Too much hyperbole is giving me the fear.

[Binky]

^ I'd second that

 

[Linux-SWAT]

I prefer more RAM than faster RAM.

 

[jonny:Dumb]

I would like to add my thoughts too to this nice topic ^_^


Price: Without preorders that have to be fulfilled, companies that stop producing stuff and improving the current pandora instead of a new design with bleeding edge in mind, i thing a price tag below the current rebirth P1 should be possible...


Size: With other post in mind and my own experience, the Pandora should not become to small. I hate dose little mice you can buy for laptops, my hand cramps when using them and i can not work efficiently. I have a rather big mobile phone (Samsung E2730 xcover) love it.


Screen: should not be below 800x600.


Touchscreen: Accuracy, since i think that increases the comfort when working with it.


External storage: Don't have an opinion, but my experience (see size) and others on the forum tell me that full sized SD would be nice.


Internal storage: No opinion on this.


SOC: Should be reasonable. Not a lower end one but definitely not the bleeding edge since the price tents to go up exponential for that. I still would like to see the rombus (http://rhombus-tech.net/) because i think it saves money complexity and would make the pandora 2 upgradeable.


OS: Linux :wub: I am fine with it dualbooting whatever, even windows and iOS (heck, this is an open device, i really don't care). I will anyway make it a single boot system if that does not make updates difficult (I wonder how updates will work btw.).


RAM: 2GB; if affecting the battery life, I would be happy with 1GB


Nubs: Hope for good quality, I don't have my pandora yet, but I guess it is a nice way to control the mouse pointer (used to IBM nipple pointer)


L1/L2/R1/R2: No opinion on this.


Keyboard: ->


Modularity: See SOC and


Battery life: Please do not save here. My mobile phone has a standby time of around 2 months and a talk time of around 22 hours... I enjoy this a lot!!


Additional hardware:


Sorted by priority:


1. Full sized USB port.


2. Extention connector (maybe with multiplexed ports), also nice to connect extension modules with it (saves development complexity and allows community members to create extensions in a much easier way).


3. Headphone jack.


4. Microphone


5. HDMI/DVI/VGA (Although i would prefer if display signals are found on the extension connector pins and extension modules could handle this).


6. A seccond USB port, not to close to the first one ().


Other thoughts: Charging over USB if 2 ports are there and if this possible (Also to save another plug and make the pandora 2 chargable in more manners f.x. a friends laptop, one of those usb charging adapters, ...).


Power out and additional charging over the extension connector??? (That would open a lot of possibilities for extending battery live with bigger extension modules that have a battery on their own.)


I am happy that so may here have similar opinions. This makes the community so valuable, without you I would be lost in the jungle of devices that suck in so many differed and nasty ways.

 

[Binky]

I'm hugely encouraged that newcomers to this thread have the same kind of opinions, maybe one day Craig will understand that pandora is not what he intended it to be, but what this community uses it for.

Additional hardware:


Sorted by priority:


1. Full sized USB port.


2. Extention connector (maybe with multiplexed ports), also nice to connect extension modules with it (saves development complexity and allows community members to create extensions in a much easier way).


3. Headphone jack.


4. Microphone


5. HDMI/DVI/VGA (Although i would prefer if display signals are found on the extension connector pins and extension modules could handle this).


6. A seccond USB port, not to close to the first one ().

my comments:


headphone jack is more important that extension socket


extension connector bad. standardisation good. use usb 3.0 (fast datarate, bidirectional power)


HDMI, no special cable needed, please


second USB port would be nice

 

[jonny:Dumb]

my comments:


headphone jack is more important that extension socket


extension connector bad. standardisation good. use usb 3.0 (fast datarate, bidirectional power)


HDMI, no special cable needed, please


second USB port would be nice

I can understand the cable fear and see the advantages of USB3.0. My concern is though, for a modular concept that is supportable by users (Well, now I am just assuming that someone might want something like that, reasons latter ), one would always need a USB interface that adds cost and a bit of complexity to extension projects (Also, nothing relay beats a USART port compared to a USB<->RS232 solution). Having the generic display signals (I think there is a standard, but i have no Idea what its called) at hand would allow for an adapter to have VGA, DVI, and i think also HDMI and TV OUT.


About the standard cable: Something lik this could be used (not 50 pins, put 20-30pins, this was the only one on Digikey with a (bad) picture): http://www.digikey.d...94-5-ND/2259280 .


It might still be a little bit to big put a compromise between what hobbyists can get/use and size. Such connectors will also be around for a looooong time.


This would be an example of a ribbon cable (Easy to put on female headers which plug into the male on the board.): http://www.digikey.d...R-100-ND/145582


The cable could be connected to a little board. This would reduce the "produce a complex cable" problem to "produce a simple cable and a little board" problem.


Downsides are:


- The connectors are not so user friendly to plug and unplug


- Cables might have a smaller plug count before they break compared to USB


- For higher speed applications, the length is more limited


- A bit expensive (The Digikey Prices seem though a bit too high...)


- A bit ugly...


Well, if someone has a better solution without a non standard connector that would fit, I would love to hear about that!


Why might such a extension connector be nice:


1. There are a lot of people which just love to hack hardware and produce their own gadgets. Sometimes it would be nice to communicate with your little invention. This is often done with a laptop/PC and a USB<->RS232 converter. I love the Idea of having the Pandora in my pocket and being able to communicate with real USART, and I am sure a lot of other people would appreciate this too. Some might use the Pandoras nubs to control their robots (I have something like this in mind) or other devices with analog movement behavior. Well, the Pandora could simply replace a real laptop/PC and with real USART/SPI/..., do so even better.


