The Pandora is an
operating system
An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs.
Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ...
,
handheld game console
A handheld game console, or simply handheld console, is a small, portable self-contained video game console with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are smaller than home video game consoles and contain the cons ...
and mobile
personal computer
A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or tec ...
originally released in 2010. It is designed to take advantage of existing
free and open-source software
Free and open-source software (FOSS) is a term used to refer to groups of software consisting of both free software and open-source software where anyone is freely licensed to use, copy, study, and change the software in any way, and the source ...
and to be a target for
homebrew development. It includes several features that no handheld game consoles have previously had, making it a cross between a handheld game console and a
subnotebook
Subnotebook, also called ultraportable, superportable, or mini notebook, was a marketing term for laptop computers that are smaller and lighter than a typical notebook-sized laptop.
Types and sizes
As typical laptop sizes have decreased over t ...
. It is developed and produced by OpenPandora, which is made up of former distributors and community members of the
GP32
The GP32 (GamePark 32) is a handheld game console developed by the South Korean company Game Park. It was released on November 23, 2001, in South Korea and distributed in some parts of Europe.
History
The GP32 was shown at E3 in 1999, 2000, 2001 ...
and
GP2X
The GP2X is a Linux-based handheld video game console and portable media player developed by South Korean company GamePark Holdings. It was released on November 10, 2005, in South Korea only.
The GP2X is designed for homebrew developers as wel ...
handhelds. Until 2013, multiple batches of slightly updated Pandora variants were produced. In 2014 the development of a redesigned and upgraded successor, called
DragonBox Pyra
The DragonBox Pyra is an upcoming Linux-based handheld computer equipped with a keyboard and gaming controls. The project entered prototyping stage in 2015. Pre-orders began on 1 May 2016, with a final release date still undefined. In August 2 ...
, was started.
History
![Pandora prototype and production model](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Pandora_prototype_and_production_model.jpg)
Development of the Pandora began when Craig Rothwell, Fatih Kilic, Michael Mrozek and (later) Michael Weston teamed up and planned a portable system that would excel in the areas where they thought the
GP32
The GP32 (GamePark 32) is a handheld game console developed by the South Korean company Game Park. It was released on November 23, 2001, in South Korea and distributed in some parts of Europe.
History
The GP32 was shown at E3 in 1999, 2000, 2001 ...
and
GP2X
The GP2X is a Linux-based handheld video game console and portable media player developed by South Korean company GamePark Holdings. It was released on November 10, 2005, in South Korea only.
The GP2X is designed for homebrew developers as wel ...
systems (from
Game Park
Game Park was a South Korean company that was founded in 1996 and went bankrupt in March 2007. It is responsible for creating the GP32 and the never-released XGP. GamePark Holdings was founded by former employees of Game Park in 2005.
Foundatio ...
and
GamePark Holdings
GPH, formerly known as GamePark Holdings, was a South Korean company responsible for creating the GP2X that was founded by former employees of the game maker GamePark in 2005.
History
Several years after the release of the GP32, its maker GamePar ...
respectively) were flawed.
The Pandora was designed based on ideas and suggestions contributed by GP32X forum members, with the goal of creating the ultimate open source handheld device.
When announcing the system, the designers of Pandora stated that it would be more powerful than any handheld
video game console
A video game console is an electronic device that Input/output, outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can be played with a game controller. These may be home video game console, home consoles, which are generally placed i ...
that had yet existed.
The final case and keymat design was made by Dave Cancilier (DaveC), who was known on the forums for custom hardware modifications.
In February 2008 the Pandora wiki had already been created; as of 2014, it contains a thousand pages and is translated with the
MediaWiki Translate extension.
The initial development and setup costs were funded through a
crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...
approach where early supporters provided enough money to support a production run, and when the console made it into production, each supporter would receive the device they paid for (what actually ended up happening due to cost overruns is that the early supporters received devices as later sales recouped the initial investment costs). OpenPandora began taking payments on September 30, 2008
and began shipping to customers on May 21, 2010.
[First shipping emails hit inboxes](_blank)
''Pandora Press''. May 21, 2010. In late 2011, after production problems, OpenPandora shifted its production from Texas to Germany, delaying production, and the device was upgraded from 256 MB to 512 MB RAM.
As of September 3, 2012, 4600 units had been shipped and 400 early supporters were still waiting to receive a console, as these pre-orders are only fulfilled when sales to new customers are made. Since June 2012, a new 1 GHz model has been made available in limited amounts during the summer 2012. Due to the shortage of previous 600 MHz chips, this new model has become the de facto standard in 2013.
