I know it's a private basement project, I know it's poorly funded, I know it emulates many machines (except what matters; the psp)... but sorry 329 is way too much. I can have a slim PSP with a memory stick loaded with PSP iso games (and MAME, and GBA, and SNES...) on ebay for less than $200....
the pandora can clock up to 900mhz and has a pretty beefy GPU similar to the one in the dreamcast only a later iteration of it the PSP clocks up to 333mhz isn't that right? so even at its defaults the pandora has a 200mhz edge
of course mhz isn't everything but don't forget that the arm cortex-a8 in the pandora is considerably faster than even ARM11's clocked at teh same speed
alright, Pandora has more power. But it STILL can't emulate PSP isos.
It's moments like these when you don't ask yourself what the Pandora's potential is. You ask what it can actually DO. It's an excellent emulator for everything other than the PSP. The thing is, the PSP can do all the other handhelds + has a huge library for itself.... and a higher build quality, slimmer package...etc...AND is a lot cheaper.
I was very excited about Pandora but given its price AND how low a used slim PSP with isos and emulators costs, I don't think it will be winning me over.
The PSP is cheaper because they make money off the games as I'm sure you are already aware. Most of us don't want to bother with hacking and potentially bricking our PSPs to run the software that we want on it. Sony doesn't want us doing that either, obviously, which is why they continue to fight against it with firmware upgrades. That was fine when we didn't really have a choice but now we do. I'd prefer to support the companies that are making open systems since that is what I am interested in and I'd like them to continue to make them. You can't compare the price point though. They have to make money off of the hardware. There's no way around that. If you are cool with your PSP then that's perfectly fine. I'm just throwing in my two cents.
Plus for $64 shipped, I can throw 32 GB worth of storage into this thing. Let's see your PSP do that? :)))
Alright, but again, what about the most important thing, THE GAMES?
With the PSP you have the entire ISO library of PSP games (some even better than the PS2 in quality) and MAME,GBA,SNES...etc Whereas the Pandora will emulate the latter group in addition to PSone games that don't compare to those of the PSP in terms of quality, besides the fact they weren't made for handheld.
Pandora is "open", it's "free", it can do anything and everything... only I'm sorry but if it could do PSP then I wouldn't be debating with you. But it can't. And guess what, the PSP can do all the other systems as well.
Add this entire debate to the fact next-gen handheld gaming is just around the corner.
the pandora is likely to have a huge open source game collection quake 3 and maybe even doom 4 when it is released opensource right after rage goes on sale according to id
also the screen is of far higher quality than that of the PSP
* Add this entire debate to the fact next-gen handheld gaming is just around the corner. *
I wouldn't count on this one happening too quickly. The PSP just got going a year ago, maybe two. I don't see Sony, especially in the shape they are in right now, going back to square one and putting out a brand new, insanely overspeced handheld gaming system for a while. It'll be 3 - 5 years at least. They might update the PSP a couple more times with some minor revisions but it was way too far a head of it's time when it came out to make it worth making another one just yet. Ninty might come out with another handheld but theirs are always terribly underspeced and will be lucky to be as powerful as the current PSP. You'll be waiting longer than you think. Handheld gaming systems don't advance as fast as their console counterparts.
* ...only I'm sorry but if it could do PSP then... *
If all you want is a gaming handheld and don't mind hacking the firmware to do MAME, NES etc then the PSP is probably the way to go. You'll probably get most of the desired emulators and have PSP games to boot. Browsing the internet on the PSP is not pleasent and you're not going to be able to do OpenOffice type stuff, not sure about PDF viewing, music composition and whatever else we use computers for. If you can, the applications probably aren't very polished or are difficult to use. My point is that it can be used for more than just playing games. I personally think that is a nice bonus and worth the extra cost (for me).
I would just like to say that although the pandora does not emulate the PSP yet, that does not mean that it will not.
I hope u relise that it took people like DaX (major player in custom psp firmware) and many others in the psp scene that made the emulators and homebrew games / apps years to make the psp as good as it is today.
