Some more of my ideas

[Exophase]

I hope it'll be a Tegra 4, as I think this might be the only one that might have a reversed engineered OSS 3D driver.

You think that why exactly? Reverse engineering of that GPU architecture family (GeForce ULV) is currently way behind that of Adreno 2xx/3xx or Mali-4xx..

 

[Edglex]

I know it's come up before, but what about a modular processor daughter board? The eoma68 standard is looking pretty cool, everything you need in a PCMCIA card format (but note, not an actual PCMCIA card, just the physical form factor) https://makeplaylive.com/#/open-hardware/improv/discover

Or something like a gumstix, or a toradex SO-DIMM board?

 

[EssoAir]

I know it's come up before, but what about a modular processor daughter board? The eoma68 standard is looking pretty cool, everything you need in a PCMCIA card format (but note, not an actual PCMCIA card, just the physical form factor) https://makeplaylive.com/#/open-hardware/improv/discover


Or something like a gumstix, or a toradex SO-DIMM board?

Modular is hard enough on a large scale. At 5000 units its an expensive nightmare. Lets try to make the best product its self and not focus on accounting for a few expensive, niche features (that would also add bulk mind you)

 

[Hồng Thất Công]

I know it's come up before, but what about a modular processor daughter board? The eoma68 standard is looking pretty cool, everything you need in a PCMCIA card format (but note, not an actual PCMCIA card, just the physical form factor) https://makeplaylive.com/#/open-hardware/improv/discover


Or something like a gumstix, or a toradex SO-DIMM board?

Modular is hard enough on a large scale. At 5000 units its an expensive nightmare. Lets try to make the best product its self and not focus on accounting for a few expensive, niche features (that would also add bulk mind you)

P1 is not niche and not expensive? 

 

[TrashyMG]

^ I consider it niche, but not as expensive as say a smart phone.. sure a 1Ghz Pandora may be $600USD once, but my smart phone was initially $200.00 on activation and costing me $864 dollars a year in monthly fees..

 

[Exophase]

^ I consider it niche, but not as expensive as say a smart phone.. sure a 1Ghz Pandora may be $600USD once, but my smart phone was initially $200.00 on activation and costing me $864 dollars a year in monthly fees..

If that's a contract for one person you're probably over-paying. I pay $30/month with T-Mobile for an "unlimited" (5GB before throttling) data + 100 minute voice plan. I'm okay with that amount of voice minutes but if you need more you could use something like Google Voice.. The real data + voice plan is $50 I think.

 

[TrashyMG]

I'm over paying, but I live in an area where there is only one company in town.. so they can rake you through the coals.. I'm paying $72USD for a 2GB capped plan with Verizon and that is without a text plan although verizon to verizon calls are free.

 

[Klumpen]

 

[mclien]

I know it's come up before, but what about a modular processor daughter board? The eoma68 standard is looking pretty cool, everything you need in a PCMCIA card format (but note, not an actual PCMCIA card, just the physical form factor) https://makeplaylive.com/#/open-hardware/improv/discover


Or something like a gumstix, or a toradex SO-DIMM board?

Modular is hard enough on a large scale. At 5000 units its an expensive nightmare. Lets try to make the best product its self and not focus on accounting for a few expensive, niche features (that would also add bulk mind you)

not if you think about it in the way: use one of the gumstix standard and stick it on the daughter board, which is the only one to be designed...

 

[EssoAir]

True true but bulk! Thats the big kicker

 

[mclien]

I just stumbled over the thread today, so here my 2 cents:

I will/want/like to use the Pandora as a mini computer more than as a gaming console. That is because all other Handheld devices have major drawbacks to me. (most are mentioned already: google spy, nokias n800/900 are mostly dead and can only run some other "real" linux inside a chroot, not from sd-card).

So as propper port for external display ist a must (but already taken care of).

What I really miss is a good keyboard for that use. Mouse emulation kinda work, guess that will improve with better nubs (like to the the button emulation with 3 buttons tought. Perhaps right, left and up as a middle button).

What crossed my mind was the following: Maybe there is enought room to merge 2 kinds of layout on the top: the currend one and some spare/redundent contact patterns, which would work with (as example) a 5 row keyboard.

So there would be one layout, on which 2 key layouts would work. (costs some extra on the layout, because partes of the layout is useless in bothe setups) but opens up very interessting possibilities..