In March 2013, the pre-order queue of the German OpenPandora
GmbH company (owned by Michael Mrozek aka EvilDragon) was finally cleared. The remaining pre-order queue of the UK OpenPandora Ltd. company (owned by Craig Rothwell) turned out to be significantly larger than originally reported, and the UK company has requested to be struck off. This means that the original pre-orderers at the UK company are unlikely to ever get their unit from the UK company. Also because of this, buyers have lost their money. Although there is no legal connection between the two companies, the German OpenPandora GmbH company is trying to help those UK customers by offering them significant discounts (if they decide to buy a unit from the German company instead of waiting for the UK company) and by organizing community donations to get them peer-funded units.
As of December 2, 2013, about 6000 units have been shipped. On November 19, 2013, it was announced that the production of the final Pandora batch has been started. About 7500 Pandoras have been made and sold altogether between 2010 and 2014, with further production made impossible due to shortage of WiFi chips.
In 2014 the OpenPandora project opened the hardware design files to the community, making the OpenPandora a kind of
open source hardware
Open-source hardware (OSH) consists of physical artifacts of technology designed and offered by the open-design movement. Both free and open-source software (FOSS) and open-source hardware are created by this open-source culture movement and a ...
.
Speculation and discussion about a successor to the Pandora has started on th
OpenPandora boards Features and a demo prototype were announced at FOSDEM 2014; the project is called
DragonBox Pyra
The DragonBox Pyra is an upcoming Linux-based handheld computer equipped with a keyboard and gaming controls. The project entered prototyping stage in 2015. Pre-orders began on 1 May 2016, with a final release date still undefined. In August 2 ...
.
Overview
![Pandora-latest-080508](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Pandora-latest-080508.jpg)
The Pandora is designed to be a handheld game console with high-end
PDA
PDA may refer to:
Science and technology
* Patron-driven acquisition, a mechanism for libraries to purchase books
*Personal digital assistant, a mobile device
* Photodiode array, a type of detector
* Polydiacetylenes, a family of conducting poly ...
capabilities, but may also be run as a low-power full-featured Linux desktop. The system by default comes with a
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
OS based on
Ångström
The angstromEntry "angstrom" in the Oxford online dictionary. Retrieved on 2019-03-02 from https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/angstrom.Entry "angstrom" in the Merriam-Webster online dictionary. Retrieved on 2019-03-02 from https://www.m ...
.
The interface is custom themed to fit the small form factor and touchscreen, analogue joystick, and keyboard-based inputs available. Users can install and run their own desktop environment if they choose. Users may even install other Linux distributions like
Ubuntu
Ubuntu ( ) is a Linux distribution based on Debian and composed mostly of free and open-source software. Ubuntu is officially released in three editions: ''Desktop'', ''Server'', and ''Core'' for Internet of things devices and robots. All the ...
or
Gentoo themselves. It is possible as well to run Android (gingerbread) through a PND package on top of the Angrstrom distribution, while it requires overclocking to perform flawlessly.
One of Pandora's major intended uses is for
homebrew gaming and for the emulation of older computer systems and video game consoles, which is possible through efficient use of the resources made available by the
Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American technology company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that designs and manufactures semiconductors and various integrated circuits, which it sells to electronics designers and manufacturers globall ...
OMAP 3530 SoC. The Pandora developers have already shown working emulators for
Dreamcast
The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, N ...
(Dreamcast emulator was never released),
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
,
Nintendo 64
The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and Au ...
,
Amiga
Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...
,
SNES
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Euro ...
,
Atari Jaguar
The Atari Jaguar is a home video game console developed by Atari Corporation and released in North America in November 1993. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it competed with the 16-bit Sega Genesis, the Super NES and the ...
and
Sega Mega Drive
The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Syst ...
software,
and the Pandora is thought by its developers to have the potential to emulate most if not all machines older than the Dreamcast.
For software and video games where source code is available (see
List of commercial video games with available source code), instead of emulation,
source port
A source port is a software project based on the source code of a game engine that allows the game to be played on operating systems or computing platforms with which the game was not originally compatible.
Description
Source ports are often cr ...
s were created for the Pandora; notable examples are ''
Jagged Alliance 2
''Jagged Alliance 2'' is a tactical role-playing game for PC, released in 1999 for Microsoft Windows and later ported to Linux by Tribsoft. It is the third entry in the ''Jagged Alliance'' series. The game was followed by the expansion '' Unfinish ...