2. If the barriers are low to produce usable extensions for the Pandora, then there will be a bigger amount of hardware arising. There will for sure be some projects a lot of people on the forums here like, making the Pandora a little more interesting for them. This could be interesting for ED and he decides to produce this piece of hardware and put it into his shop ... which would attract more customers that always wanted to have this functionality coupled with a general purpose computer or hand held gaming device. If there really is bigger demand for something, a more sophisticated solution with USB or bluetooth connection could be designed and produced (Basically, this is the same reason why Linux is a need, quite some software awesomeness has emerged from this boards. I think much less would have happened in a more closed system, wouldn't it?).


3. As a third argument I would like to add power consumption. We save all the overheat for the interface device, might be enough to affect battery live a little.


------


I am sorry for this long and maybe not so clear post. I can't stop myself when i am exited about something and I am also a little tired today. I would still buy the Pandora if it comes without an extension connector, but having one would surely open a world of fun.


I agree with you that the Audio jack should be second :


1. Full sized USB port.


2. Headphone jack.


3. Extention connector (maybe with multiplexed ports), also nice to connect extension modules with it (saves development complexity and allows community members to create extensions in a much easier way).


4. Microphone


5. HDMI/DVI/VGA (Although i would prefer if display signals are found on the extension connector pins and extension modules could handle this).


6. A seccond USB port, not to close to the first one ().

 

[Binky]

How about some exposed PCB headers at the back as the easiest/most standard expansion technique?


I think for the less nerdy people 'round here, normal hdmi out would be better , but having analogue video available to people wanting to play games on their CRT (only if the SOC has it as a spare output) would be good.

 

[jonny:Dumb]

Did you just sum up the hole "About the standard cable:" section in one sentence?? I bow before you sir!


If the choice would be between the exposed PCB headers or HDMI I would give priority to the exposed PCB headers because they allow for VGA, HDMI and DVI. The last two can be on the same lines (Well, probably, depending on implementation). There is a discussion about this in the cubieboard google group: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/cubieboard/vSdUzKoY6S0


I see that not everyone likes to have an ugly ribbon cable coming out of the Pandora, but maybe the additional flexibility might be appreciated? Those jacked ribbon cables are not so bad .


Fitting everything on the list would naturally be nice but reality is often a spoiler .

 

[mjohansson]

The only thing Im interested in getting a Pandora 2 for is higher res screen, and the more the better for me then.


What I would want to see most is a Pandora XL with same internal components but a larger shell with a 7" or bigger display with 1080p or more resolution.


I dont need any more performance so if the Pandora 2 is the same as the current but slightly more powerfull then theres no reason to spend money on it for me. Mayby if the performance difference was extremely large, so you could emulate PS2 without any noticible drop in battery time then it would be worth some new money for me, but that seem quite unlikely.


The Pandora 1 is almost perfect, make an XL version instead to offer som variation for people that want something more from the display. The time I replace my current Pandora is when it breaks and cant be repaired or if Pandora 2 is vastly different and still desirable in some way for some reason. My main use of Pandora now is a pocket computer, I would want a small laptop with same great hardware but larger display as complement. Well if Pandora 2 ends up having a 1080p display I will upgrade for that, 720p isnt much of a difference so I would stick with old then anyway.

 

[_wb_]

At 7" it's the size of a small tablet, that's too much for me because it's no longer really pocketable. Wide aspect ratio 6" with minimal bezel is the biggest I would want for the screen, and 5" is the smallest I would want (it has to be larger than the 4.3" of the Pandora 1, and there is plenty of room for 5" if the speakers are moved).

 

[Dimacus]

The far most important factor for me is that the size of, and space between the keys are not changed, the keyboard of the p1 is on the verge of being too small for anything typing related.


Second is that it keeps atleast one fullsize sd and fullsize usb.


Third is that it comes with linux, i don't mind android being on there as well.


Fourth the screen size, i'd love a 5" 16:10 screen, something like 960*600, 1280*800 or 1920*1200, but i don't really mind anything else either as long as it has less ghosting than the current screen (and that it's not glossy).

 

[klapse]

johnnyumb can you point us to examples of the "many people" who design and build custom electronics hardware for your proposed expansion slot (or PCB header)? I'm not holding my breath.


Size: as others have said, a 5" screen would fit in the current form factor if speakers were moved to the base. Moving them to the base might allow for resonant cavities to be built behind them, greatly boosting midrange response. The P1 size really hits a sweet spot imho. Larger is unpocketable and smaller reduces haptics and screen size. SLIGHTLY smaller or larger would be OK.


2x MicroSD instead of 2x SD might be worth the sacrifices if it allows for a better battery in a slightly slimmer, more pocketable case. I'm a geek who prefers the flexibility of fullSD though. Both options have their advantages and tradeoffs. I wish people would realize that.


720p might not be the only smaller option: 1024x600 would allow most linux desktop apps enough room while not requiring too many pixels for the GPU to fill in 3D games. To people pushing for higher resolutions - most users cannot see a significant improvement for movie content on these small screens, and the high res makes font sizes for standard linux apps too small.


A valid counter-argument would be that most high end phones will be marketing high-res screens, and that even though we have no need for one, there will be demand for it by users and reviewers who just don't know better. Using a needlessly high res screen might generate more sales just by being "competitive" and by riding the coattails of marketing investments by other companies.

 

[Binky]

if speakers were moved to the base.

The P2 will have speakers in the base, and a larger screen in the lid.


Witness: the spaces on either side of the number buttons on the iCP2