What Flaws Do You See In The Pandora?

[Blue Protoman]

Yes. What's the reason the Pandora can't do the same? Even if not all of it's available.

 

[WizardStan]

The OMAP3430 doesn't (or didn't, maybe it does now) come with 1GB storage. The 512MB was even an impromptu upgrade, actually. Originally it only had 256MB of storage and 128MB of RAM; the 512MB was just coming out and was prohibitively expensive. If they had gone with the 512MB that we have now originally, it would have been quite a bit more expensive. Fortunately prices came down shortly after pre-order happened, allowing them to do the upgrade without incurring too much loss.
In order to get a 1GB internal storage, they would have had to choose a completely different SoC. I believe they made the right choice.
The alternative is to do what a lot of phones do: include a 1GB microSD card with an invisible interface to the end user. However, that takes away one of the SD card slots, and if OPT had chosen to do that, we'd only have one SD slot on the front. Again, I believe they made the right choice. Sometimes you have to cut one feature to allow another.
That's what makes these "what if" threads so interesting: 90% of the time I would wager the end result is completely impossible, but it's still fun to play the game and see what interesting ideas people come up with.

 

[Blue Protoman]

I see. Well, time to upgrade to an 8GB card!

 

[wardred]

Well, if 2nd sd slot is too good to give up - and if you're going to run an OS on one SD slot rather than changing nand all the time.... and copying, etc. I can see that.
Why not do what cell phones do and place the sim somewhere near the battery - you're not going to want to remove it anyway...assuming you had one.
NOT that I anticipate this being an upgrade anytime soon...and 3G antennae, or their equivalent, would be a pain to support. 2 US frequencies, and is Europe on a 3rd?
Never mind licensing fees, etc. A nice to have, but not something I'd hold my breath for.

 

[Pleng]

It's not a matter of placement, it's a matter of size. You need to somehow fit a SIM-Modem in there along with the SIM card.

 

[Chaser]

No harware flaws but software can be temperamental sometimes.

 

[Aurekana]

EDIT: Noticed something I had previously missed.

Anyways, the perfect Pandora 2 would scrap the keyboard in place of a second screen where the keyboard is right now. I mean, who uses it anyways. Also, who uses analog nubs, and they've only so far led to production delays. So a clamshell device with two screens and just a dpad and maybe a couple buttons or so. Might as well use a less powerful processor for more battery life, say a 67MHz ARM9 and a 33MHz ARM7 should be perfect. Might as well call it something new, instead of Pandora 2. Maybe something like Pandora DS (dual screen) or something, emphasize the dual screens over anything else.

[/playful sarcasm]

 

[Pleng]

...and the modem?

You can't just stick a SIM card slot in and magically have connectivity.

 

[Aurekana]

...and the modem?

You can't just stick a SIM card slot in and magically have connectivity.

Yeah, noticed that just after I posted it, but I edited my post without thinking of how it would effect thread continuity. Ah well.

An Actual idea for Pandora 2: with as fast as hardware is advancing these days, would be fun if the screen/controls/battery were segregated onto their own board, with a cutout for a slot-loadable CPU/GPU/RAM card, so that the unit could be easily upgraded once new tech appears.

 

[Chaser]

i like the upgradeable idea...except...

Then were surely into the PC upgrading hell though?

Where every owner has a diff spec machine, games are only written for the fastest machines (downsized on purpose (to annoy the PC "keyboards and mice were designed for FPS games" (NO TYPING AND GUI HANDLING) nuts) for the console ports to be comparable, and the inevitable slack software design and release in beta phases, that nowadays haunts all the modern consoles, such that a 'Official Update' (bug fix) progress bar, is the sole sight to greet even a console owner every time he fancies a 'quick' blast at game X, he just bought!

Not to mention standardly required (and priced) 'Downloadable Extra, (read '(I)ntended') (K) Content..cough (Stuff we didn't have time to finish by the Corps deadline)...cough!!

 

[Aurekana]

i like the upgradeable idea...except...

Then were surely into the PC upgrading hell though?

I'm a PC (amd64-gentoo) gamer, so yeah I'd enjoy if the rest of the world had to be brought to our level. :lol:

Was just a random thought I figured I'd throw out there. More likely I imagine would be the OPT keeping the same case/keymat/screen and making a new version of the board for the OP2, unless some major flaw is discovered with the current case hardware.

Of course, when I said the CPU board upgrade idea, I had just finished stumbling over this site: http://www.magniel.com/omapmod.html

 

[WizardStan]

Upgradable really isn't feasible. A System on Chip (SoC) is the single chip equivalent of motherboard, CPU, RAM, hard drive, video, and sound card: ie, pretty much everything that makes a computer a computer. It's an expensive component and basically worthless without the "chassis" it is attached to. Instead of making a socketable board where you can simply swap the SoC when a new one comes out, hoping that it is pin compatible with the old one (which they frequently aren't), a simpler solution would be a full board upgrade: make a new board with the upgraded SoC with all the components and connectors in the same place so you can simply remove the old one and plug in the new one.
The alternative is to not use a SoC, go with individual components like a PC so they can be piecewise upgraded, but then you're looking at a much larger package with questionable compatibility.

