Pandora, the ultimate opensource handheld game console
August 22, 2008 – 2:45 amWe may be a bit off course with this article, but I had to present this exciting opensource project. The Pandora is a new handheld game console with strong UMPC capabilities.
Pandora Specs
- CPU: ARM Cortex A8 600Mhz+
- RAM memory: 128MB DDR
- Graphic processor: PowerVR SGX OpenGL 2.0 compliant
- Display: 4.3″, 800×480 resolution, touchscreen
- Flash memory: 256MB (internal)
- Connectivity: Wifi 802.11b/g, Bluetooth
- USB host
- Memory card reader: Two SDHC slots
- TV output
- Qwerty keyboard
- Sound: Build in microphone
- Clamshell design
- Controller: D-PAD, two analog sticks,
- Battery: 4000mAh
- Dimensions: 5.5″x3.27″x1.06″ (140×83x27mm)
- Price: about $330, 212€ or 199GBP
- Availability: Preorders online from September 30th, shipping from november 13th.
Almost any console prior to the PlayStation 1 will be emulated, as well as arcade games. The Pandora is in fact designed with emulation in perspective. There are already test videos on youtube showing the Pandora’s impressive speed. One of the reasons why I sold my DS Lite was the experience with emulators, it couldn’t emulate the Sega Genesis decently, at full speed with sound.
Native linux games will also work, a port of Quake2 already exists. I’m curious how good Wine will run on this device. It could open the door for some commercial closed source games.
a rendered picture of the pandora
Compared to the Nintendo DS Lite, the Pandora has just slightly bigger proportions.
Its battery has a huge capacity (4000mAh), providing at least 10 hours of gaming. In comparison, the PSP Slim and Lite’s battery has a capacity of 1200mAh and the latest eee pc 900A 4400mAh.
Bluetooth was added to the configuration. Connect the Pandora to your 3G enabled cell phone and you can surf from anywhere, type your emails, share pictures. Additionaly, you will be able to use bluetooth peripherals (wireless mouse, keyboard, hands free, etc).
Two high capacity SD readers are present, you can have all your software on one card, and still have a slot available for your digital camera’s card, MP3 music, or DiVX movies. Speaking of movies, with the TV output, you can connect a Pandora to your TV and play videos (or games).
Whether you have a network at home, or a hotspot nearby, the Wifi adapter will allow a fast internet access, and multiplayer gaming. Firefox 3 will be installed as well as a flash player, and the touchscreen will make of surfing much easier.
The Pandora contains 128MB of RAM memory (the first PSP had 32MB, the PSP Slim and Lite 64MB and the Nintendo DS 4MB). As much as the DS has a dedicated homebrew community, with interesting software such as DSOrganize, the lack of RAM memory made my web surfing experience very limited, especially with pages loaded with pictures.
On the other hand, the PSP has a powerful enough hardware, but without a touchscreen or a keyboard, surfing is not the best task performed by Sony’s handheld.
Touchscreen capabilities made the popularity of the DS, by providing an innovative gaming experience. The Pandora is the perfect handheld console for real time strategy, FPS or RPG fans.
The USB host is also a very clever addition. It should be possible to use a webcam, a TV tuner, or any USB hardware, if there are Linux drivers for the device.
The Pandora mixes up all the best sides from the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS, combining all the finest technologies available in a true pocketable computer, media player, and gaming handheld. A marvelous device in perspective. Shipping should begin on november 13th.
Official site: openpandora.org.
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