Well, as Skeletor, I doubt there is any fear you would.. die before you get it, eh?
Preparing for Germany (2011-08-26)
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Blue Protoman
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DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMN
dreamer
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In 6 moths maybe we'll be in the middle of Batch-2 production.
If this is successful there will probably be a Batch-3 (I hope), which maybe will have the minor revisions discussed before.
An actual 'upgrade' aka Pandora-2 won't be here until 2+ years from now is my guess.
But .. lets focus on finishing Batch-1 first :wacko:
WizardStan
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If they make a 1.5 it won't be until after ALL current orders (and a sufficient number of orders that have yet to be made) have been shipped, and even then they might still stick with the same CPU, and if they do decide to try an upgrade it'll be a few months at least in order to get production back up.
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Exophase
Nothing good will ever come of Exophase.
Or it could do nothing, you don't really know.
In my opinion a slightly faster CPU wouldn't produce as much interest in the Pandora as the news that all the preorders have been finally shipped. Make people happy by finishing batches 1, 2 and maybe 3 and after that think about a redesign with better parts and market it as Pandora 2. One step after the other.
I'm sure there are many interested people like me out there who are just waiting for news like that to convince themselves to order a Pandora.
In the end it's the software (especially games, since it's primarily a gaming device) that will sell the Pandora, anyway, and the current specs are sufficient for now and a few years from now on.
BTW: Good luck with the german company!
I'm sure there are many interested people like me out there who are just waiting for news like that to convince themselves to order a Pandora.
In the end it's the software (especially games, since it's primarily a gaming device) that will sell the Pandora, anyway, and the current specs are sufficient for now and a few years from now on.
BTW: Good luck with the german company!
Wrath Of Khan
Soul soother...
I really hope this is the last hurdle for the pandora.A constant supply of pandoras is needed.This german company should know their shit.Fingers crossed.
Coldbird
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Amen.
dtho2312
Still Fresh
That's why we're also doing another preorder soon - one where you don't need to pay upfront.
Therefore, you show that you want a Pandora but don't want to pay before it's ready.
Thorium
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I agree with you that Batch 1 and 2 should be finished as fast as possible, but i disagree that the current pandora hardware will last a few years. It's allready outdated and will lose ground fast as we see more and more powerfull handheld devices enter the market.
Games are the important stuff, yes. But the Pandora does not have any strong exclusives and will most likley never have. It's primarly for emulation and more powerfull hardware enables more games to emulate. After the current batches are finished they should develop the Pandora 2 as fast as possible to be competitive. Hardware wise the only thing going for the pandora are currently the gaming controls. They are the reason i still want a Pandora.
Invader Amoto
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As far as the hardware being outdated, I agree. But that's only if you're comparing it to modern smartphones, netbooks, and tablets. Obviously the Pandora has features that those don't (the most important, in my opinion, is the full set of gaming controls and keyboard, others include the fully open OS, the strong community backing, etc). If the Pandora can do what you want (as far as software goes), then you should get one. Otherwise, it might be better to wait until we hear more about hardware upgrades. I recently got a Samsung Galaxy S II, partially because I was getting impatient about the Pandora. This thing's hardware blows the Pandora out of the water. Dual core 1.2 Ghz Exynos CPU. No emulators (so far) have dual core support, but even without using the second core, it's a hell of a lot faster than the Pandora. I'm currently working on running Angstrom (or more likely Debian or Ubuntu with XFCE or another lightweight desktop environment) on it, and I expect it to run pretty well, since the Mali-400 GPU that it has comes with fully open source X11 drivers.
In short, the Pandora's hardware is outdated in terms of modern devices. But it's a niche device. If it can do what you want, then get one!
In short, the Pandora's hardware is outdated in terms of modern devices. But it's a niche device. If it can do what you want, then get one!
Thorium
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The Pandora has serious competition. 2012 we get the PS Vita with a Cortex A9 quad core. And it's cheaper than the Pandora. Of course it's closed and it does not have a keyboard.
The Pandora was advertised as the most powerfull gaming handheld and thats just no longer true. I know it's not the fault of the team, they had many unforeseen problems. But that doesnt change the truth. I dont see the Pandora 1 selling for that price for some years. Many people will take a compromise and go with the cheaper more powerfull device they can play some games on they cant on the pandora but dont get some of the features.
I believe the Pandora isnt such a nice product. Retro gaming is huge and still growing. It's not as mainstream as the DS or PSP but i am sure more powerfull hardware will sell much better.
