What weren't you expecting?

[snurty]

Well I have had my pandora for about 2 months now and I have to say I am delighted with it. I can think of no other device that would be able to do everything this does in its form factor. I have owned a GP2X for a number of years and I was really looking for something similar but with decent controls and a bit more power. With the Pandora I got that and so much more.


I have probably pushed mine less than some others but a few things have really stood out which I wasn't expecting:


- Internet browsing - much more usable than I thought and pretty useful when sitting in front of the tele


- PSX - due to PSX - rearmed pretty close to perfect emulation - GT2 running fullspeed with no frame skip - I wasn't expecting that!


- Sound Quality - really good - using this as a music player is great


My best moment to date I think is playing Rock & Diamonds (for hours) with the sound off but with a music player in the background - makes train travel enjoyable.


Also full speed Pinball Dreams on the Amiga - suits the shoulder buttons so well.


Anyone else get more than they bargained for?

 

[Prometheus]

Yes. I didn't see myself using MAME (both MAME4All and MAME 0.106) quite as much as I have - high-score saving and good controls really make it a great experience. (Once my cabinet is finished, I'll be able to trade the high score files between them, too, which ought to be great fun.)

 

[craigix]

I have to admit being addicted to MDK on PSX all over again. I used to have it on my PC. I didn't know there was a PSX version so I was rather surprised!


There is so much to do with the Pandora I'm always amazed, I don't get to use it as much as I'd like but I do enjoy spending a good session trying all the new software.

 

[mhadf]

Compiling things from source was something I wasn't expecting to do. Or to be so straightforward.


I also hooked the pandora upto a TV so we could play some decent music at the pub

 

[second exodous]

I wasn't expecting to play so much PS1, this was due to me not having many PS games I liked. When I was a kid I was so excited about Lunar Silver Star Story Complete, pre-ordered it an everything. Got it, played it for a while, and then the first disc cracked before I played through it. That set was expensive even back then so I have never played it since. I found someone with a copy and had them make a bin/cue of the first disc and I've been playing that since I got my Pandora. I got Eternal Blue(?), the second PS Lunar, so I'll be busy for a while!


I really wasn't expecting FF 3 to run so well either, there were so many accounts on here of it being sluggish but when it starts up it is just like using it on my x86 box. All my plug-ins work so it isn't like it is a crippled experience either. The wifi is a little slow but for just web browsing it is fine.


I want to try out Gentoo and Debian on it but I think I'll hold off for a while just because I'm playing so many games.

 

[hakmanplayer]

i love the game rocks and diamonds!!!

 

[may88]

I weren't expecting mine to take quite so long being delivered. (well someone had to say it sooner or later).

 

[juliano]

-PND installation (is it possible to be more automated than this?)


-Other Linux definitions (Debian for example)


-N64 and MAME emulation at full speed


-NUBS - they are awesome!


-Software updates and releases on a daily basis. Everyday there is something ne to test.

 

[Elanzer]

I wasn't expecting to want to use the full desktop browsers with nubs, instead I was expecting to use Fennec with the touchscreen.. but I haven't really used the touchscreen at all.


Also the headphone jack sound output makes an audiophile like me really happy, I never expected that sort of output from the Pandora, or really any portable device. This is better quality and more powerful output than any laptop, PMP or smartphone I've ever used.

 

[meandu229]

wasnt expecting to use it for sshing into my nas box so much, playing GBC games look brilliant.


Wasnt expecting Giana sisters to be so long, Im on about level 54 and still going. I will complete it


Edit:


Also sat playing xbox other day with pandora on pidgin Im'n I then thought I wanna listen to some music so I mounted my NAS server opened Exile browsed to the music folder on NAS box and played music for a few hours

 

[Bosbeetle]

I seriously didnt think I spend so much time on it playing games

 

[Coldbird]

Bought it for PSX emulation, use it for PSX emulation.


AND A LOT MORE. B)


I'm coding on it myself, using it for browsing when I'm not in front of my desktop, use it for torrent downloading, etc.

 

[Sugar_Kane]

So far I haven't been really surprised by anything as I am doing all of the things that I'd hoped I would be, such as playing amiga games (although I am finding that I'm just going through my roms trying to discover new gems), and finally letting myself play Earthbound properly after years of waiting (my first try ended in disaster when the chipped gamecube I was using decided to go eggy and lose hours worth of gameplay), and I've already tested Mother 3 works with the fan translation so I'm all clean and ready to cook!


I do have ultra-high, unrealistic expectations though, so the fact that I've been doing these things is a testament to the Pandora; I'm always slightly disappointed with everything that I buy, usually when I realise that promised features aren't useable. So far the only very slightly disappointing thing for me is Dosbox performance, the speed that it can do already is a bonus in my eyes, but I do wish that we could at least eek 486dx speeds out of it.


I was surprised that I am enjoying playing Heretic again, I thought I'd played it into oblivion over the years but there's something really neat about playing it on the Pandora.

 

[DoubleDash]

I am surprised at:


1. The quality of the music.


2. How self-contained it can be for development, especially when downloading reference websites and doing a little prep in advance. Being able to package up a pnd and tweak a compile on the train feels great!


3. How my willingness to explore other game systems that I missed out on as a child has increased. It's now typical of me to browse youtube or other sources looking at top ten lists!


4. How authentic the emulation is. It was a real trip down memory lane playing some of the games, Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy on Fuse and Xenon 2 on Hatari spring to mind.


5. How good using the SD card for booting the OS is. I was expecting it to be slower.


6. How good the psx-rearmed emulator is!


7. How much I now like fennec for browsing!

 

[tuki_cat]

I wasn't expecting PSX emulation to be this good! I didn't actually buy the Pandora specifically for PSX emulation, as I prefer the old systems, but after using it a little I can seem me giving Resident Evil another play through.

 

[meandu229]

Wasnt expecting to be walking around london and girlfriends phone battery dies so used the pandora to charge it.