 

[Chaser]

i like the upgradeable idea...except...

Then were surely into the PC upgrading hell though?

I'm a PC (amd64-gentoo) gamer, so yeah I'd enjoy if the rest of the world had to be brought to our level. :lol:

Was just a random thought I figured I'd throw out there. More likely I imagine would be the OPT keeping the same case/keymat/screen and making a new version of the board for the OP2, unless some major flaw is discovered with the current case hardware.

Of course, when I said the CPU board upgrade idea, I had just finished stumbling over this site: http://www.magniel.com/omapmod.html

See...Linux even re-moulds die hard PC gamers. Cant even bait any into a flame war Too polite and knowledgeable by far.

Hope you see what I meant though (I was only making poor observational comedy) and I would have loved to keep up with things but after building 3 rigs for various practically follow on games, separated by a few months in the megaman legends 3 stakes (the king was always around the corner), I had already had enough, also of supposed OC potential hardware, cathodes, LED's, passive cooling systems and fan controllers enough to put down more helicopters squadrons than a cargo of eminent bio-chemists and a flying swine-flu vaccine sales opportunity!

 

[Aurekana]

Yeah, I know what you mean. I build computers as a hobby, but for those less masochistically inclined, that's what consoles and iFruit products are for. And considering that the Pandora is a console, and that any previous experience I've had with an upgradeable SoC based system ended with the destruction of a third world economy, it's really a moot point for real discussion.

However, what about an easy card upgrade system for additional system features, such as a 4G Modem, Bluetooth, Wifi, external system connectors, etc. for those people who have to have them?

Similar in principle to socketed nubs...

 

[Tor]

The 2 full-size SD slots is _the_ reason I ordered the Pandora. Those must never be given up, for space or anything.
The flaws, as I can see them without actually having received my Pandora yet, seems to be with the wi-fi which may not entirely be a software problem only. Let's hope that's not true. And the charging/battery stuff, which also seems to have some problems. We'll see.
Someone mentioned the price as a flaw. Maybe those game consoles are cheap stuff, but I don't look at them - I look at what the (only) equivalent Nokia devices cost, and the Pandora is very very competitive price-vice. I thought it cheap. That's the other reason I ordered it.

 

[Chaser]

I got lost at the flagellation part and found myself this afternoon and yeah the Pandora rocks as a console and I hope it has the standard 3-5 year life span (+- 2 months)

 

[Aurekana]

I got lost at the flagellation part and found myself this afternoon and yeah the Pandora rocks as a console and I hope it has the standard 3-5 year life span (+- 2 months)

I hope it has at least a Two Month (TM) lifespan :lol:

 

[1magus]

If you all are serious about wanting a Pandora 2 than wait at least 5 years than we can have 3.0ghz Quadcore CPUs with 2+GB of RAM which should give it enough juice to start emulating the PS2.

 

[wardred]

It's not a matter of placement, it's a matter of size. You need to somehow fit a SIM-Modem in there along with the SIM card.

Ah, true. I've no idea how big the modem would be, or what nooks or crannies are available in the case to place it.

I wouldn't guess we'd see one until a Pandora 2 anyway as it would require redoing the Pandora's board. Hopefully by that time OMAP4+ with enough shrink in components that a spot could be found somewhere without sacrificing a SD slot.

Edit: Assuming there are enough people who'd want a SIM modem in the device anyway. And would it have to be a 4 band modem to cover Europe and the US, or a model that could be swapped out?

 

[Pleng]

It's not a matter of placement, it's a matter of size. You need to somehow fit a SIM-Modem in there along with the SIM card.

Ah, true. I've no idea how big the modem would be, or what nooks or crannies are available in the case to place it.

Well a good guideline would be to look at the current dongles available - Companies are making them as small as possible, so they are as big as a standard 3G dongle mins the casing.

As for space in the case, there is none. This is why it wouldn't have been feasable in the current device without at least removing one SD slot, and the WiFi/bluetooth module. Even then it might not have been possible to rearrange the current layout to accomodate.

I wouldn't guess we'd see one until a Pandora 2 anyway as it would require redoing the Pandora's board.

Yes. The thread I replied to was 'what would you have done differently'. It's been merged with another thread and retained the other thread's title.

[/quote]
Hopefully by that time OMAP4+ with enough shrink in components that a spot could be found somewhere without sacrificing a SD slot.
[/quote]

Hopefully

Edit: Assuming there are enough people who'd want a SIM modem in the device anyway. And would it have to be a 4 band modem to cover Europe and the US, or a model that could be swapped out?

SIM modems are pretty universial. And I can almost guarentee the marked for this device with a SIM modem and a single SD/no wi-fi slot is far greater than the hardcore retro gamer who needs WiFi/a second SD slot. That way you can tap into all the mobile networks, certainly in the UK, who would have given it away or subsadised it at least, with a data contract.

Basically, rewording my reply to the topic when the title was 'what would you have done differently'

Craig though to himself 'how could I build the perfect gaming handheld'? I would have approached it more along the lines of 'how can I get a small slige of a large market which will, as a bonus, allow me to develop the device to also be an as-close-to-perfect gaming handheld?'