'' and ''
Homeworld
''Homeworld'' is a real-time strategy video game developed by Relic Entertainment and published by Sierra Entertainment, Sierra Studios on September 28, 1999, for Microsoft Windows. Set in space, the science fiction game follows the Kushan exil ...
''.
The device is also intended for use as a portable media playback device with a storage capacity of up to 128 GB of data (64 GB SDXC cards) across two SD memory card slots.
The Pandora uses standard libraries such as
OpenGL ES
OpenGL for Embedded Systems (OpenGL ES or GLES) is a subset of the OpenGL computer graphics rendering application programming interface (API) for rendering 2D and 3D computer graphics such as those used by video games, typically hardware-accel ...
and
SDL which are freely available, allowing anyone who wishes the ability to develop for the system. Many developers from the GP2x community have publicly stated that they will be developing applications for the new system.
The Pandora is compatible with
Debian
Debian (), also known as Debian GNU/Linux, is a Linux distribution composed of free and open-source software, developed by the community-supported Debian Project, which was established by Ian Murdock on August 16, 1993. The first version of D ...
packages built for the
ARM architecture
ARM (stylised in lowercase as arm, formerly an acronym for Advanced RISC Machines and originally Acorn RISC Machine) is a family of reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architectures for computer processors, configured ...
using
APT
Apt. is an abbreviation for apartment.
Apt may also refer to:
Places
* Apt Cathedral, a former cathedral, and national monument of France, in the town of Apt in Provence
* Apt, Vaucluse, a commune of the Vaucluse département of France
* A ...
. A
Git
Git () is a distributed version control system: tracking changes in any set of files, usually used for coordinating work among programmers collaboratively developing source code during software development. Its goals include speed, data in ...
repository offers the latest kernel source.
Lists on the community-maintained Pandora Wiki keep track of new software releases. Most, but not all, Pandora software is uploaded to either th
Pandora Apps th
Pandora File Archiveo
Pandora Repowebsites. The Pandora File Archive existed first and is run by Michael Mrozek. Pandora Apps was launched by Craig Rothwell in May 2010, and is designed for viewing on the Pandora's smaller screen resolution.
The Pandora Repo (yet unnamed) was developed by a member of the community with help from the community. Its use has been adopted quickly as it tends to have the latest software releases first, as it doesn't require developers to enter any details about the application being uploaded—instead, these are automatically acquired from the application itself.
The Pandora Repo is also the first that uses the community create
REPO specificationswhich allows native clients to get applications from the pandora repo without actually visiting the website (much akin to
Synaptic package manager).
The Pandora community is also notable for the development of tools required to achieve several successful
static recompilations of complex binary software to the Pandora platform. For instance, in 2014 an
ARM
In human anatomy, the arm refers to the upper limb in common usage, although academically the term specifically means the upper arm between the glenohumeral joint (shoulder joint) and the elbow joint. The distal part of the upper limb between th ...
architecture version of the 1998
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
''
StarCraft
''StarCraft'' is a military science fiction media franchise created by Chris Metzen and James Phinney and owned by Blizzard Entertainment. The series, set in the beginning of the 26th century, centers on a galactic struggle for dominance am ...
'' was generated by static recompilation from the original
x86
x86 (also known as 80x86 or the 8086 family) is a family of complex instruction set computer (CISC) instruction set architectures initially developed by Intel based on the Intel 8086 microprocessor and its 8088 variant. The 8086 was introd ...
version. In 2015, a similar port of
Diablo II
''Diablo II'' is an Action role-playing game, action role-playing hack and slash, hack-and-slash video game developed by Blizzard North and published by Blizzard Entertainment in 2000 for Microsoft Windows, Classic Mac OS, and macOS. The game, ...
followed.
Technical specifications
There are several Pandora variants.
Pandora Classic
*
Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American technology company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that designs and manufactures semiconductors and various integrated circuits, which it sells to electronics designers and manufacturers globall ...
OMAP3530
The OMAP (Open Multimedia Applications Platform) family, developed by Texas Instruments, was a series of image processor, image/video processors. They are proprietary system on chips (SoCs) for portable and mobile multimedia application software, ...
SoC
**
ARM Cortex-A8
The ARM Cortex-A8 is a 32-bit processor core licensed by ARM Holdings implementing the ARMv7-A architecture.
