GLBasic forum

So, the Pandora then - ( http://www.open-pandora.org/ )

It looks like it's finally about to be mass-produced

Are you interested in it? Have you pre-ordered already? Opinions so far?

QuoteIt looks like it's finally about to be mass-produced

It looked that way since November 2008, when I preordered. Canceled afterwards, thankfully.

I still think Pandora could be the best handheld around but I won't believe until I see it. In action.  And won't get it until lots of people beta-test it before.
I have lost all trust I had in the team that develops it. What can you expect from people who claimed in October 2008 that they will deliver final product by Christmas that year? Either it was a scam or a serious flaw in conducting business.

I honestly don't believe it was a scam, which leaves us with team that has serious organizational and project-management issues.


So now the Pandora is finally going to be released. What can we expect next?
My guess is lot of broken software, non-functioning hardware, bad batteries, tinted screens, awful user support, etc.
I'm not saying this because I think the team has bad intentions - no, I just think they have stretched themselves too thin on this.

This first batch of pandoras is just early prototype stage, no matter what they say. Next 2-3 batches will be beta testing phase, and maybe, MAYBE the fourth batch will be real, stable product. That's how it goes in hardware manufacturing, even with multi-billion companies, let alone small teams.


I hope that Nintendo and Sony incorporate some kind of legal homebrew/indie "AppStore" into their next generaion of handhelds. Next DS is rumored to be announced this summer with next PSP soon after.

I just heard, that the team developing the Dingoo was a 12 people team that was paid 200 EUR / month each. And don't give me the "Chinese are morons" theory. They are much cleverer and more eager than we in the west.

I'd love to see a pandora, too but I don't expect them to keep any schedules anymore.

QuoteAs the OS is also in development and will need a lot of enhancements and tweaks after the release

Ahh, ummm...

I like the machine and the idea, but stretching a technology piece for 2 years? won't it be weak when it arrives? My guess is that it won't be mass, but then again almost all of the indi handhelds aren't?

Maybe tech is not that important in handheds... I like the GBA, and I own an atary linx with a bunch of cool games I still play to this day. (yes it work perfectly, some flaws on the lcd, but that's nothing)

I was also looking into natami too. but that is not a handheld.

I hope it all goes well with then and we get to see a cheap-mass-open-powerfull handheld soon.

What many is focusing on is that after two years of developing it won't be the hottest or fastest on the market. I'm sorry to say this but the pandora was never intended for you to show off to the girls in the pub. The Pandora is about being open. No one except you decides if your program will be allowed to run on the Pandora. It's completely open, no licence fee, no Apple that decides that your game that has been sold for two months suddenly don't comply with Apples standard and gets removed over night. This is exactly what I always wanted, a platform where I can decide myself what utilities I put on it. It's more like a very small laptop than a gaming machine anyway, just a side-effect that you can play on it too :-)

Ofcourse I preordered. Well I missed the first preorder round since it was sold out already by the time I could get hold of an internet connection... :-)

Oh, and a software update won't suddenly make it into a brick... :-)

Would like an iPad and a Pandora but can't afford both, so I am going with the iPad.  ;/

Due to all of the delays and issues along the way, if it ever gets released, I would have to see several independent reviews of the Pandora before I would ever consider saving up to buy one.

I won one in the Retro Remakes compo a fair while ago and have been eagerly awaiting ever since. Their posts show progress is happening, but obviously their dates didn't turn out as planned. No idea when it will show up on people's doorsteps but it looks like it will be in the next 3 months or so, so hopefully it will happen for all those waiting for it soon.

It'll be a little rocky at first I'd imagine (oh the standard stuff will work I'm sure, but the not-so-standard stuff I expect will be a little hit-and-miss) but like the PopcornHour it won't take long to be a very stable device I'm sure.

It's no iPhone/iPad, but it's not trying to be. - you're unlikely to find one under non-geeks Christmas trees. Mostly I think the alure is a reasonably powerful device with the ability to do whatever you want, regardless of whether you actually do. For that reason, I'm going to be very happy with it - whenever it arrives.

Me I think it looks neat, but I probably wont get one.  Whether I do or not will be based entirely on price and whether or not the device has any major hardware faults.  I think I might just save up and get a Netbook instead (even though it's a bit like comparing apples to oranges, Netbooks appeal to me a little more than the Pandora, and I already have a PDA/game machine with my iPod).  They are pretty cheap here now.

I deliberately didn't say ealier, but I do have one on order.

Whilst I can't say I'm not concerned about the way the OP company has worked (I wouldn't have allowed a third party to keep changing dates etc.), but it looks as though faith in the system was well placed. It's not going to be cutting edge for long, but it does offer controls that no other system does and has a very strong community following. I just hope that it doesn't end up as an "Emulation Station" and nothing else - I want homebrew and apps that won't be available on other handheld gaming machines. And I want to develop for it :)

QuoteAnd I want to develop for it

Who doesn't  =D

Quote from: Ian Price on 2010-Mar-23
I deliberately didn't say ealier, but I do have one on order.

We wouldn't have ridiculed you, you know.  You are among friends here.  It's safe.  Really.  =D

Hmmm ok.  I just checked out the price for these and they are somewhat cheaper than I expected -- taking into account postage/packaging, exchange rates etc.  Maybe I will look into getting one after all.  Looks better than the DSi in motion to me.  Besides playing emulated games, what else can it do?  What packages does it come with built-in?  If any.

Quote from: Ian Price on 2010-Mar-23
And I want to develop for it :)

Be interested to see what you guys (as in Ian, MrTAToad and the rest of you) come up with for this platform.

QuoteWe wouldn't have ridiculed you, you know.  You are among friends here.  It's safe.  Really.  =D

I don't fear ridicule - I didn't want to influence anyone. I wanted true opinion :)

We won't know the full package until it actually arrives, but it's definitely got some apps on it from the get-go.

Cool I think Ill wait till you've got yours and you can give us a review.  =D

I thought it might.  Certainly interests me more than the DS handhelds.  I get to play with my nephews DSi console on occasion and I must say I wasn't as impressed by it as I thought (it's not bad, just not really my idea of a portable gaming device) I was going to be, so wouldn't mind looking around for an alternative.  Personally I want something I can write the occasional note or mini-document with as well as play games.  The Pandora (depending on the apps) looks like it could handle that.  Also would be nice to have a portable device I can program for (iPod/iPhone is still out of reach for me at this time).  Erm I think I'm repeating my earlier post now.  Sorry.

Quote from: Hatonastick on 2010-Mar-24
Personally I want something I can write the occasional note or mini-document with as well as play games.  The Pandora (depending on the apps) looks like it could handle that.

The pandora can handle programming your game, compile and run it with a debugwindow in the background, saw someone demonstrating on a video last week. Don't know what language that was though. Certainly not GLBasic :-)

Since the pandora is running a full linux distribution if you want it to, you can do pretty much what you want with it. (when it finaly gets released :-)