Pandora: Community driven linux based hardware project, actually shipping units.

by wozname on 1/26/2011, 9:04 PM with 44 comments

I just discovered this system today, looks really cool.

  • by mikeryan on 1/26/2011, 11:02 PM

    Wow talk about brand confusion. I thought it was going to be a music player.

  • by frou_dh on 1/26/2011, 11:11 PM

    OFFTOPIC: That zany version of Tux the pengiun looks awful yet gets used everywhere. The original one is much more tasteful.

  • by ZeroGravitas on 1/26/2011, 10:03 PM

    It's not actually "open source hardware" in the sense that you can build your own. They were a bit paranoid that it would get ripped off to the detriment of the project if they did that. But it is very community driven and based on a lot of open source software.

  • by dotBen on 1/26/2011, 11:31 PM

    I just don't see how they are going to attract developers to make games for this. The GP2X suffered similar problems.

    Sure, this will attract emulator crowd but why do I need a separate device for that when my smartphone will do it (there are even emulators running in javascript/html5 which circumvent any Apple iPhone store issues).

  • by jonprins on 1/26/2011, 9:45 PM

    Neat project... except for the 8 games available on it. Why develop for something with 20 users when you can develop for a (more powerful) mobile phone with several orders of magnitude more potential customers?

    Pretty cool that it's open and finally (after what.. three years or so?) shipping units, but I doubt it'll ever gain steam.

  • by nickik on 1/27/2011, 8:25 AM

    Hi all, I acully am one of the first who ordered a pandora and I waited for 2,5 years. Last week I got mine. I think its fantastic that they pulled threw. You would belive what problems hit them. It was a wild trip.

    I really like my pandora its a full linux computer for you pocket. I play N64 most of the time, reliving my early gaming days.

    Here you can find games and stuff: http://www.openpandora.org/index.php?option=com_content&...

    The OS is not perfekt but it gets worked on quite a bit.

    I would recomand the pandora for everyone that wants linux in his pocket or if you want to play games with really good controles (the nubs are just fantastic)

    That my little report.

  • by wtracy on 1/27/2011, 12:51 AM

    Also in a similar niche are the Always Innovating products: http://alwaysinnovating.com/

  • by natmaster on 1/27/2011, 12:15 AM

    Seems a lot like the phone from 2009: Nokia N900. (In specs, obviously that wasn't a flip device...and the N900 isn't as bulky)

  • by bobds on 1/27/2011, 7:36 AM

    Anyone else thinking about all the ways the gaming controls can be used on non-game applications?

    I'm pretty sure you'd be able to code efficiently on the Pandora, given some custom key-bindings.

  • by momotomo on 1/26/2011, 10:44 PM

    Surprised it's not android based given that it has an app store and some reasonably popular games already. Anything that would stop them moving in that direction?

  • by JoachimSchipper on 1/27/2011, 9:21 AM

    Looks like a nice SSH terminal, actually.

  • by pedanticfreak on 1/27/2011, 5:56 AM

    OpenPandora had great promise. When they started it there was nothing more powerful. But now it's slower than even the most dated Android phones on the market.

    600 mhz A8? We're in the 1.2ghz range right now. Two, three, and four core designs are about to be commonplace.

  • by gcb on 1/27/2011, 9:05 AM

    why only gaming videos?

    what about sshing into a crashing server and fixing it? editing code in vim on the bus?

    those would be cool videos too. And knowing the emulator scene a little, i bet the keyboard will be used more than the joypads... or you will only play the 'easily' portable ones and not try that game that no one got working yet?