Openpandora
50ish reasons why I adore my Pandora.
For those of you already aware of the OpenPandora
and the mere mention of it is making you giggle to yourself.
I've got a story with a happy ending.
History
Starting in late 2008 Craig Rothwell (and friends) launched a preorder (reaching 4000~)
and after partnering with CircuitCo started shipping units in 2010.
However, setbacks attributed to poor quality work caused high rates of failure. This was followed by more internal problems which lead to the project being placed on hold.
Under the control of a new leader Michael Mrozek (Evil Dragon),
construction was transferred to German company Global Components in late 2011.
The ‘Rebirth’ Pandora (using an updated SOC) was redesigned with known faults resolved.
This success was quickly followed by the construction of the upgraded 1Ghz SuperPandora.
Both models should be in stock now :)
1) The Pandora Appstore
Over 1000 apps (400,000 downloads) and counting.
Used to download/update and track of new software releases. Filled with native applications, emulators, homebrew games, remote access, office tools, web browsers and more.
There are even paid apps for programmers
who are looking for a little coin.
who are looking for a little coin.
2) PNDManager
The native appstore
Offering the ability to access the whole repository from your Pandora. Browse, download & update your PNDs.
3) PND Bundles
The .pnd ("pandora") file is an all-in-one storage format
(game, word processor, emulator, whatever).
More accurately, it is a full application with libraries bundled up into a single mountable filesystem.
The pnd-file system was designed so you could use an application without the hassle of installation or uninstallation, or even having to organize it yourself if you don't want to. You just download or obtain the pnd-file, and run it.
PNDs are detected automatically and accessible without restriction.
4) 10 hours of battery life
Seriously.
Estimated 8+ hour battery life for games,
10+ hour battery life for general applications
and 450+ hours in suspend-to-ram
) SuperZaxxon OS
) ANDROID
) MULTIPLE LINUX DISTROS
) MINIMENU
) TV OUT
) 6000 units globally
This might not be the next iProduct kind of numbers.
but for vapour-ware, I'm impressed.