What will Pyra replace for you?

[SNESFAN]

The pandora got close to replacing my cell phone, the 3g radio was the obvious thing lacking to do that. Without a doubt the pyra will replace my need for a smartphone (as long as software and interface / battery standby is adequate for always on phone calls + sms)

The questionable one that I'm hoping for (have been looking for, for about a decade) is that this will be able to replace my desktop. I would like to retire my PC into a headless dlna media & game streaming server via steam. Will HDMI out with a USB hub/docking station be enough to fulfill my uses of a desktop? Will arm linux get a port of steam client for remote game streaming? (or some handywork with qemu+wine) I hope for those things to happen. If they do the pyra will replace 2 of my main computing devices.

EDIT: this one may have to wait till a very wishful x86 drop in replacement SoC. Got a asus t100 running on baytrail and it's completely adequate for that use, I can imagine the same in a smaller form factor.

The area left unfulfilled is the laptop / tablet use cases. Lapdock is a interesting idea, but seems a bit too combersome to be considered a real option. What would be neat is if there was something like a chromecast or WiDi in a dummy tablet with a removeable keyboard. Something that will broadcast the display of the pyra, and accept touch inputs and send those remotely to the pyra. Then all 3 categories of devices will be filled as being powered by one device.

 

[TrashyMG]

Well my Pandori will still get some use, I'll prob shift my 1Ghz to my 36" CRT/Monitor for my retro gaming needs, My Rebirth unit which is currently attached to my CRT TV will most likely be mounted on my electronic drum set I will be getting in a month or so(will get to see what I can do with all that midi/audio programs on the repo) and my CC unit will stay as my bathroom handheld device for e-book reading and such.

 

[RuneIV]

Well my Pandori will still get some use, I'll prob shift my 1Ghz to my 36" CRT/Monitor for my retro gaming needs, My Rebirth unit which is currently attached to my CRT TV will most likely be mounted on my electronic drum set I will be getting in a month or so(will get to see what I can do with all that midi/audio programs on the repo) and my CC unit will stay as my bathroom handheld device for e-book reading and such.

The day I have a 600$ electronic device just for reading when taking a dump. I'll consider myself a rich man

 

[TrashyMG]

Well I wouldn't call myself rich by any stretch, but I do have extremely cheap housing expenses, only a little amount of debt and no kids.. so I do have a bit of disposable income.

 

[levi]

My N64 and PS1 have already gone into storage because of my Pandora. Hopefully the Pyra will mean my Dreamcast can do too.


My phone mainly gets used for texting and finding where I am when I've got lost on my bike. If I decide to go for the 3G Pyra, it could realistically replace those, though it does depend on the screen to a large extent - I've a portable bluetooth GPS I could use with the Pandora, but I never do because during the day I can barely see the screen to read the map. But my phone's small enough and has decent battery life (it's not a recent model, in case you couldn't guess) so carrying it about's no great faff.

 

[Cralex]

I never managed to get a Pandora (I'm trying to resist the temptation as I save up for the Pyra) but it'll at least partly replace my phone. As an iPhone user without any dedicated Android device, my past attempts at mobile emulation have been spent playing the cat-and-mouse game of Jailbreaking to install emulators. I eventually got tired of bothering with that, leaving me with only GBA4ios. Naturally, the controls were never the best, though...


I've been struggling to set up a Raspberry Pi with wireless controllers for emulation, but I wouldn't call that mobile...


I have an aging Acer netbook that dual-boots Windows 7 and Linux. It's starting to get underpowered, it's battery doesn't last long, and I lug it and it's charger around in a big carrying case... For these reasons I hardly use it anymore, so I'll get way more use out of a Pyra. I can use the Pyra for almost everything I use the netbook for, plus all of the other amazing things that'll get developed for it.

 

[Silent-Hunter]

Besides replacing my Pandora, it will be my new smartphone as well.

 

[FaeMinx]

What I need the Pyra to do:


1. Output to a larger portable screen.


2. Play 1080p videos without a hitch.


3. Have no problems with youtube.


4. Be able to mount .iso files as dvds and play them.


5. Transfer files via usb much faster than Pandora can.


6. Function as a wifi hotspot.


Bonus:


7. Via usb, receive input from my Note 8.0 so I can use my Note as a pressure sensitive graphics tablet in Gimp. (I know this is possible).


It does all this and it will be my primary travel computing device - net book, portable media player, portable digital graphics workstation.


I will still carry my Note for it's Spen and my smartphone for one handed forum checking while I work at the trade festivals. But after work, Pyra will be it.


