What Would Be The Pandora Alternative

[JakeK]

Hi,

This is just a completely innocent question, but what netbook would be closest to the Pandora? If you removed the joysticks, SD card slots etc. I would like to be able to play some games but more of a functionality when it comes too internet surfing and typing etc. I still might get a Pandora, but the smallness of it (nearlly the same size of the DS) concerns me a lot.

 

[gruso]

Yo Jake.

The thread is destined for flames/moving/locking, which you probably know, but I'll stick my oar in anyway. I tend to hate these Pandora/netbook comparison things but I'm drinking beer and I feel like crapping on.

I'll crap on about the EeePC, and I'll start with the EeePC 701 (the first one to come out, called the Surf in some places I think). You can still get one for $300AUD. 7" screen, same resolution as Pandora. Performance is comparable to the (unoptimised) Angstrom on Pandora vids we've seen. No Bluetooth. Hardly any storage, but has an SD slot.

I reformatted one and put a lite version of XP on it, and it performed much better than the stock Xandros. Nubie once posted that a properly tweaked 701 with XP and RAM upgrade (stock is 512) can handle N64 emulation (how well, I don't know).

If the 701 sounds a bit bland (it is), you can move up the Eee range. You'll get a bigger, faster device, bigger screen, higher resolution, and you'll start paying hundreds more. The last one that came out here was $999. Heh. At that price, it's no longer a netbook, it's just an underspecced laptop.

The netbook obviously has a keyboard advantage. For proper touch typing on a Pandora, you might have to use a compact USB/Bluetooth keyboard. Then again, for gaming on a netbook, you're going to need a separate USB game pad. You might say that these two mild inconveniences cancel each other out. Mathematically speaking.

Then there's battery life. Most netbooks are terrible in this area. None come near Pandora.

So looking at EeePCs in the same price range as Pandora, what's the one big advantage? Screen size. If you have eyesight problems, a netbook may suit you better. But if your eyes are good, you should have no trouble seeing the light here.

 

[cobaltage]

One very similar alternative to Pandora would be the Nokia internet Tablet line of products. They're approximately the same size as the Pandora and the yet to be released model will have nearly identical internal hardware. Of the existing models, the N810 has a sliding thumb keyboard, a little like the OQO. I'm not sure that they have the functionality you have in mind, though. You can check out www.internettablettalk.com

IMO, the biggest problem with Nokia's Internet Tablets and nearly all netbooks is limited battery life, and one reason I'm very interested in the Pandora is that it has a huge battery given its power requirements. I'll be curious to see the design of the yet to be released Internet Tablet, whether it has a keyboard, battery life, etc.

 

[mali]

This one(when it's out)
http://www.notebooks.com/2009/01/07/new-ge...ry-sexy-design/
It might even run Pandora software after setting up the OS.

 

[pelrun]

I found it interesting that when I got my Zaurus, I completely ceased using my laptop - too big!

When the netbooks arrived, I simply couldn't justify buying one - yes, still too big!

Even though they were more capable devices, the dimensions outweighed all the other criteria. I guess I'm sizeist Thank heaven for the Pandora!

 

[Butterman]

This one(when it's out)
http://www.notebooks.com/2009/01/07/new-ge...ry-sexy-design/
It might even run Pandora software after setting up the OS.



*Cancels Pandora order*


I kid, I kid. h34r:

 

[clippa]

QUOTE
What Would Be The Pandora Alternative?


A girlfriend. Just kidding, misery and a lonely death I'd imagine.

 

[Mithrildor]

QUOTE
What Would Be The Pandora Alternative?

A girlfriend. Just kidding, misery and a lonely death I'd imagine.


Or try to get both?

Well thats what im trying. Only problem. the source code of G.I.R.L.-F.R.I.E.N.D. isn't very optimized yet. And progress is just slowlyy XD (It's so hard to get the hottest and nicest girl in the school class im in to lub ya.

 

[JakeK]

Thanks for the advice. I don't really want to compare them because they play different fileds, but rather its closest relative in a manner of speaking.

I would still really like the Pandora, but I feel that I have waited for so long (not compared to others, who have waited longer I'll stop there, because that is where the flamming will begin ).

This is probably for when I am on the go in the Army or for when I go home on a holiday; now that I have mobile internet.

Maybe I should just stick to buying my car for now .

I'll make up my mind when I see a full Pandora I reckon, jumping the gun will probably screw me over in the end; plus I love the community around it.