If you look at this list it gives you a good idea at the current emulating possibilities and abilities of the pandora as it stands now, and this is before the device is to be shipped.
If you look at this list someone is actually going to attempt to make a dreamcast emu for pandora! Somthing that would never happen on the psp, its just not got the power needed.
also does the psp have a built in keybord? not yet and its been years and still nothing official about one, also the browser isn't perticurlarly amazing, but the pandora should be able to run firefox which is a much better browser.
And im not saying all this because I hate the psp cos i dont! i own 2 the original black one witch has a undiluted platinum mod chip in it, and a slim and light white one, both with the latest released DaX custom firmware.
I just think that the pandora has so much more to offer than my psps, i.e. bluetooth (this could be used with a bluetooth gps device), large resolution touch screen, built in keyboard, dual anolog controllers (which the psp soooo should have had) and the best for me has got to be the built in USB 2.0 host which means I can plug my own usb devices into the pandora e.g. my own keyboard and mouse along with any other usb 2.0 device as long as there are drivers for it (mmmmm :) external usb hardrive, mmmmm :) usb psx pad adaptor cable for my psx pad).
Just because you happen to be the one person on Earth who thinks PSP has an indispensable library of games doesn't mean that the Pandora has no potential.
oh my God. When exactly did I say Pandora has no potential? Does everyone here go into "Brain Dead mode" once pandora is criticised?
All Pandora has is "potential". But until it emulates PSP, and emulates it smoothly, the PSP will remain a more capable device with a bigger library of games, including the PSP games which are the most important, and all in a smaller package for a much better price.
As for Firefox on Pandora... this is great, it is. But Pandora is first and foremost a gaming device, and till it can at least do PSP, it will be LARGELY deficient, and needlessly more expensive (till PSP is emulated).
i agree with you that the psp is better for games , but you didnt factor in the mid-like qualities of the device. the psp is good for games and only games, which is fine if all you want to do is play games , but if you want to browse the web , im chat , watch movies or anything else the psp is rubbish.
it might not be the best portable gaming machine but it seem like it might be the best all rounder , and considering what you get for your money i do not think it is overpriced.
Well, you completely misunderstand the market if you think all it needs to be good for is games. Hey, I don't even play console/handheld games to speak of, and I'm considering getting one out of the next batch (or one of these second-hand). The Pandora team, somewhere along the way, seem to have realized the way to build a gaming machine is to build a general purpose computer with gaming controls -- while as a non-PSP/DS/etc. type, I don't really care about the gaming controls, it's the cheapest pocket computer with this processing power on the market.
For anyone less hung-up on PSP games than you, the versatility of this wins bigtime; you could buy a PSP and a netbook for twice this, or buy this and cover 90% of both. A lot of people like that.
You see that last phrase, this is where you're wrong. You won't be "covering 90% of both a PSP+netbook"! Hell you won't be covering 10-15% of the PSP alone. If you want to consider the Pandora as a very capable MID, then yeah you're right it's a bargain and a good deal.
But as far as gaming is concerned, and I imagine that's the #1 attraction, it is far from a bargain. Internet? I have my smartphone for that. Movies? PSP can do that.
Down on paper, it boils down to this:
Pandora: Can do Firefox, but not a single PSP game. PSP: Has a mediocre browser, can do PSP isos + GBA,SNES,MAME,...etc.
Again, if you plan to use it as an MID, then $329 is an amazing price to ask for. But I assume everyone owns an Internet capable device already (iPhone, Smartphone...etc), and if you want to supplement it with the biggest library of handheld games ever, get a hacked slim PSP off ebay for less than $200 and load it with all the ROMs, ISOs you can think of.
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
I know it's a private basement project, I know it's poorly funded, I know it emulates many machines (except what matters; the psp)... but sorry 329 is way too much. I can have a slim PSP with a memory stick loaded with PSP iso games (and MAME, and GBA, and SNES...) on ebay for less than $200....
