Bluetooth a confirmed addition to Pandora

Not much else to say beyond the title of this one -- MWeston has recently confirmed over at the GP32X boards that Bluetooth will indeed be included on the forthcoming Pandora mega-emulator. He noted that BT was added because of an exceptional deal they landed and to "make competing devices look that much less interesting." Right, so what exactly is this bundle of awesomeness competing against exactly?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

[OneLove @ May 30th 2008 12:58PM]

...still fugly.

[silverblackvoid @ May 30th 2008 5:05PM]

actually i find it quite beautiful. pulchritudinous and splendiferous i might add.

[jason @ May 30th 2008 1:01PM]

those joypads or what ever they are (maybe D-pads?) are in WAY to far

[atomicthumbs @ May 30th 2008 2:41PM]

They're about the same position as the edges of the lower screen on a DS Lite. What's the problem?

[Christy McGrory @ May 30th 2008 1:02PM]

Wow, this thing just keeps getting bigger and bigger... (computers suck at sarcasm)

[atomicthumbs @ May 30th 2008 2:44PM]

http://www.openpandora.de/images/panda07.jpg

[Christy McGrory @ May 30th 2008 8:36PM]

Point taken.

[DssTrainer @ May 30th 2008 1:09PM]

Still fugly and too big to be useful. Better off getting a laptop that has the gamepad built-in like the http://www.pocketables.net/2007/04/cathena_cx_rebr.html At least You'll also get a full pc out of it...plus every emulator in the world.

Pandora is just not practical like the GP2X...
Plus the http://www.icontrolpad.com/ will be taking over the Mobile Emulation handheld market

[Loonie @ May 30th 2008 1:29PM]

It's apparently slightly larger than the DS. You know, that terribly unportable handheld.

Do you have really, really tiny pockets or something?

[atomicthumbs @ May 30th 2008 1:54PM]

You haven't been paying attention.

http://www.openpandora.de/images/panda07.jpg

That's a Pandora render stacked against an EEE PC.

[DssTrainer @ May 30th 2008 2:17PM]

Ahh i see.. the standalone pics make it look as big as a lunch box.. It is more practical now that I see it scaled

[Diamond Dave @ May 30th 2008 1:23PM]

What's with all the Pandora hate? This thing is going to be uber cool? I can't wait to get my hands on one. I can play movies on it (with out all the crap I have to go through with the PSP), cool folding formfactor (like the DS), and a nice little mini-keyboard for pda like stuff, and lots of games/emulation, great battery life--perfect for that long plane flight or trip. What's not to like?

[atomicthumbs @ May 30th 2008 2:39PM]

"Great" battery life is an understatement - how does 100 hours of music sound?

[crushinator @ May 30th 2008 1:42PM]

I have to say I was skeptical at first about the Pandora, but I'm starting to come around. From what I've read the people behind it are dedicated to good controls (unlike gph) so I'd recommend at least giving a shot before condemning them. It has the benefits of being an open platform. The keyboard is absolutely necessary for emulating older PCs like the Apple 2 and the Commodore. If the GP2X is any indicator the independent development community is large and energized. My biggest concern is that it will be too expensive to catch on. Everyone says they're willing to spend 4 or 5 hundred dollars on something like this; it remains to be seen if they'll pony up when it's finally available.

[atomicthumbs @ May 30th 2008 2:47PM]

ZodTTD is working on a Nintendo 64 Emulator, and DS and PSP might (emphasis on might) be handled by Exophase and Hlide, respectively.

[Hochler @ May 30th 2008 3:14PM]

It's estimated to be $330.

[john @ May 30th 2008 3:06PM]

What's it competing against?

I've heard people say that they're going to dump the Nokia IT's for one. Which means it's not just competing against the DS, and the emulators, it's competing against the MID category of devices.

Why by a MID, when someone will probably port a PIM suite and all of that to the Pandora (which, IIRC, is linux based as well). etc.

[Bunson @ May 30th 2008 4:30PM]

It's competing against everything... including god.

[Brady @ May 30th 2008 3:15PM]

I've put a lot of research into this thing and have decided not to get it. It is going to be an unbelievable handheld and at first I was all over this thing but I have decided not to get it because I'm going off to college and the cost is far too much for the playing time that I will see on this. Also, I like retro games for the multiplayer, not the single player. I think I'm going to get an ultraportabile to give me my portable emulation machine and that's all the money I can spend. This is going to be an unbelievable device though and bluetooth is something that I was hoping would be on it.

[atomicthumbs @ May 30th 2008 3:32PM]

Is it just me or did you accidentally comment on the wrong website?

[FRZ @ May 30th 2008 3:35PM]

I just can't wait for this one. I am stacking my pennies till the day comes. It is exactly the device I am looking for. For the specs and price, it beats everything that's out there and coming.

[BigD145 @ May 30th 2008 3:36PM]

The price will probably keep me away from it. I'd rather have an underpowered subnote for my emulation whims.

[Hochler @ May 30th 2008 3:51PM]

Maybe I'm reading wrong, but did you say that an ultraportable is
cheaper? The Pandora is only going to be $330, I don't not any good
ultraportables at that price.

[Hochler @ May 30th 2008 3:52PM]

Crap, wrong reply, ignore me.

[Bunson @ May 30th 2008 4:31PM]

ok

[SiLo @ May 30th 2008 4:05PM]

I can't wait, this mutha is gonna rock DOOM with WASD no problem.

[TareX @ May 30th 2008 4:28PM]

Am I the only one not excited with the Pandora? Any laptop, and any decent smartphone nowadays could emulate GBA/SNES/and sometimes PSX.

This device would have been revolutionary last year. But today we (or I at least) demand hi-res HQ graphics on my handheld. That means the new DS-lite (on next E3 maybe) or the new Sony handheld.

My Nokia E65 could emulate almost the entire GBA library and it fits in my slim pocket perfectly. If I am gonna get a handheld, it better be for A LOT MORE than mere emulation.

I could probably buy a Pandora/GPX2 for my 9-year old nephew and he'll definitely be thrilled (till he sees a classmate with a PSP). But that's as far as the Pandora should go.

Internet access? Yeah that's not in any phone now.

[atomicthumbs @ May 30th 2008 7:29PM]

Except that the Pandora's graphics and processor are better than a PSP's.

[TareX @ May 30th 2008 4:34PM]

If you're planning to get this, you can find a used PSP-slim for about the same price (or even less) on ebay, and then you can enjoy all the PSP-library (or if u know what ur doing u can 'hack' it) and have all the emulation offered on the Pandora.

Not that the Pandora isn't nice, but I wouldn't give it more than its due credit.

[TareX @ May 30th 2008 4:39PM]

SONY PSP SYSTEM SLIM PLUS 8 GAMES AC ADAPTOR +MORE
http://global.ebay.com/gbh/viItem?ItemId=190224919964

That's the point I'm trying to make, and the price? 250 US$ and I didn't even try to look for cheaper psp-slims.

[JMX33 @ May 31st 2008 1:07AM]

a psp slim is cheaper but it lacks the keyboard, bluetooth, high res touchscreen and possibility of fast n64 emulation---even more importantly, the psp slim doesnt have built in usb host, between sdio, usb host and bluetooth anything can be connected to the pandora in any way.