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Pandora handheld approaches full production next month, never gave up hope
Remember the Pandora? Back when the likes of the PS Vita and the Nintendo 3DS remained conceptual sketches in top secret bunkers, this open-source handheld paired up a clamshell form factor with analogue game controls, a QWERTY keyboard and a dream. It's been a slow-burning dream; last time we heard from the OpenPandora project, it had managed a limited (premium-priced) run, with manufacturing hobbled by problems. But, like its namesake, there was always hope and fans of the platform ponied up around half a million euros to bring the four-year-old project back to life. It's now set to go into full production next month with a new manufacturer, but unfortunately the same specs. While the 4.3-inch 800 x 480 touchscreen sparkled a few years earlier, it's now being supplanted by what we're getting on our smartphones. However, those tempted by an open source OS, a battery life of over ten hours and a very faithful fanbase, can stake their claim to one at the source below. We've got our fingers crossed for you. Update: The creators got in touch to add that these incoming Pandoras will have 512MB of RAM, and a revised verions of the OMAP3. The processor can also be overclocked to 800MHz -- apparently enough to run PSX titles, emulator fans.
Pandora handheld now shipping: first mass-produced unit unboxed, world somehow survives
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gadgets/Pandora_handheld_now_shipping'; The open-source Pandora handheld has had a long and arduous time to market, but the days of delay are apparently at an end. You gaze upon the very first Pandora off the assembly line -- the fruit of over two years labor -- and project leaders are presently shipping out the rest of the first completed batch, with scores if not hundreds already on the way. GP32X forum mod X68000 got this unit for his help in construction, which means you can see Pandora's box literally opened at our source link (har har). Puns not your thing? Spot a batch of handhelds at the soldering station instead, right after the break. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Pandora handheld looking less like vaporware with each passing day
Two years ago this month, the open-source Pandora handheld missed its first ship date. To their credit, the GP2X community had a working dev board, but the handheld's DS Lite-like case was nowhere to be found, and things have generally progressed at a glacial pace ever since. However, in February, a spark of hope arrived in the form of dev units, and this week, it appears the last lingering snags are finally being undone. The above image is a pair of honest-to-goodness mass produced Pandoras with painted, hopefully final cases; and at the official Pandora blog, the team reports that it now has fully functioning drivers for every component, has resumed production on the mainboards, and intends to ship both cases and boards to the UK soon for final assembly. Everything seems to be finally coming together. At this point, it would take a disaster of biblical proportions -- say, a volcanic eruption -- to stop Pandora buyers from lifting lids later this year. [Thanks, Andy]
Near-final Pandora handhelds start shipping, proves that dreams really do come true
It's been over two solid years since we first caught wind of this here gaming handheld, and while we were initially led to believe that finalized units would be in the hands of emulation junkies long before now, we suppose loyalists are finding that late really is superior to never. After months and months of "almosts," the first wave of final Pandora handhelds are shipping out, with many community followers posting up unboxing shots as they come. We're also expecting a flood of homebrewed applications to start surfacing as more of these filter out, so be sure and drop us a line if you discover and / or create something otherworldly. Plenty more shots in the links below -- you know, if you're still patiently awaiting the arrival of your own. [Thanks, Paul] Update: A community member pinged us to say that these units actually aren't final in terms of the cases they're in. They're only being sent out now to a few members so "development [can begin] on actual Pandora hardware." Sigh.
Android ported to Pandora, in the name of science or something
Okay, folks, you know the drill: here lies new hardware, may we see it hacked to run unintended software. Today's contestant is Pandora, once thought to be relegated to the realm of vaporware and now in full production. One of the lucky, open source-friendly buyers decided that the native Linux distribution was just not for his liking, and instead opted for Google's little green man mobile OS. Touchscreen support isn't there yet, but you gotta start somewhere, right? Video of Android on Pandora after the break. Now we wait until the time we can gleefully say "Pandora (the app) on Android on Pandora" while we listen to some rocking streamed tunes.
