When is the Pandora 2 release?

[Mr_Loon]

Wow, never new the Nand was part of the SOC.

Also love the duplicate posts, 

 

[TrashyMG]

Wow, never new the Nand was part of the SOC.

Also love the duplicate posts, 

Well in reality it isn't, the NAND and SDRAM are in a single module that is soldered on top of the SoC... However I don't know if GC solders them together or they buy the SoC and the memory already soldered together.

 

[Timstertoo]

Can't believe I'm this late into the thread but still in time to answer:

In Two Months.

 

[Franko]

None of those things would be possible as drop-in replacements like the SoC and RAM upgrades were.


NAND or RAM: It's part of the package on top of the SoC, you get what Micron offers and AFAIK the 512/512MB option is the best there is.


Wifi: There's no upgrade that is pin compatible, would need a new board.


LCD: Would need to have the same LCD connector pinout and form factor, which is a problem because those aren't really standardized between products. And the parallel style is losing favor. You'd also be limited to whatever the SoC can support.


If you're doing a new PCB you'd may as well do a new design, even if it's a conservative one.

This is another interesting potential route that ED could go down...in a year or two.  Hiring someone (M.Weston?) to redesign a new PCB which would have a newer CPU/GPU package.  Maybe a Tegra 4, or some such SOC.  Keeping the existing case/lcd screen/keymat etc.  Along the way (of redesigning the new PCB) we could add USB 3.0, and even HDMI-out (where the existing "tv-out" port is.  Obviously there would be improvements on the original design (better wifi at least).  Not sure how much more emulation/computing strength we could get in a couple of years though - compared to what we currently have with the 1GHz model. I doubt that we could get Playstation 2 levels...(please SOMEONE convince me that I'm wrong   ).  Dreamcast would be nice I guess... I'd certainly like to run Windows XP through Qemu...that would be something on a handheld.  Okay, I'm dreaming again - somebody pinch me....

 

[EvilDragon]

It will happen sometime after we sold enough Pandora 1, I guess.

 

[ekianjo]

Dreamcast would be nice I guess... I'd certainly like to run Windows XP through Qemu...that would be something on a handheld.  Okay, I'm dreaming again - somebody pinch me....

Dreamcast is certainly getting closer as the years go by. PS2, not so much. 

WinXP through Qemu ? I would think this seems likely with a new processor and all. Not sure how fast this would run, though. 

 

[Binky]

@ franko:

The keymat needs improvements which have already been designed on behalf of Craig

The case uigly and tends to crack, and would be need to be redesigned to accommodate the new keyboard and screen

The screen is relatively low-res, and nearing the end of its availability

The P2, if it happens, should be a complete redesign.

 

[Franko]

^ I'd certainly like to see a total redesign for the "P2" as well.  I'm merely musing on certain possibilities and fallback scenarios for ED/OP Team.  As for your points...and my inevitable "two cents" worth...  ...

1) The keymat (currently) isn't quite as responsive as it could or should be.  I find it quite functional though - your mileage may vary.  I guess that we'll have to see what the iCP2 brings to the table.  I wonder if the current keymat could be improved at all with a more "cushiony" rubber underneath the buttons?

2) I find that my case - the newest silver one, is quite robust actually - I have zero complaints so far.  The paint may rub off over time due to use, but so far, so good.

3) The screen surely could use an update, but once again, it works just fine - for me.  If it gets impossible to acquire the old screens in the near future, then this point is obviously moot.  I wonder if ED could source a better screen that would fit within the current case dimensions?  Or if the OP Team could just redesign the front facing piece to allow for an even bigger screen*?  Yes, I know that a new mold would be required for doing this...but it's just one small piece and doesn't look that complex (to me).  Surely making just one small mold would be cheaper than a complete case redesign? 

*what to do with the speakers?
 

 

[dreamer]

It will happen sometime after we sold enough Pandora 1, I guess.

Well, I assume that this is when the process starts. But getting a product out would take quite a while.
At least crowd-funding is a lot more easier than it was 4-5 years ago (when did we start this journey? I'm now old enough to forget these things).

