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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.
OpenPandora begins 'private' sales, fast-track your open-source gaming handheld for an extra $150
What with all the excitement about Sony's quad-core handheld and Nintendo's autostereoscopic screen, we have to say, we nearly forgot about the open-source Pandora handheld slowly but assuredly shipping from the UK. Well, we've got some bittersweet news to share, and here it goes: you can now purchase a Pandora for $500, and have it ship within a week. What's bitter about that? Because normally you pay $350 and get put on the pre-order waiting list. That extra $150 sounds like quite the surcharge, but it's an option if you simply can't wait for your number to come up, and OpenPandora chief Craig Rothwell tweets that some portion of those monies will help support the project. Still, those extra units have to come from somewhere, and if you've been standing in line for months, we imagine you won't happy to hear that some rich kid can just swoop in and buy your Pandora out from under you without a care in the world.
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.
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!
