though after having mine apart to change the video cable - I'm not sure how that would be possible.


At least a dual core, preferably quad core ARM CPU and 1GB RAM.


Put in a 3rd internal (behind the battery) super high speed SDXC slot to run the OS from - then remove/delete the NAND.


Get rid of the two plastic flap shoulder buttons and put in four regular (like right side D-pad) buttons in indents like the front SD & controls are.


Maybe make nubs connect via sockets instead of directly soldered on?


Release it sometime in mid to late 2013 or early 2014?


But - all that aside - keep the clam shell, physical keyboard & controls & screen layout the same as the existing Pandora.
Frankenputer indeed. You've turned a handheld into a desktop in the guise of a brick. The price to the consumer and component parts has also bloated beyond being what's reasonably necessary for most uses and users. :huh:
 
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I'll just drop this off here.


23655.strip.zoom.gif
 
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Keep the clam shell design.


Keep the keyboard, nubs and D-pad controls just as they are.


Put in the biggest screen that will fit in the lid. My ruler says a 5" screen might fit. Pixel Qi would be awesome. Or a 720p screen?


Downsize or move the on-board speakers to allow for that. If I'm listening to audio, I'm using headphones anyway.


Put a 2nd audio jack off the right side around the corner from the volume knob so I can listen to music with the device in my pocket.


Soup up the hardware on the SD slots so that they can handle double the speed of the new 400x SDXC cards coming on market.


USB 3.0 host & OTG.


HDMI output with 1080p possible - skip the custom video cable completely.


Thinner would be good - though after having mine apart to change the video cable - I'm not sure how that would be possible.


At least a dual core, preferably quad core ARM CPU and 1GB RAM.


Put in a 3rd internal (behind the battery) super high speed SDXC slot to run the OS from - then remove/delete the NAND.


Get rid of the two plastic flap shoulder buttons and put in four regular (like right side D-pad) buttons in indents like the front SD & controls are.


Maybe make nubs connect via sockets instead of directly soldered on?


Release it sometime in mid to late 2013 or early 2014?


But - all that aside - keep the clam shell, physical keyboard & controls & screen layout the same as the existing Pandora.
Frankenputer indeed. You've turned a handheld into a desktop in the guise of a brick. The price to the consumer and component parts has also bloated beyond being what's reasonably necessary for most uses and users. :huh:

Wait, Pandora is supposed to do desktop stuff, if you want a game handheld, get one.


What grench is saying seems to be mostly good ideas, and mostly practical.


Add an external GPIO interface to that mix and I would definitely buy it!
 
Keep the clam shell design.


Keep the keyboard, nubs and D-pad controls just as they are.


Put in the biggest screen that will fit in the lid. My ruler says a 5" screen might fit. Pixel Qi would be awesome. Or a 720p screen?


Downsize or move the on-board speakers to allow for that. If I'm listening to audio, I'm using headphones anyway.


Put a 2nd audio jack off the right side around the corner from the volume knob so I can listen to music with the device in my pocket.


Soup up the hardware on the SD slots so that they can handle double the speed of the new 400x SDXC cards coming on market.


USB 3.0 host & OTG.


HDMI output with 1080p possible - skip the custom video cable completely.


Thinner would be good - though after having mine apart to change the video cable - I'm not sure how that would be possible.


At least a dual core, preferably quad core ARM CPU and 1GB RAM.


Put in a 3rd internal (behind the battery) super high speed SDXC slot to run the OS from - then remove/delete the NAND.


Get rid of the two plastic flap shoulder buttons and put in four regular (like right side D-pad) buttons in indents like the front SD & controls are.


Maybe make nubs connect via sockets instead of directly soldered on?


Release it sometime in mid to late 2013 or early 2014?


But - all that aside - keep the clam shell, physical keyboard & controls & screen layout the same as the existing Pandora.
Frankenputer indeed. You've turned a handheld into a desktop in the guise of a brick. The price to the consumer and component parts has also bloated beyond being what's reasonably necessary for most uses and users. :huh:

Wait, Pandora is supposed to do desktop stuff, if you want a game handheld, get one.


What grench is saying seems to be mostly good ideas, and mostly practical.