 

[Miner49er]

I have an Acer Aspire Laptop and my girlyfriendy has an EePC. I don't _think_ either will compare the Pandy 'cos I however hard I try I can't fit my netbook' in my pocket. Not even if I was wearing huge 'Cargo' pants.

Are they even called cargo pants nowadays?

I'm so behind the times, my FIVE year old kid referred to something that was 'cool' as 'sick' the other day. I thought it was only Tony Hawks who used that term...

 

[hch]

this is the one i am tempted by:

http://www.pocketables.net/2009/01/hands-on-with-1.html

batery life may suck and very regrettably it has no video out, but otherwiese - hey!

 

[Ravnos]

Honestly, anyone recommending netbooks as a Pandora alternative has kind of missed the point. The closest device to this thing are the Nokia N8x0 tablets. For me, the Pandora replaces both my GP2X and my N800, but not either of my EEE's. They're just completely different classes of device. If you can't wait for the Pandora to come out but you want something along the same lines, and you're not too gung-ho about games, then the N810 is definitely right up your alley.

 

[darkowl]

Well the closest x86 machine that I have found is the wibrain;

It's quite cool but I prefer the pandora myself, x86 machines require too much power and generate a lot of heat. There is probably a closer machine but it'll cost ya

Edit: actually this is more of a UMPC...

 

[JakeK]

this is the one i am tempted by:

http://www.pocketables.net/2009/01/hands-on-with-1.html

batery life may suck and very regrettably it has no video out, but otherwiese - hey!



Would that be roughly the same size as the Pandora? (For the sake of getting an estimate on the size of the Pandora when held.)

 

[Chip]

There is no "alternative" to the Pandora that ticks all the important check boxes at any price. There is nothing that is pocket-sized, has gaming controls and a keyboard, is an open platform, and lasts for 8-10 hours on a single battery charge. There are lots of devices that hit one or two of those points, but nothing exists (or is even known to be in development) besides the Pandora hits them all.

 

[Kramy]

This one(when it's out)
http://www.notebooks.com/2009/01/07/new-ge...ry-sexy-design/
It might even run Pandora software after setting up the OS.



*Cancels Pandora order*


I kid, I kid. h34r:

Yeah right. The old generation of netbooks was supposed to hit $200, and it went the opposite direction instead.

For surfing, I think the Pandora will manage... for programming, I'd go for an HP Mini-Note. They seem to have way better keyboards than the EEE's.

 

[Gilrad]

Naturally there's no complete pandy alternative, but I think it is a viable question to ask, "what are good pandora-like alternatives?"

Anyway, if you want something right now for cheap, I just ran across this article:
http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/07/dells-m...eeds-a-subsidy/

From my seccond-hand experience, Dell's mini 9 is pretty solid; I know I wish I had one instead of my crappy EEE 701, and every time I see somebody whip one out, I can't help but feel a little envy for them. For the now, for the cheap, and for the netbook category, you can't do better than that.

Of course, personally, I will probably replace my laptop with the Pandora because I was never a fan of the "portable but not pocketable" category that lappies always fall under. If I find myself having to do some degree of typing regularly and the keypad proves itsself completely and utterly unwieldy, I could just invest in a usb keyboard. That's about my only concern on the laptop-replacement front.

 

[clippa]

every time I see somebody whip one out, I can't help but feel a little envy

I get that too, perhaps we should start a 3 inch and under support group.
Do a google search for a smartq t5 ii le, you can get them for around £100, the emulation of snes and gba and so on is pretty solid, it has the same audio chip as ipods and the video playback is decent. It's not the most stable of devices, whether it's the hardware, the firmware, or the shoddy, no doubt knock-off sd cards it ships with I don't know but if you're strapped for cash and if they're the main things you're interested in, it would make a good cheap alternative. It's nice and comfortable to hold for long periods.
I'd say that it was worth paying £50 for one, maybe you could find one second hand.

 

[Izolo]

every time I see somebody whip one out, I can't help but feel a little envy

I get that too, perhaps we should start a 3 inch and under support group.


Fail. :rolleyes:

 

[gaterooze]

There is no "alternative" to the Pandora that ticks all the important check boxes at any price. There is nothing that is pocket-sized, has gaming controls and a keyboard, is an open platform, and lasts for 8-10 hours on a single battery charge. There are lots of devices that hit one or two of those points, but nothing exists (or is even known to be in development) besides the Pandora hits them all.



That sums it up pretty well. And I've been looking for a while (the closest alternatives cost quite a bit more, too). The only thing that Pandora won't have (at least not yet) will be Skype (I know it will have alternate VOIP, but our business circle uses Skype specifically for messaging and voice).