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Invader Amoto
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Of course the Vita will sell more. The Pandora is a niche device. In order to get the Vita to run emulators and other such things, you will need to do stuff that Sony doesn't want you to, break your warranty, and hope that Sony doesn't release updates that break what you did, or worse, brick the device. If you want an open device where emulation is not only allowed, but encouraged, you probably shouldn't expect the Vita to fill that role. Comparing the hardware of the Pandora to the Vita is fine, but it doesn't really matter in the end. What matters is if the device does what you want it to.
EDIT: It is worth mentioning that I believe that smart phones are actually bigger competitors to the Pandora, partially thanks to the iControlPad. My stock Samsung Galaxy S II, with no mods, no root access, and no broken warranty, is running the emulators that I want, and doing so just as well as, and in many cases better than the Pandora. (I still haven't looked around enough to get a free, working N64 and a free, working PSX emulator for it, but I have everything else I want. If anyone knows of any, let me know!)
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To be honest, I would preorder the Pandora right away even with payment upfront, if only I could be sure that I will get it in a reasonable timeframe. Even without paying upfront I would think twice if I want to preorder and possibly wait years for my device. It might be that I lose interest in the Pandora and have to cancel my preorder which - as you stated - would make problems to you. The Pandora just needs a more reliable production.
Having said that, once it's possible to preorder, I will be one of the first to do so.
Thorium:
I see the Pandora less as a competitor to Sony's and Nintendo's products, but more as a great opportunity for indie game developers and hobbyists. I know little about the startings of the project, so it might be that it was primarily meant for emulation and/or was marketed as a competitor product to the commercial consoles, but if that's still the case, it would be very disappointing. The Pandora does not need to be a direct competitor, it can do very well as simply a powerful, open handheld meant for indies and hobbyists, thus filling a market niche, in my opinion, and for that the current specs are probably ok, at least for the time being.
Though I completely agree that it should evolve as soon as it's feasible. More RAM, better CPU/GPU/sound processor/etc. would be very cool.
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Blue Protoman
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I still think there should be a minimum (something low, like $50) on Batch 3, though if you'd like you could pay beyond said minimum.
WizardStan
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I agree that simply taking unpaid pre-orders might not be the best way to prove a business plan. Some small amount to at least make it a little challenging would go a long way to proving your plan to investors.
If you do take some pre-order money (and I strongly suggest you do) then there is one other thing that needs to change: refund procedure. Weeks to respond to a refund request and then weeks more for it to actually be processed should not be the norm. You will be dealing with a lot fewer refunds because it is a smaller amount and (in theory) a much, much shorter wait, but every refund that goes long and gets complained about makes your business look just a little more unprofessional in the eyes of an investor.
If you do take some pre-order money (and I strongly suggest you do) then there is one other thing that needs to change: refund procedure. Weeks to respond to a refund request and then weeks more for it to actually be processed should not be the norm. You will be dealing with a lot fewer refunds because it is a smaller amount and (in theory) a much, much shorter wait, but every refund that goes long and gets complained about makes your business look just a little more unprofessional in the eyes of an investor.
The preorder is not to make the business plan good.
The business plan is already pretty well thought and as soon as I got the money from the investors we should see a stable delivery of units 3 - 4 months later.
About the refund procedure:
I've refunded every cancellation within 7 days after getting an eMail so far.
This is for OpenPandora GmbH, and this is also the company that seeks investors and will handle the production.
The parts OpenPandora Ltd. owns as well as the paid and preordered Pandoras from OpenPandora Ltd. are part of the business plan as well, but OpenPandora Ltd. (Craigs company) still is its own company.
About a minimum preorder amount... hmm... maybe something low like 5 -10 EUR would be a good idea, to sort out orders that really are interested in it or not.
The business plan is already pretty well thought and as soon as I got the money from the investors we should see a stable delivery of units 3 - 4 months later.
About the refund procedure:
I've refunded every cancellation within 7 days after getting an eMail so far.
This is for OpenPandora GmbH, and this is also the company that seeks investors and will handle the production.
The parts OpenPandora Ltd. owns as well as the paid and preordered Pandoras from OpenPandora Ltd. are part of the business plan as well, but OpenPandora Ltd. (Craigs company) still is its own company.
About a minimum preorder amount... hmm... maybe something low like 5 -10 EUR would be a good idea, to sort out orders that really are interested in it or not.
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