Near-final Pandora handheld gets user reviewed, shown playing Super Mario 64
The long (long!) awaited Pandora gaming handheld is inching closer and closer to reality, with all but a few i's and t's left to dot and cross (respectively). It's so close to ready, in fact, that personnel from the device's production team invited a mere mortal (also known as a forum member) to their homes in order to test out and tinker with a pre-production model. Naturally, his hands-on experience was nothing short of glowing -- but really, we wouldn't expect anything less from a devout forum member who clearly digs even the idea of having a Pandora to hold and snuggle with. There's no denying the awesomeness that awaits you in the video past the break, though, and if the unit really does handle everything as smoothly as it does Super Mario 64, we're all in for a treat.
Pandora hits some production snags, will miss the holidays
Concerned for a long-suffering Pandora pre-orderer in you life? Well, you might want to keep them away from sharp knives and their dormant SD card full of rare ROMs for the next few weeks. The device has seemed tantalizingly close in recent months, but new word from the front lines means that we won't be seeing the final devices ship out until well into the new year. Luckily, the list of tweaks sounds pretty minor, including an adjustment to shoulder button action perfection that we can all get behind, but we suppose it also serves as a sobering example of just how hard it can be to actually get good hardware (or even the crappy stuff) built. Cough, CrunchPad, cough. [Thanks, Steve] Update: Seems things may not be as serious as previously assumed, but until we see these things shipping en masse, we still aren't getting our hopes up too high. It's a personal defense mechanism, is all. Thanks, atomicthumbs!
First production Pandora case has been assembled (update: video!)
Pandora fans are definitely partying tonight. Michael Weston and crew have uploaded the first pics of manufacturing test unit built using the mass production parts -- as team member Craig Rothwell noted over at the GP32X forums, even if minor tweaks are deemed necessary, for all intents and purposes this is the first production unit. There's plenty more pics in Weston's Photobucket gallery, including a veritable sea of internal boards (seen after the break). Rothwell says more pics and video are coming but gave no indication of when -- if you think you can temper your excitement, it might be best to sleep tonight and check in on things again tomorrow. Update: Video showing first boot of this ARM Cortex-A8 gaming handheld with PowerVR SGX programmable GPU after the break! [Thanks, xmrgamerx]
Pandora cases start arriving, production enters 'so close you can smell it' stage
The elusive Pandora handheld and the Phantom gaming system have a lot in common. Thankfully, there's one critical difference, and that's the fact that the dutiful souls behind what's sure to become the world's next favorite pocket gizmo actually have some proof that mass production is tantalizingly near. The latest update has quite a few images of the final mold, and we're also told that mass production has begun on the mainboards. All that's left to do is add a touch of paint, snap a few things together and yell "Hello World!" for all the world to hear. Hit the read link if you're badly in need of getting some drool out of your system. [Thanks, Andrew]
Pandora rolls into production this month, emulates Dreamcast now
The OpenPandora kids have dropped us a line to say that yes, finally, "after a lot of serious tweaking," it looks like Pandora is ready to roll. And as an added bonus, they've given us a little demonstration of the open source game platform rocking a Dreamcast emulator. Not that you'll be able to play The House of The Dead 2 flawlessly on the thing -- apparently the CPU suffers from some sort of floating point unit problem and a great many texture / blending modes are not supported. So don't abandon that Dreamcast Tablet just yet. As far as getting your hands on the handheld yourself, here's the skinny: of the four thousand devices in the initial lot, there are about a hundred units unspoken for and still available for pre-order. Priced at $330 each, if you're interested you'd better jump now -- there won't be another batch until 2010. In the meantime, you can see that Dreamcast emulator we told you about in action after the break.[Thanks, Devon]
Pandora creeps ever closer to production in latest round of photos
We keep hearing about how Pandora's "almost" in production... and we don't like to be naysayers, so we're not going to get sarcastic about it now. And while it is taking it's sweet time in getting to us, the evidence of progress just keeps piling on, day in, day out. The newest photos that have emerged show a nearly final casing, and we have to say, we do like what we're seeing. We're assured that video is en route, and we'll let you know as soon as it turns up. Because, you know: we want to believe. There are another two shots after the break, hit the read link for the full set.[Via Gadgetoid]
Complete, nearly finalized Pandora gets shown off on video
Poor Pandora. It looks like the shock of actually being nearly finished has turned it stark white. The little trooper was still able to make it through its latest demo video though, and it looks to be running better than ever, with it sailing through Quake at the handheld's native 800 x 480 resolution and at a full 60 fps. Just as importantly, the d-pad, nubs, action buttons, and keypad are all now apparently in their final or nearly final states and seemingly up to their all-purpose tasks, as are the all-important blinkin' LED lights. Head on past the break for the full show, and keep your eye out for a promised follow-up video (including some Quake 3 action).