=~. O =

 

[benoitb]

I want it to replace my tablet (Nexus7),

allow me to get a smaller phone like a BB Q10 to be used as phone, emailing, messaging and modem only,

replace my netbook (eee 901)

replace my laptop in some cases but not all

be my portable emulation device of choice, along with my 3DSLL for recent games

 

[F_Slim]

I will wait for the Pyra and try it out before I will make any bold statements about how it will replace my Pandora. If it is equally good or better in all aspects (audio, touchscreen, display in general) it may very well do so. In that case may Pandora will become more stationary, maybe I'll use it to stream music via BlueTooth to my stereo. Most likely it will stay at my old CRT TV and be used like a console, playing those games that simply look best on a CRT (I guess I can't plug the Pyra to my old TV without buying another adapter ...). And my girlfriend will be able to play Pangupop without blocking my favourite device for hours

 

[myNewUsername]

It will hopefully replace both casual laptop use and the iPad. IPad..... That sounds like a ladies product

 

[rygD]

IPad..... That sounds like a ladies product

Wow.  I never thought of that before...  Kinda funny, but kinda gross. :unsure:

 

[TrashyMG]

IPad..... That sounds like a ladies product

Wow.  I never thought of that before...  Kinda funny, but kinda gross. :unsure:

Well MadTV predicted it years before it actually came out.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/27/ipad-video-madtv-predicte_n_438880.html

 

[atari_afternoon]

Yet, in recent years there has been an odd reverse trend. General purpose computers are everywhere, but they are increasingly used only for specific, restricted purposes. A GPS device probably has a powerful general-purpose processor, but it is only used to compute paths. A music player or media player is only used for decoding some specific data formats. A smartphone, tablet or smart TV can theoretically run any software, but typically you're not allowed to install arbitrary software on it or to get full control over the device. In a sense, a lot of companies have decided that general-purpose computers have to be restricted, effectively going back to the non-Turing-complete special-purpose machines of the early 20th century. They give various reasons for these restrictions: anti-piracy, user-friendliness, security, etc. The most important reason is of course that they hope to get more profits out of it.

In this context, a hacker-friendly, fully open handheld device, which is extremely versatile both in terms of hardware and in terms of software, is something of great value to me.

Interesting.

Yes. I am sure this is why, subsconsciously, I have been won over by the Dingoo back then, and subsequently and relatively fast, by the "better" (i.e. more versatile/flexible/powerful) Pandora: I like this concept by heart.

@ topic: Therefore, typically, I´d be happy to see the Pyra "taking over the sceptre" here just as well

Looking really forward to it.

 

[Yoyobuae]

Replace Pandora for me mostly. Will keep using work phone for taking calls and such. Pandora would stay at home to download stuff (using USB WiFi) and also to be used with CRT TV.

While the Pyra cannot completely replace some of these functions, I feel that the Pyra will be an amazing tool to use. In fact, if I can connect a Wacom tablet to it, it will probably replace a lot more then my technology...

It is very likely this would be possible. My old Graphire3 Wacom tablet works (including pressure sensitivity) with my Samsung ARM Chromebook running Ubuntu, only needed to compile the kernel to get the wacom.ko driver. Newer tablets should work also (ie. it's same driver as for desktop PCs really).
My goal is to get a Cintiq and use it with either Chromebook or Pyra. It's almost a perfect match, as it needs a USB and a HDMI port (which both devices have). Power is a problem but I plan to hack a portable supply for Cintiq:

http://boards.openpandora.org/topic/16361-pyra-wacom-support/?p=337191

 

[Glyph Reader]

Replace Pandora for me mostly. Will keep using work phone for taking calls and such. Pandora would stay at home to download stuff (using USB WiFi) and also to be used with CRT TV.

While the Pyra cannot completely replace some of these functions, I feel that the Pyra will be an amazing tool to use. In fact, if I can connect a Wacom tablet to it, it will probably replace a lot more then my technology...

It is very likely this would be possible. My old Graphire3 Wacom tablet works (including pressure sensitivity) with my Samsung ARM Chromebook running Ubuntu, only needed to compile the kernel to get the wacom.ko driver. Newer tablets should work also (ie. it's same driver as for desktop PCs really).

My goal is to get a Cintiq and use it with either Chromebook or Pyra. It's almost a perfect match, as it needs a USB and a HDMI port (which both devices have). Power is a problem but I plan to hack a portable supply for Cintiq:

http://boards.openpandora.org/topic/16361-pyra-wacom-support/?p=337191

You know, I think I remember reading that topic a long time ago before I made an account here.  Nice to see that it will be quite plausible! 

-Glyph Reader

 

[Natsu]

2. Play 1080p videos without a hitch.

Likely 720p Display. Meaning it probably can, but would be pointless.

 

[levi]

1080p output over HDMI though...

 

[Silent-Hunter]

I think 720p is plenty, considering that's what the built-in screen will have.

 

[groovechicken]

Obviously, it will replace the Pandora, but I am hoping that the higher resolution will allow me to also do almost all of what I use a laptop for... so that I don't have to fire up the laptop for any reason other than Steam games (which I rarely play). I plan to get the 3G version assuming it will work with my T-Mobile data SIM so that I can let it replace the 2nd phone I carry around for my personal email and messaging. Unfortunately, I will be stuck carrying around my work phone regardless.

Not sure what I will do with the Pandora, but it will probably become the computer my kids learn on when I graduate them from tablets. Either that or it will get donated to my place of work to be the portable telnet / serial gadget for managing switches.