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I've opened Pandora's Box...
14 years ago
General
...and it kicks ass.
My Pandora arrived a few days ago, and now I've got it loaded up with enough software and games to put to shame any PSP, PDA or smartphone. Holding a Pandora makes the 3DS look like an unimpressive, gimmicky and cheap toy.
If you've not heard of this remarkable device, and you're a retro gamer and/or computer poweruser, you'll want to read this. This device is a handheld computer only a bit thicker than a Nintendo DSLite. Make no mistake, though; this is not just a gaming device. It's best described as a pocket computer in the ways that any given PDA or smartphone simply fails to be. I plan to do all my writing on it.
Take a look at the specs:
-600Mhz ARM Cortex CPU running Linux
-256 MB RAM (That might not sound like a lot, but the PSP only has 32)
-Dual SDHC card slots and Svideo TV out
-430Mhz TMS320C64x+ DSP Core
-USB port (i.e. you can plug USB devices INTO it)
-802.11b/g Wifi
-Bluetooth
-PowerVR SGX OpenGL 2.0 ES compliant 3D hardware
-D-pad, A/B/X/Y/L/R buttons and dual analog sticks
-43-button QWERTY keyboard
-4.3" 800x480 16-million-color LCD touchscreen
-10 hour battery life
The Pandora is constructed over in the UK, and I'm lucky enough to own one over here in the US. This little powerhouse does NOT COME CHEAP but if you're willing to shell out the cash it's quite perfect for a computer geek who enjoys retro games and who likes being able to use what feels like a REAL COMPUTER anywhere they want. It's an open-source device, which means it's customizable in ways most devices aren't.
This thing makes a PSP or 3DS look like a pocket calculator.
Sound good? Take a look at it. I know i'm going to be enjoying mine for a long time.
http://www.openpandora.org
My Pandora arrived a few days ago, and now I've got it loaded up with enough software and games to put to shame any PSP, PDA or smartphone. Holding a Pandora makes the 3DS look like an unimpressive, gimmicky and cheap toy.
If you've not heard of this remarkable device, and you're a retro gamer and/or computer poweruser, you'll want to read this. This device is a handheld computer only a bit thicker than a Nintendo DSLite. Make no mistake, though; this is not just a gaming device. It's best described as a pocket computer in the ways that any given PDA or smartphone simply fails to be. I plan to do all my writing on it.
Take a look at the specs:
-600Mhz ARM Cortex CPU running Linux
-256 MB RAM (That might not sound like a lot, but the PSP only has 32)
-Dual SDHC card slots and Svideo TV out
-430Mhz TMS320C64x+ DSP Core
-USB port (i.e. you can plug USB devices INTO it)
-802.11b/g Wifi
-Bluetooth
-PowerVR SGX OpenGL 2.0 ES compliant 3D hardware
-D-pad, A/B/X/Y/L/R buttons and dual analog sticks
-43-button QWERTY keyboard
-4.3" 800x480 16-million-color LCD touchscreen
-10 hour battery life
The Pandora is constructed over in the UK, and I'm lucky enough to own one over here in the US. This little powerhouse does NOT COME CHEAP but if you're willing to shell out the cash it's quite perfect for a computer geek who enjoys retro games and who likes being able to use what feels like a REAL COMPUTER anywhere they want. It's an open-source device, which means it's customizable in ways most devices aren't.
This thing makes a PSP or 3DS look like a pocket calculator.
Sound good? Take a look at it. I know i'm going to be enjoying mine for a long time.
http://www.openpandora.org
I think it shows how little difference is there in modern mobile hardware and how flexible all those basic parts are. Arm + Linux kernel power around 80% of the market.
As you might imagine, I got really annoyed with the trend of mating PDAs to phones and not looking back. My Palm Zire 72s died relatively recently and I was left with no PDA - the only options to replace it are damn smartphones. Now that I have my Pandora, I don't need to worry.
On the other hand, the only mobile gaming I do is in dentist's waiting room...
Start saving ;P