The Future of Homebrew - Pandora Console ?

[wraggster]

The Homebrew scene is bigger now than its ever been, when i first got really into homebrew we just had the Dreamcast and Gameboy Scenes but now we have homebrew scenes for PSP, Nintendo DS, GP2X, Xbox, Wii, PS3, PS2, Dreamcast, GBA, Sega Saturn, GP32, Gizmondo and many others.

Homebrew is so big now that thousands of sites are posting news on it and even the major sites such as Slashdot, Digg, Engadget and even BBC News have posted interviews and articles about homebrew.

A few years ago saw the release of the GP2X a linux based console that was to revolutionize the homebrew scene, it was and is a good console but the build quality of the first units was not so good and the problems of firmware updates bricking the console didnt help either not to mention the crap battery life. Also problems with the company making the console didnt help either, however the F200 Version of the GP2X addressed some of the problems and gave a touchscreen option which is selling well.

The Pandora Console

Last year i was told of a new project to bring a console that would be as powerful as the PSP and maybe even have Nintendo DS Emulation on it, a big boast if ever there was one.

That project was given the name Pandora and a few months ago it transpired that it would look like a Nintendo DS in shape with a keyboard on, the first version was white and didnt impress but a new photo of the design has been released and it looks much better in black.

Heres the photo:



Heres the specs:

ARM® Cortex™-A8 CPU running Linux
800x480 4.3" 16.7 million colours touchscreen LCD
OpenGL 2.0 compliant 3D hardware
Wifi 802.11b/g
Dual SDHC card slots
Dual Analogue and Digital gaming controls
43 button QWERTY and numeric keypad
TV output
High Speed USB Host

Heres some more details about the console:

When and where can I buy it?
Sometime around April/May 2008 via UK, USA, Germany and Turkey.

How much will it cost?
Around £199 (inc VAT), $330, Euro212 (Ex.VAT).

What is the device designed for?
It is designed as an ultra portable open source computer with gaming controls.

Why such a radical design?
The design is actually a simple clamshell which gives maximum protection and maximum control layout, it is around the same size as a DS.

From the photograph you can see it borrows a lot from the Nintendo DS with the clam style and body shape but improves on it with the dual SD card slots.

The screen is a rather big 800x480 which may be problematic for some emulators, the Wifi part should be awesome for playing emulators and games against people worldwide.

The qwerty keyboard, tv out and USB mean you have a portable console that could double as a mini laptop.

Is Pandora the Future of Homebrew?

Personally i hope that Pandora will be a major success, lets hope the build quality is professional and that battery life is comparable with the likes of the Nintendo DS.

Its unlikely the console will ever be a console that major commercial games will be released on but it could be a great bed for indie developers looking to impress the likes of EA and the many major companies out there.

Thats my feelings but what do you think about the design and if it will be a success, will it challenge the likes of the PSP and Nintendo DS who have very strong Homebrew scenes.

Give us your views via Comments

[masterchief929]

that looks amazing. if the graphics are as good as they look on the picture then i think this is the best handheld ever. i think it might be the future of homebrew.

[one winged angel]

if there are coming some decent emus on it i would highly likely buy it:thumbup::thumbup:

ps: found some more specs:

Spoiler!

# Dimensions: 140 x 83 x 27 mm
# Core: Texas Instrument's OMAP3430 System-on-chip.

* PowerVR SGX GPU (OpenGL ES 2.0, several million polygons per second).
* 128MB of DDR SDRAM.
* Real Time Clock (RTC) built in, to keep track of time.
* 256MB of internal flash memory.[8]

# Display: 800x480 touchscreen LCD.

* Dimensions: 93.6 x 56.2 mm (4.3 inches, 5:3 widescreen aspect ratio).
* Response Time: 15ms (30ms total for a full black-white-black cycle)
* TV-out included in hardware.
o Separate TV-out signals, picture-in-picture capabilities.
* Powerful 2D and 3D hardware acceleration, see above.

# Input: Buttons, keyboard, microphone, and touchscreen.

* Directional pad will be a D-pad - not a pseudo-analog GP2X-style device.
* Two real analog nubs, which will have a click function and a rubber grip.
* QWERTY keyboard.
* Built-In Microphone

# Connectivity: 802.11g (Wi-fi) included. USB host included.

* The USB will be fully powered (500 milliamps). You'll be able to use anything that has drivers.
* RS-232 will be included, but a level converter will be needed for the UART.

# Software: Open2X-type Linux firmware.

* One-click install system - Debian ARM packages will be accepted.

# Misc. Hardware.

* Lithium-ion battery. Standard for easy replacement.
o Can charge through USB.
* Twin SDHC slots.
* Potentiometer based slider for volume control.
* Case will be a bit smaller the GP2X, and will be a mix of metal and plastic.
* Advanced power management capabilities: only need to set a max clockspeed, when the CPU is not doing anything it automatically HALTs and does nothing to save a lot of power.

[pas]

Looks like a mini laptop if you ask me ;(.... I don't care about bulky things like this...

[Airdevil]

Looks like a mini laptop if you ask me ;(.... I don't care about bulky things like this...

Can you neither read or look at pictures properly?

It says its about the same size as a DS, and the picture has a 10p coin in the picture for comparison.

It is hardly bulky.... at all...

IMO this console looks awesome, but lets hope it gets the dev support it needs.

[gtgpeople]

how much ram does this have?

[ExcruciationX]

I would buy one, but I'm saving up for a modded Xbox.

[urherenow]

DS emulation? on a SINGLE 4.3" screen?

Laughable.

[bah]

I was sceptical when I first saw the earlier drawings of the thing, but when I learnt it was about the size of the DS and tried holding mine in the way you would the pandora. The layout seems to work pretty well.

That has to be a render not a photo, the keyboard still looks at fake as ever. Still, it looks quite nice.

masterchief929: I seriously doubt the image on the screen in that render is anything more than a screenshot from another system copied/pasted there to give a rough impression that its going to be 'powerful'.

gtgpeople: 128MB of DDR SDRAM. (from one winged angel's post).

[wind_mill]

If people would make a linux client on this, or get something like ubuntu running on it, this thing might be able to rival the eeepc, maybe even surpass it with its homebrew and emulation capabilities.
I mite consider buying this, but if it had an inbuilt mic i would totally get this. Skype-ing on this thing would be badass.