Pandora available for pre-order
For those following the development of the Pandora handheld console, an exciting time is upon us. Pre-orders are now being taken for this amazingly small, yet powerful device. The initial batch was supposed to be limited to 3000 units but demand has been so great that Craig (head developer) and co have extended the availability to anyone who orders by this coming Sunday, October 5th. Here are the basic vitals of the device and you can read more about it and pre-order if you’d like on the OpenPandora.org website:
- ARM® Cortex™-A8 600Mhz+ CPU running Linux
- 430-MHz TMS320C64x+™ DSP Core
- PowerVR SGX OpenGL 2.0 ES compliant 3D hardware
- 800×480 4.3″ 16.7 million colours touchscreen LCD
- Wifi 802.11b/g, Bluetooth & High Speed USB 2.0 Host
- Dual SDHC card slots & SVideo TV output
- Dual Analogue and Digital gaming controls
- 43 button QWERTY and numeric keypad
- Around 10+ Hours battery life
Why would you be even remotely interested in this thing? Read on!
One of the major stumbling blocks for undecided consumers is the price of the Pandora which currently sits at a fat $329. “I could buy a PSP for nearly half this price, why should I buy a goofy looking Nintendo DS with no published game library?” Well, you’re right. There are a couple commercial developers who are currently writing games for the Pandora and will probably sell them after the console hits consumers’ homes but that doesn’t really compare at all with the game library available for the PSP or DS. However, the real beauty of this handheld lies in the Open part of Open Pandora.
Anyone can write software for the Pandora and it doesn’t require that you buy an M3 for your DS or potentially brick your PSP by programming it with a specially modified firmware. This thing runs Linux. Angstrom linux to be precise. That means you have a whole library of applications and games that have already been written that just need to be ported to the ARM architecture found on the Pandora. By far the popular suggestion and the reason the Pandora looks like it does is console emulation. Emulators have already been ported for consoles ranging all the way back to Amiga and even Playstation emulation is possible at full speed. My PSP sure as hell can’t do that based on my last attempt to play UN Squadron for the SNES in an emulator but it looks like PandaSNES will.
While gaming and console emulation were the primary driving forces behind the Pandora’s design, it also fills a much needed gap between low-horsepower UMPC’s and netbooks. Being that it’s about the size of an original Nintendo DS, it fits in your pocket. Try stuffing a netbook in your pocket and if you haven’t already busted your seams, you’re sure to get the old “Is that a EEE in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?” I must point out that the Pandora should not be considered a netbook replacement as the small screen size and cramped keyboard will probably wear you out quickly if you’re trying to do some serious web browsing or office work. However if you’re looking to do some IMing on the go or casual web browsing between gaming sessions, I think it’ll fit the bill nicely with its built in WiFi and Bluetooth.
While you’re at it, why not load up an SD card with movies and music? The ARM Cortex CPU and the DSP core have enough oomph to play videos in their original encoded form. This is one of the things I’m looking forward to most as having to re-encode videos to a specific profile and resolution for my PSP is annoying. I want to be able to drop some random .mkv on my SD card and watch it just as though I were sitting at my PC, except I’ll be on a bus or cramped into cattle class on an airplane.
This article would normally be peppered with more than just Youtube links to the various emulators and applications that have already been ported or written for the Pandora but unfortunately the main Pandora forum is down due to the overwhelming demand for the console. I’m in for one just because this thing is too geeky to pass up. What say you?