Add an external GPIO interface to that mix and I would definitely buy it!
Out of all that, what do you consider to be the beginning of the impractical ideas?


Why not add 2GB of RAM? If it's a "portable" desktop, it would need to handle H.264 10bit encoding and contemporary games, so even 2GB of RAM is insufficient. Might need to add at least 4GB. What about a full 1080p OLED? You can always bump up the font size, and movie watching and Netflix streaming would be amazing on the go. Smartphones have those displays so why not the Pandora 2? One USB 3.0 is okay and we certainly need the speed. A second one could be fit somewhere no doubt. No more USB hub. The Pandora's speakers are good but how about adding some Beats audio in there. The Vita has a touchpad in back. The Pandora's battery cover could be modified to be one when the front controls become a nuisance or unworkable. 400x SDXC? Why not 600x SDXC?


See what I mean? :(
 
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I'd put he beginning of impracticality at "Out of all that, what do you consider to be the beginning of the impractical ideas?" :p


Although everything there would be the right direction. Price could be a problem though


<rant>


Why would anyone want 'beats audio"? The P1 has real sound quality, thus no need for propriety &%"#. Especially when said propriety &%"# is just a 'bass boost' button for smartphones!


</rant>
 
&lt;rant&gt;


Why would anyone want 'beats audio&quot;? The P1 has real sound quality, thus no need for propriety &amp;%&quot;#. Especially when said propriety &amp;%&quot;# is just a 'bass boost' button for smartphones!


&lt;/rant&gt;

I've never agreed with anything more. Beats, anything related to it, and anyone using products branded with the "Beats" brand should be eradicated from this planet. They built a brand around bass boosting already bass boosted shitty bass filled music. Argh! Beats laptops...Agh!!!!!
 
&lt;rant&gt;


Why would anyone want 'beats audio&quot;? The P1 has real sound quality, thus no need for propriety &amp;%&quot;#. Especially when said propriety &amp;%&quot;# is just a 'bass boost' button for smartphones!


&lt;/rant&gt;

I've never agreed with anything more. Beats, anything related to it, and anyone using products branded with the "Beats" brand should be eradicated from this planet. They built a brand around bass boosting already bass boosted shitty bass filled music. Argh! Beats laptops...Agh!!!!!

Yes, I agree with both thoughts. The intent was only to show that adding feature X through feature Z would substantially increase the costs of the Pandora 2's parts(if OP can even source them), and balloon the size and weight of it, theoretically, too much. Imagine the P2 a centimeter or so more in one or two dimensions and over a pound in weight. Also, envision paying $100+ extra at least for the privilege of developing carpal tunnel syndrome by encroaching into Flipstart territory. :wacko:
 
Pandora is an mini laptop and clamshell suits it better,always remember this is portable computer not just gaming system.


Having 6 buttons and 4 shoulders is an good idea plus having hd screen will be awesome,i was thinking if the screen is hd,why don't get hd emulators that will be brilliant and what about 3d graphics with googles or without having both worlds will be great, i will want to see these things in pandora 2:


Cpu:1500-2000ghz processor


Ram:2-4gb


Hdd: internal memory should at least be between 32-128gb


Audio: any good one will do just similar to one p1


Video:already had power vr something higher than this will do or similar one like radeon x1550 quality.


memory card slots: already have 2 can do bit more and must accept all memory cards


Usb port: high speed 2.0 and must have least 2 or more ports


Screen size: 5" we say maybe at max 5.5-5.8 size will do,in my opinion for a computer 5" is small.


Hd: if we can get bigger size than 5" we can get 1080i hd screen,i don't really want 720p that's bit old now.


edit: We should have all best of everything p2 to be this the ultimate portable computer and smallest th world will see and if this has really good hardware most people will quit buying bulky laptop if pandora 2 has the real power in little system.
 
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Screen size: 5" we say maybe at max 5.5-5.8 size will do,in my opinion for a computer 5" is small.


Hd: if we can get bigger size than 5" we can get 1080i hd screen,i don't really want 720p that's bit old now.
5 in sounds good to me. think of the galaxy notes in a clamshell with keyboard and gaming controls.
 