I hope it sells well, though.
the pandora can clock up to 900mhz and has a pretty beefy GPU similar to the one in the dreamcast only a later iteration of it
the PSP clocks up to 333mhz isn't that right? so even at its defaults the pandora has a 200mhz edge
of course mhz isn't everything but don't forget that the arm cortex-a8 in the pandora is considerably faster than even ARM11's clocked at teh same speed
PSP = 333mhz and 64mb ram at the max
Pandora = 500-600mhz defualt and up to 900mhz easy with 128mb ram
you do the math pandora will win
alright, Pandora has more power. But it STILL can't emulate PSP isos.
It's moments like these when you don't ask yourself what the Pandora's potential is. You ask what it can actually DO. It's an excellent emulator for everything other than the PSP. The thing is, the PSP can do all the other handhelds + has a huge library for itself.... and a higher build quality, slimmer package...etc...AND is a lot cheaper.
I was very excited about Pandora but given its price AND how low a used slim PSP with isos and emulators costs, I don't think it will be winning me over.
The PSP is cheaper because they make money off the games as I'm sure you are already aware. Most of us don't want to bother with hacking and potentially bricking our PSPs to run the software that we want on it. Sony doesn't want us doing that either, obviously, which is why they continue to fight against it with firmware upgrades. That was fine when we didn't really have a choice but now we do. I'd prefer to support the companies that are making open systems since that is what I am interested in and I'd like them to continue to make them. You can't compare the price point though. They have to make money off of the hardware. There's no way around that. If you are cool with your PSP then that's perfectly fine. I'm just throwing in my two cents.
Plus for $64 shipped, I can throw 32 GB worth of storage into this thing. Let's see your PSP do that? :)))
Alright, but again, what about the most important thing, THE GAMES?
With the PSP you have the entire ISO library of PSP games (some even better than the PS2 in quality) and MAME,GBA,SNES...etc
Whereas the Pandora will emulate the latter group in addition to PSone games that don't compare to those of the PSP in terms of quality, besides the fact they weren't made for handheld.
Pandora is "open", it's "free", it can do anything and everything... only I'm sorry but if it could do PSP then I wouldn't be debating with you. But it can't. And guess what, the PSP can do all the other systems as well.
Add this entire debate to the fact next-gen handheld gaming is just around the corner.
can a PSP emulate a PSP...hmm?
the pandora is likely to have a huge open source game collection quake 3 and maybe even doom 4 when it is released opensource right after rage goes on sale according to id
also the screen is of far higher quality than that of the PSP
* Add this entire debate to the fact next-gen handheld gaming is just around the corner. *
I wouldn't count on this one happening too quickly. The PSP just got going a year ago, maybe two. I don't see Sony, especially in the shape they are in right now, going back to square one and putting out a brand new, insanely overspeced handheld gaming system for a while. It'll be 3 - 5 years at least. They might update the PSP a couple more times with some minor revisions but it was way too far a head of it's time when it came out to make it worth making another one just yet. Ninty might come out with another handheld but theirs are always terribly underspeced and will be lucky to be as powerful as the current PSP. You'll be waiting longer than you think. Handheld gaming systems don't advance as fast as their console counterparts.
* ...only I'm sorry but if it could do PSP then... *
If all you want is a gaming handheld and don't mind hacking the firmware to do MAME, NES etc then the PSP is probably the way to go. You'll probably get most of the desired emulators and have PSP games to boot. Browsing the internet on the PSP is not pleasent and you're not going to be able to do OpenOffice type stuff, not sure about PDF viewing, music composition and whatever else we use computers for. If you can, the applications probably aren't very polished or are difficult to use. My point is that it can be used for more than just playing games. I personally think that is a nice bonus and worth the extra cost (for me).
Hi TareX,
I would just like to say that although the pandora does not emulate the PSP yet, that does not mean that it will not.
I hope u relise that it took people like DaX (major player in custom psp firmware) and many others in the psp scene that made the emulators and homebrew games / apps years to make the psp as good as it is today.