Video: Pandora hardware prototype demoed
We've seen Pandora (in various build states) doing a few things on video in the past but we have never -- and we mean never -- seen it playing a Sonic the Hedgehog game. Actually, what we're looking at is a nearly complete prototype of the hardware, and though the unit is still admittedly in rough-around-the-edges prototype form, it's good to know the project is progressing (and should be welcome news for all those people that pre-ordered way back in October). Near the end of the video there's an epic struggle between the pint-sized console and the hands that would seek to enslave it. Trust us: you don't want to miss this one, guys.
Pandora runs Angstrom, still in hiding
You might not have received your Pandora yet, but certainly you'll be happy to know that the Open Pandora team has got Angstrom up and running on the open source device. Remember a couple months back, when someone got Ubuntu running on a Pandora devboard? Prepare to relive all of the stylus-poking excitement as the developer fires up Firefox and rocks out to GIMP, all in a show-stopping YouTube video. Just keep in mind that, like the device itself, this is still a work-in-progress, with all sorts of tweaking and customizing yet to come. So check out the video if you're curious -- just don't ask us where your handheld is.
Pandora devs announce memory upgrade via confusing brainteaser
We'll be honest with you: we don't read the GP32X board nearly as often as we'd like -- but we did manage to cull from its archive this cold, hard fact: Pandora is now going to ship with 256MB of beautiful, delicious RAM, AND 512MB of flash memory -- that's double what we initially were told to expect, and Craigix confirmed that Ubuntu is now running 20 percent faster with the upgrade. This windfall comes at no additional cost to the patient, patient consumer. Our advice though? Next time there's a seriously righteous spec bump happening, try not to couch it in a riddle. [Thanks, Jared E]
Pandora pre-orders extended through the weekend
Procrastinating? Lazy? Living on the streets? Forgot to set your alarm and slept through the week? Well, you're in luck: the Pandora pre-order page will continue to accept your orders through Sunday, and production will be increased beyond the initial 3,000 units to meet the demand. So what are you waiting for? You already blew your first shot -- and this is will be your last chance to catch the open-source sensation this year. Go on, get! [Thanks, Andrari S.]
Pandora pre-orders go live
We still don't really believe it, but the Pandora pre-order page is now live and accepting orders for the open-source gaming handheld. Only 3,000 units are being delivered this time around, so you'd better act fast -- $329 is all it takes to be a part of history, kids.
Ubuntu up and running on Pandora
All kinds of exciting things are happening in the Pandora universe, and now one enterprising individual has succeeded in getting Ubuntu 7.04 up and running on his development model. Things move pretty slowly, and no luck yet with Firefox, but the thrilling video does catch him playing with GIMP and the Xfce desktop environment. See for yourself after the break. [Thanks, Stern]
Pandora finally (finally!) gets a ship date and price
Be still our hearts! After months upon months (upon months) of waiting, the tight-knit team behind the ultra-potent Pandora gaming handheld has finally divulged the information we've been clamoring for: the ARM Cortex A8-powered device will begin shipping before Christmas 2008 for £199.99 in the UK. The first batch will consist of 3,000 units, and the team is hoping that all of those will be sold out before the first one leaves the dock. There's no word on how costly it'll be for Americans, though we're crossing our fingers that it'll sell for a few bucks less than the $360 we find when simply converting pounds to dollars. [Thanks, Andri]
Pandora project demoed on video, shows off hardware, Linux, and Quake 2
It looks like the Pandora project is really coming together nicely. EvilDragon has just posted this video on the GP32x boards of a development model up and running. It's pretty exciting stuff if you're a homebrew fan (and we know you are), featuring demos of the device smoothly running emulators like PicoDrive, PSNES, booting up a build of Linux, and even getting its Quake 2 on (at high frame rates and looking crystal clear). It's still going to be awhile before we've actually got our grubby mitts on one of these, but this is certainly doing a good job of whetting our appetites. Watch the video after the break and see for yourself. [Thanks, Chris]