Pandora is an mini laptop and clamshell suits it better,always remember this is portable computer not just gaming system.


Having 6 buttons and 4 shoulders is an good idea plus having hd screen will be awesome,i was thinking if the screen is hd,why don't get hd emulators that will be brilliant and what about 3d graphics with googles or without having both worlds will be great, i will want to see these things in pandora 2:


Cpu:1500-2000ghz processor


Ram:2-4gb


Hdd: internal memory should at least be between 32-128gb


Audio: any good one will do just similar to one p1


Video:already had power vr something higher than this will do or similar one like radeon x1550 quality.


memory card slots: already have 2 can do bit more and must accept all memory cards


Usb port: high speed 2.0 and must have least 2 or more ports


Screen size: 5" we say maybe at max 5.5-5.8 size will do,in my opinion for a computer 5" is small.


Hd: if we can get bigger size than 5" we can get 1080i hd screen,i don't really want 720p that's bit old now.


edit: We should have all best of everything p2 to be this the ultimate portable computer and smallest th world will see and if this has really good hardware most people will quit buying bulky laptop if pandora 2 has the real power in little system.
Screen size: 5" we say maybe at max 5.5-5.8 size will do,in my opinion for a computer 5" is small.


Hd: if we can get bigger size than 5" we can get 1080i hd screen,i don't really want 720p that's bit old now.
5 in sounds good to me. think of the galaxy notes in a clamshell with keyboard and gaming controls.
A bigger screen and better specs are always preferable even with the increased battery usage that results from incorporating them, but the inescapable downside is that the rest of the "mobile" handheld has to be made larger and heavier and pricier if you add too much.


That's why my frequently refined slate design on the first page seems personally the better alternative option; it reduces sourcing/manufacturing costs(conceivably significantly) by employing many of the same components that Openpandora has been working with already, and it decreases weight through the form used by being compact enough to really fit in a regular sized pocket, without sacrificing much of anything that a Pandora 1 has.


To keep everyone happy though, both Pandora products, along with the ICP and the upcoming "Product 3", could be sold concurrently to match each buyer's personal needs. :)
 
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seriously don't want big internal disk.


perhaps double the amount of space needed for a 2015 mobile OS, the 2 SDXC slots
 
In my opinion the original Pandora design is still good, surely it needs some changes but I don't think a PSP-like P2 would be good. I really like the concept thread made by Binky, if the Team will make something like that my only hope is that the top 5 features voted in the poll will still exist in Pandora 2 :)
 
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I am warming to the idea of a bigger LCD, maybe the one we have already sampled, the 256k colour one - this one might be the same as the one in the Note, but I'm not sure. If it isn't the one in the Note will be come available cheaply pretty soon.


Anyhow, all this requires a total case redesign. This means MEGA MONEY again. There is no way to modify the current case, we looked at this about 6 months ago when we sampled the bigger LCD. The whole case must be redesigned.


However, we pretty much know how to get it done right this time, so there is that advantage.


Anyhow, for any of this to happen, the following things need to happen:


At least 4000 new Pandora consoles must be sold for $500 each (Or more ideally), you have to be willing to pay at least $500 for the Pandora2 and you all have to be prepared to publicise the hell out of a Kickstarter campaign if we decide to go that route.


We won't start the Kickstarter (or indiegogo) until we have a working demo unit, with a finished case and PCB.


In order to have a working demo unit we need to pay for the new case.


That, I'd estimate, would be at least $65,000. We save a little tiny bit of cash because we can re-use the Dpad & ABXY buttons. We might also be able to use the current nubs and light pipes.


But the rest needs to be redone, including the keymat. We know how long things take and ideally we should go live when we know lead times and we know all we have to do is build and ship.


While a few months ago every sensible part of my brain was telling me a Pandora2 was a bad idea (just stick to the iCP and make money you fool!) I now think we should give it a go, try it again, use what we have learned and make it something really impressive.


It has to be that, it has to sell tens of thousands of units, because if it isn't that then I can't see the project surviving beyond it.


The overall idea we have for the Pandora2 is revolutionary and something very special, I really want it to work out because I think it could change the market if it's a success.
 
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