Should I consider a Pandora?


M

MaterialDestructor

Guest
I am considering buying a Pandora.

Main resons being I can not find a smartphone with large keys or even a physical keyboard and I hate touch screen keyboards. When I try to use phones to play music while on the charger (if I play music on battery it dies very quickly) I get a high pitched wine in my headphones. Surfing the net on a smartphone is a pain for me (I would rather tether the 4G to a device with tactile controls). I've had people recomend me different phones but I just don't have very good luck with them I guess.

Other reasons would be that it could run on solar power (intend to get foldable solar panels in the future), can fit in my pocket (very limited space in an 18-wheeler running as a team), and it runs on a full Linux distro instead of Android so I could make some utility apps for it, and not have to deal with smartphone compatability issues, if I or somone else thinks of any (I have a limited ablity to program, first language I leared was TI-Basic but that is only useful on the calculators, I will atempt to learn C (not ++ yet, seems very confusing), also I learned ZDoom Decorate but again, a proprietery language).
 
Welcome to the boards.

Cons:

  • Not built to the same high standard as mid to high range smart phones these days.
  • Bulky compared to smartphones, Walkmans, thick wallets &c.
  • "Industrial looks" if you're being charitable, "Nintendo DS gone to seed" if you're not.
  • The nubs are rubbish. Many disagree though.
  • Slightly ageing hardware technically comparable to an iPhone 3GS. However don't dismiss it because of this; it does a lot more with what its got than most.
Pros:

  • It is an excellent music player. It will take some time to pick a player that you like as many are unpolished, but its worth it.
  • Full desktop version of Firefox, LibreOffice and many other productivity programs.
  • Possibly the best customer service you'll ever receive. I refer you to this example: http://boards.openpandora.org/topic/14275-this-girl-is-on-fire/?hl=burned/URL] which resulted in this response: http://boards.openpandora.org/topic/14275-this-girl-is-on-fire/?p=273270/URL]
  • A very lively community which belies its size.
  • Its a talking point like no smartphone ever is. Not for boasting, you understand, but for having strangers striking up conversations with you about it, which should always be welcome, so long as they aren't carrying knives.
  • The keyboard is pretty good. Could be better, but miles ahead of anything other than the Psion Series 5 in my experience.
  • The standard OS is pretty versatile. But if you want the undiluted Linux experience (not all do!) then Slackware is available.
To be honest you seem like you've already got a good idea of its strengths. Keep its weaknesses in mind too though. If you're bothered by not-quite-flush plastic casing, programs that were clearly meant to be used on a larger screen, polish in general then it may not be for you. Especially for an eye watering 500 Euros.

If none of that puts you off then it will give you a lot of pleasure. I think most of us have become indecently attached to ours. The Pandora is a laptop you fit in your pocket after all. How can it not feel special?
 
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Surfing the net on a smartphone is a pain for me
Depending on what you are actually doing, this could be a pain on the Pandora too > mind the only hacked in flash support and the limited cpu power, leading to a mediocre webvideo experience, and slowdowns if things get demanding (like flashgames, or extensive use of Html5s multimedia features).
...utility apps for it, and not have to deal with smartphone compatability issues, if I or somone else thinks of any... I will atempt to learn C
With the codeblocks build ptitseb provided, its really easy to start with C, but if you are into small utilities, maybe python would be an option too
 
I don't know how to quote individual lines so please bare with me here.

To Monty in response to Con list.

"Bulky compared to smartphones, Walkmans, thick wallets &c."

I am aware that this would be the case, but I normaly wear a vest or jacket and those have looser pockets than jeans in most cases.

"Industrial looks" if you're being charitable, "Nintendo DS gone to seed" if you're not.

Not too concerned about looks as long as it fits my intended use (I have a GCW but the music player for it crashes easily, still nice for most SNES games though.)

"The nubs are rubbish. Many disagree though."

In the truck I carry a backpack (I could fit my trackball in there if I don't like the nubs) along with a couple other medium-sized bags.

Also this:

"programs that were clearly meant to be used on a larger screen"

Most trucks can fit a SDTV somewhere in there, I intend to get the TV out cable with it.

It may be 500 euros but its close to 600 dollars for me (I understand the dollar is weaker than the euro), but I intend to get the rebirth, not the 1GHz. Although still quite pricey.

In response to thatgui:

I mostly read when I surf the web, and I normally pre-download a long video I intend to watch (if it's more than say, 10 mins long) or if the wifi I'm using is crowded. I hardly play any flash games, so no worries there.

About python, I've looked at it but haven't got around to practicing with it yet, have not even figured out how to make python programs execute yet. I'll figure it out eventualy.

---

One more thing, I am an advid Linux user, (even managed to compile a couple X windows programs, as in not depend on the packege installer to do all of it for me) and as for music, the player I use most frequently is Audacious which I belive the Pandora has.
 
About python, I've looked at it but haven't got around to practicing with it yet, have not even figured out how to make python programs execute yet. I'll figure it out eventualy.
Easy, once you have a program in python, launch a terminal, type

"python <nameofyourprogram.py>" and it will launch it. (on Linux)

the player I use most frequently is Audacious which I belive the Pandora has.
Yes, Audacious is there as well as DeadBeef and many other good players.

It may be 500 euros but its close to 600 dollars for me (I understand the dollar is weaker than the euro), but I intend to get the rebirth, not the 1GHz. Although still quite pricey.
I'd recommend to get the 1Ghz if you can, because it's really worth the additional money. You get a lot out of it and everything works faster than on Rebirth. You may not think you need it, but it does make a difference. Think again :)
 
Just registered, I'll follow ekianjo's recommendation and get a 1GHz. Got a long path of saving up to do.

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone!
 
If you don't like linux then you'll probably still love the Pandora. Linux knowledge is not a requirement. You don't have to go near the command line if you don't want to. The most complicated thing you need to be able to do is create directories on an SD card, and that can be done on any machine, not necessarily on the Pandora. From there everything else you need to do is GUIs and menus.
 
If you don't like linux then you'll probably still love the Pandora. Linux knowledge is not a requirement. You don't have to go near the command line if you don't want to. The most complicated thing you need to be able to do is create directories on an SD card, and that can be done on any machine, not necessarily on the Pandora. From there everything else you need to do is GUIs and menus.
Yes the pandora is very user friendly  ;)
 
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