I guess in some sense the design/manufacturing process has gotten better for these kind of small projects over the last couple years and the team has enough experience to avoid some of the pitfalls we stumbled in to during the P1 process.

But, people shouldn't forget that just if 'enough P1s have been sold' does not mean the P1-project is over.

Right now the biggest bottleneck is the software. Starting a new project would only complicate things more in this regard I think.

At least for all us 'old skoolers' the focus on software has way more profit than just getting a new device out ASAP.

So yeah, for me it can wait a couple of years. 2020?

 

[Klumpen]

The EDdora (or whatever) can wait until 2016 or 2020, because I will need even more time to play at least a small amount of games, that I want to finish on the actual one.

 

[Grench]

@ franko:

The keymat needs improvements which have already been designed on behalf of Craig

The case uigly and tends to crack, and would be need to be redesigned to accommodate the new keyboard and screen

The screen is relatively low-res, and nearing the end of its availability

The P2, if it happens, should be a complete redesign.

Are you going to pay for a complete redesign?

The keymat works fine on both of my Pandoras.  Do you have any links to actual failures?

I was a day 1 pre-order on the Pandora and I'm a pre-order on the ICP2 too.  I'm a bit concerned with the ICP2 key pitch and if I'll be able to hit only one button at a time with my gigantic thumbs.  It may be perfect - but I'll hold judgment on whether it should be re-used as a P2 keyboard until they're actually in people's hands and tested.  Until then, I'd lean toward the keymat we know works.

The case IS on the fat-kid picking his nose side of the aesthetic spectrum.

Case cracks on the new cases are pretty much a non-issue.  My black CC256 Pandora's case is practically dissolving.  My Pewter 1Ghz case has paint worn off on the corners, but is still structurally sound/straight with no cracks.

The screen & surround could be updated by getting new molds made for 1 piece of plastic.

Your complete re-design requires all new plastics - which proved to be the hardest part to 'get right' and resulted in over a year of delays by themselves.

I do see some benefits to a re-design, but the expense involved in doing so might be completely prohibitive.  Far too many of the 'redesign' proposals have been for devices that would not be able to replace the original Pandora in functionality.  The replacement must be a clam shell with nubs, gamepad, keyboard, shoulder buttons and at least one full sized SDXC slot or it simply misses the mark.

^ I'd certainly like to see a total redesign for the "P2" as well.  I'm merely musing on certain possibilities and fallback scenarios for ED/OP Team.  As for your points...and my inevitable "two cents" worth...  ...

1) The keymat (currently) isn't quite as responsive as it could or should be.  I find it quite functional though - your mileage may vary.  I guess that we'll have to see what the iCP2 brings to the table.  I wonder if the current keymat could be improved at all with a more "cushiony" rubber underneath the buttons?


2) I find that my case - the newest silver one, is quite robust actually - I have zero complaints so far.  The paint may rub off over time due to use, but so far, so good.

3) The screen surely could use an update, but once again, it works just fine - for me.  If it gets impossible to acquire the old screens in the near future, then this point is obviously moot.  I wonder if ED could source a better screen that would fit within the current case dimensions?  Or if the OP Team could just redesign the front facing piece to allow for an even bigger screen*?  Yes, I know that a new mold would be required for doing this...but it's just one small piece and doesn't look that complex (to me).  Surely making just one small mold would be cheaper than a complete case redesign? 

*what to do with the speakers?

See this thread:

http://boards.openpandora.org/index.php/topic/11080-what-if-we-back-up-a-bit-and-make-it-more-incremental/

Clear-cone speakers go behind the 'grill' where the LED light pipes are now.  The LEDs can still glow up through them.  This opens the lid for an up to 5 to 5.5" 16:9 screen.

In theory, keeping the same motherboard port layout,  battery, keymat, nubs, >90% of the plastics could cut development time and expense quite a bit.  However, we shouldn't overlook the huge effort it would be to design a new motherboard.  That in itself is no small task.

 

[Binky]

Are you going to pay for a complete redesign?

