Gamepark's open-source handhelds, including the GP2X, have gone through several revisions, all offering a fairly robust package at reasonable prices for savvy tech-heads not interested in picking up a Nintendo DS or a Sony PSP. But the devices make some sacrifices for the sake of portability, and that's something that OpenPandora is hoping to take advantage of with its new handheld, Pandora, which is now available for preorder.
Designed specifically to improve upon GamePark's GP handhelds, which also include the forthcoming Wiz, Pandora opts not to minimize computing power for the sake of portability. The unit features an ARM Cortex-A8 600MHz CPU as well as a 128MB of RAM, 256MB of internal Flash memory, and 3D OpenGL ES 2.0 compliant hardware. The unit boasts a full QWERTY keyboard as well as two analog sticks, a directional pad, and a number of game-specific input buttons as well as a 4.3" touch-sensitive LCD screen with a resolution of 800x483. Integrated Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, Bluetooth, dual SDHC slots, and a removable 4000MaH battery round out the feature set.
To say that the Pandora is an attractive device on paper would be an understatement. The specs and capabilities of the machine would make it one of, if not the top handheld on the market. The unit will ship with an unidentified distribution of Linux, though the developers note that it will have a package manager capable of handling Debian Packages for the ARMEL architecture. Videos of the unit running Ubuntu 7 have been posted to the official blog.
Emulation is the key draw for the unit's gaming capabilities. Other videos posted to the official blog highlight working emulators for the Amiga, the Sega Mega Drive, and the original PlayStation. Given the specs and other open-source software readily available for other comparable handhelds, it's not unreasonable to expect that virtually any system prior to the PlayStation could be emulated on the Pandora.
The sole target render of the Pandora handheld.
Because of the open-source nature of the handheld, the developers have started a Developer Fund. The fund, which consumers can freely donate to, is open to help cover the costs of developers creating open-source software for the system.
As much as the prospect of the machine has the open-source community excited, though, one must acknowledge the somewhat sketchy nature of the Pandora project. The company's limited web site, currently only a single page with broken links, does little to reinforce the previously projected specs, nor does it do much to show that the product actually exists. The same target render picture that has been on display since the project began is still there: no real, live pictures have yet to be shown. Even the videos included on the web site show only screens and fragmented hardware not representative of something ready to be preordered.
Moreover, much of the Pandora's software support remains speculative. While the Wiz, Gamepark's new handheld, can easily fall back on an exhaustive, preexisting software bank, there is no precedent for what kind of software the Pandora will see. The open-source community will of course be free to create mountains of software, but, out of the gate, it looks like the Wiz will have the definitive edge in available wares.
The device is currently available for preorder at £199.99 ($329.99). Currently, the preorder promotion—which is said to be limited to 3,000 units—is only on for select regions of Europe, including the UK. The device is slated to ship in late November.
Update: A reader sent in word of another, third-party site which is allowing pre-orders elsewhere in the world with the price in US dollars. Up to date information about the Pandora can be found by subscribing to the OpenPandora newsletter.
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