 

[lunixbochs]

I hope it won't be a SOC with a SGX i.e. Imagination Technologies GPU.

Other than the OSS part (which isn't perfect on any mobile chip afaik), the newer SGX cards are actually pretty decent. I wouldn't voluntarily put a 530 in anything for a few reasons, but it's a part from 2005

 

[Wrath Of Khan]

Maybe sligthly wider keys on the keyboard. It would aid typing faster.

The thing is having software that actually supports the features out of the box would be nice. It does not need to be perfect.

But for example bluetooth on the p1 was never fully realised ie, streaming music wirelessly etc.

 

[mclien]

Some infos about the case materials that were mentioned so far:

-metal. The mentioned very detailed toy cars/trains are made from zinc, not aluminium, which makes highly detaild parts, which aren't durable enought for a pandora case. Aluminim would be fine (think of all the nice colors by anodizing), but much higher costs for the molds (higher preassure/temperature, less parts per mold IIRC). And often you have some steps in manufacturing (thread cutting etc.).  But if you have that in mind while designing the case, it could be an alternative for the future. Magnesium is about the same like aluminium.

-carbon (or any other fibre enforced resin) is not that easy to build like the other materials, which are "just" pressing the material into a mold. You can use resin with short fibres to inject it into a mold, but this means no visble fibre surface like at the mentiont equipment (bicycleframes an so on). Building a case with visble, shiny carbonfaric look is another trick. It's very difficult to get the fibre in place without wrinkles an such, plus you have to get the mounting points in place with an extra production step, since the carbon fibre itself has mostly constand thickness. so you have a slow production prosess with expensive material. Possible but most likely with a lot of steps including grinding/sanding and so on. (Maybe a field for custom build cases with 3D printed molds. mentioning that: molds could be quite cheap for carbon fibre)

If ED won't mind and let me  get hands on some data for the (final) case, I'd like to go that custom carbon case way.... (not to mention the other Design fabrics out there).

 

[Klumpen]

Carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer

would be great as an optional expensive alternative that lasts forever and is light.

 

[mclien]

Yeah of course it would. But evrything I wrote about carbon applies 100%, because whatever you call it "carbon, carbon-fibre-reinforced polymer, carbon fibre, whatever", is in all cases some fabric of carbon fibre, which has to be embedded into a matrix (usually some polymer as polyester, epoxy..).

In all cases I can thinkof (according size and numbre of the pandoras) you will end up in some handcraft work anyway. In BIG numbres (as in half a million) you can perhaps automate most of it.

Nevertheless I still offer to invest time (and mony) into that direction, if there is enough request and support (data files of the case, at least the inside), to find out how much effort it is to make a good (and good looking case).

Making a strong carbon case is much easier, than a strong AND beautiful one btw.

 

[comradekingu]

With 3d printing there are PLA type compounds that have carbon fiber in them and use the plastic as a bonding agent.

 

[Hồng Thất Công]

Yeah of course it would. But evrything I wrote about carbon applies 100%, because whatever you call it "carbon, carbon-fibre-reinforced polymer, carbon fibre, whatever", is in all cases some fabric of carbon fibre, which has to be embedded into a matrix (usually some polymer as polyester, epoxy..).

In all cases I can thinkof (according size and numbre of the pandoras) you will end up in some handcraft work anyway. In BIG numbres (as in half a million) you can perhaps automate most of it.

Nevertheless I still offer to invest time (and mony) into that direction, if there is enough request and support (data files of the case, at least the inside), to find out how much effort it is to make a good (and good looking case).

Making a strong carbon case is much easier, than a strong AND beautiful one btw.

You may want to approach Ed, convince him to show you the case design for P1 and make some stronger and nicer P1 cases and perhaps with different colors/designs to test the waters before moving on to the P-Successor.  I will be the first one to order 3 of those cases.  I think there are lots of interest from Pandora owners in this not just me.

 

[mclien]

With 3d printing there are PLA type compounds that have carbon fiber in them and use the plastic as a bonding agent.

Some more info about that? is that a "endless" core inside the filament or short unallined fibres?

 

[Tenka]

The Atari 2600 stylized Pandora 1 case render made and uploaded long ago by someone I don't remember qualifies as my dream case for either the P1 or P2.  That, made of metal.

EvilDragon's first post about the case made at least the shape sound possible to me.