I'll pay whatever fraction of it is added to each unit

which proved to be the hardest part to 'get right' and resulted in over a year of delays by themselves.

I thought ED had plans for local (German) production to reduce the lag and language problems?

The replacement must be a clam shell with nubs, gamepad, keyboard, shoulder buttons and at least one full sized SDXC slot or it simply misses the mark.

Agreed.

Clear-cone speakers go behind the 'grill' where the LED light pipes are now.

Wouldn't the resultant diffraction/diffusion/distortion prevent the four LEDs being visible separately?

 

[Nintendo]

at least one full sized SDXC slot or it simply misses the mark.

Agreed. 256GB support.

 

[Wrath Of Khan]

Blatant trolling here but it may see the light of day before the icp2 at this rate.

 

[Franko]

^ Bwaahhaaahaaahh!!!  Yes, that'll do.   :lol:

 

[Grench]

Clear-cone speakers go behind the 'grill' where the LED light pipes are now.

Wouldn't the resultant diffraction/diffusion/distortion prevent the four LEDs being visible separately?

They're different colors.  If they blend much through the 1/4" of travel from the LED pad through the speaker to the hole - it will still be blatantly obvious what the 'condition' of the device/battery/bluetooth/wifi is.  So - who cares if they diffract/diffuse/distort?  It might be kind of cool to just 'let it'.

The new motherboard doesn't really 'need' to have 8 LED pipes - we only use 6 of them now anyway.  May as well just put 3 LEDs on each side, use the clear speaker arrangement and let them blend.

I think it makes a viable speaker grill - and it should be more audible with the lid closed (a gripe some had with the current design).  Light and sound through the same ports and room for a 'big' screen to boot.  What's not to like?

 

[Binky]

Wifi is the same colour as bluetooth, SD1 is the same colour as SD2

They would fuzz dreadfully without the lightpipes, even before adding the speaker cones

 

[Nintendo]

Blatant trolling here but it may see the light of day before the icp2 at this rate.

http://boards.openpandora.org/index.php/topic/13419-got-my-icp-2/

 

[Grench]

Wifi is the same colour as bluetooth, SD1 is the same colour as SD2

They would fuzz dreadfully without the lightpipes, even before adding the speaker cones

Ahem - they're the same color on the P1.  The P2 being a whole new motherboard could have 3 colors on each side or...

How about 1 RGB LED on each side?  With 256 color potential, flashing, bright/dim and color changing sequences there are thousands and thousands of permutations of what each could 'say'.

Left side red: 802.11 @2.4Ghz radio on

Left side green: 802.11 @ 5Ghz radio on

Left side blue: Bluetooth @2.4Ghz radio on

If multiple radios are on:  

  red+green = yellow = 802.11 @2.4Ghz and @5Ghz are on

  blue+green = teal = 802.11n@5Ghz and bluetooth are on

  white = red+blue+green = all radios are on.

 

Right side red: charging, in standby mode

Right side green:  discharging, running

Right side green dim: discharging, standby mode

Right side blue flashing interrupting red/green: reading/writing from/to SD media

Right side orange: error condition

Right side pulsating red: charging screen brightness turned to off

Right side pulsating green: discharging screen brightness turned to off

Left + Right sides flashing alternating red/blue: pull over, you're getting a ticket.

 

[Franko]

Am I under arrest or do I just like this idea?  Us audiophiles don't listen to music via the tiny speakers anyway, they're there mostly for the requisite ambient noise of the games and such.  As long as the audio isn't that distorted, and we can see the light(s)...who cares if they come up from the same area?  I'm a drunk, horny man and you had me at clear coned speakers.  I'm picturing fembots...okay focus.  You could probably sell me anything at this point.

The color scheme would need some work though, I don't want to hide under my desk in the fetal position because my pandora decided to go to code Orange.  Sell it, Grenchy.  Oh wait, you did - I like the concept.  Saves valuable space.  I wonder what ED or any of the OP Team would say about this possibility?  Are clear coned speakers a lot more expensive than the regular kind?  Why do I feel stupid all of a sudden?  I'll just shut up now...