If you look at this list it gives you a good idea at the current emulating possibilities and abilities of the pandora as it stands now, and this is before the device is to be shipped.
http://www.gp32x.com/board/index.php?showtopic=41897
If you look at this list someone is actually going to attempt to make a dreamcast emu for pandora! Somthing that would never happen on the psp, its just not got the power needed.
also does the psp have a built in keybord? not yet and its been years and still nothing official about one, also the browser isn't perticurlarly amazing, but the pandora should be able to run firefox which is a much better browser.
And im not saying all this because I hate the psp cos i dont! i own 2 the original black one witch has a undiluted platinum mod chip in it, and a slim and light white one, both with the latest released DaX custom firmware.
I just think that the pandora has so much more to offer than my psps, i.e. bluetooth (this could be used with a bluetooth gps device), large resolution touch screen, built in keyboard, dual anolog controllers (which the psp soooo should have had) and the best for me has got to be the built in USB 2.0 host which means I can plug my own usb devices into the pandora e.g. my own keyboard and mouse along with any other usb 2.0 device as long as there are drivers for it (mmmmm :) external usb hardrive, mmmmm :) usb psx pad adaptor cable for my psx pad).
I have mine pre-ordered and i just cant wait.
anyone else as excited as me?
eeeeeeeee :D
Just because you happen to be the one person on Earth who thinks PSP has an indispensable library of games doesn't mean that the Pandora has no potential.
oh my God. When exactly did I say Pandora has no potential? Does everyone here go into "Brain Dead mode" once pandora is criticised?
All Pandora has is "potential". But until it emulates PSP, and emulates it smoothly, the PSP will remain a more capable device with a bigger library of games, including the PSP games which are the most important, and all in a smaller package for a much better price.
As for Firefox on Pandora... this is great, it is. But Pandora is first and foremost a gaming device, and till it can at least do PSP, it will be LARGELY deficient, and needlessly more expensive (till PSP is emulated).
Nobody said love for openness should be BLIND.
@tarex
$329 is too much ?
i agree with you that the psp is better for games , but you didnt factor in the mid-like qualities of the device. the psp is good for games and only games, which is fine if all you want to do is play games , but if you want to browse the web , im chat , watch movies or anything else the psp is rubbish.
it might not be the best portable gaming machine but it seem like it might be the best all rounder , and considering what you get for your money i do not think it is overpriced.
Well, you completely misunderstand the market if you think all it needs to be good for is games. Hey, I don't even play console/handheld games to speak of, and I'm considering getting one out of the next batch (or one of these second-hand). The Pandora team, somewhere along the way, seem to have realized the way to build a gaming machine is to build a general purpose computer with gaming controls -- while as a non-PSP/DS/etc. type, I don't really care about the gaming controls, it's the cheapest pocket computer with this processing power on the market.
For anyone less hung-up on PSP games than you, the versatility of this wins bigtime; you could buy a PSP and a netbook for twice this, or buy this and cover 90% of both. A lot of people like that.
@ Benson.
You see that last phrase, this is where you're wrong. You won't be "covering 90% of both a PSP+netbook"! Hell you won't be covering 10-15% of the PSP alone. If you want to consider the Pandora as a very capable MID, then yeah you're right it's a bargain and a good deal.
But as far as gaming is concerned, and I imagine that's the #1 attraction, it is far from a bargain. Internet? I have my smartphone for that. Movies? PSP can do that.
Down on paper, it boils down to this:
Pandora: Can do Firefox, but not a single PSP game.
PSP: Has a mediocre browser, can do PSP isos + GBA,SNES,MAME,...etc.
Again, if you plan to use it as an MID, then $329 is an amazing price to ask for. But I assume everyone owns an Internet capable device already (iPhone, Smartphone...etc), and if you want to supplement it with the biggest library of handheld games ever, get a hacked slim PSP off ebay for less than $200 and load it with all the ROMs, ISOs you can think of.
Come on people. How many times have you heard "Don't feed the TROLLS"?