Compared to the ARM11, the Cortex-A8 is a dual-issue superscalar design, achieving roughly twice the instructions per cycle. The Cort ...
CPU @ 600 MHz
**
PowerVR SGX530 @ 110 MHz
** IVA2+ audio and video processor with TMS320C64x+ DSP Core @ 430 MHz using
DaVinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested on h ...
technology
* 256 MiB DDR-333 SDRAM
* 512 MB NAND flash memory
* Integrated
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wave ...
802.11b/g
* Integrated
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...
2.0 + EDR (3 Mbit/s) (Class 2, +4dBm)
* 800×480 resolution touchscreen LCD, 4.3" widescreen, 16.7 million colors (300 cd/m2 brightness, 450:1 contrast ratio)
* Dual
SDHC
Secure Digital, officially abbreviated as SD, is a proprietary non-volatile flash memory card format developed by the SD Association (SDA) for use in portable devices.
The standard was introduced in August 1999 by joint efforts between SanD ...
card slots (currently supporting up to 32 GB of storage each, supports SDIO)
* Gamepad controls with 2 shoulder buttons
* Dual analog nubs; 15 mm diameter, concave, 2.5 mm travel from centre
* 43 button QWERTY and numeric keypad
* USB 2.0 high-speed port (480 Mbit/s) capable of providing standard 500 mA current to attached devices,
USB On-The-Go
USB On-The-Go (USB OTG or just OTG) is a specification first used in late 2001 that allows USB devices, such as Tablet computer, tablets or smartphones, to act as a host, allowing other USB devices, such as USB flash drives, digital cameras, co ...
supporting charging Pandora
* Externally accessible
UART
A universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter (UART ) is a computer hardware device for asynchronous serial communication in which the data format and transmission speeds are configurable. It sends data bits one by one, from the least significan ...
for hardware hacking and debugging
* Internal microphone plus ability to connect external microphone through headset
* Headphone output up to 150 mW/channel into 16 ohms, 99 dB SNR
* TV output (composite and S-Video, both for PAL and NTSC)
*
Brick prevention with integrated bootloader for safe code experimentation
* Runs the
Linux kernel
The Linux kernel is a free and open-source, monolithic, modular, multitasking, Unix-like operating system kernel. It was originally authored in 1991 by Linus Torvalds for his i386-based PC, and it was soon adopted as the kernel for the GNU ope ...
(2.6.x for older versions, 3.2 in the latest Super Zaxxon firmware from July 2012)
* 4200 mAh rechargeable lithium polymer battery
* Estimated 8.5–10+ hour battery life for games, 10+ hour battery life for video and general applications, 100+ hours for music playback (with maximum power management), and 450+ hours in suspend-to-ram
* Dimensions: (314
ml) (5.51×3.27×1.06 in)
* Mass:
Pandora Rebirth
Based on Pandora Classic with following changes:
*
OMAP3530
The OMAP (Open Multimedia Applications Platform) family, developed by Texas Instruments, was a series of image processor, image/video processors. They are proprietary system on chips (SoCs) for portable and mobile multimedia application software, ...
SoC
**
PowerVR SGX530 @110 MHz (newer revision)
* 512 MiB DDR-333 SDRAM
Pandora 1 GHz
Based on Pandora Classic/Rebirth with following changes:
*
Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American technology company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that designs and manufactures semiconductors and various integrated circuits, which it sells to electronics designers and manufacturers globall ...
DM3730 SoC
**
ARM Cortex-A8
The ARM Cortex-A8 is a 32-bit processor core licensed by ARM Holdings implementing the ARMv7-A architecture.
Compared to the ARM11, the Cortex-A8 is a dual-issue superscalar design, achieving roughly twice the instructions per cycle. The Cort ...
CPU @ 1 GHz
**
PowerVR SGX530 @ 200 MHz
** IVA2.2 audio and video processor with TMS320C64x+ DSP Core @ 800 MHz
* 512 MiB DDR-333 SDRAM @ 200 MHz
Similar products
Other
single-board computer
A single-board computer (SBC) is a complete computer built on a single circuit board, with microprocessor(s), memory, input/output (I/O) and other features required of a functional computer. Single-board computers are commonly made as demonstrati ...
s using OMAP3500 series processors include OSWALD
OSWALD Hand-held Computer - Trac
. Beaversource.oregonstate.edu. Retrieved on 2013-08-23. developed by Oregon State University
Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...
students for computer science education, Beagle Board
The BeagleBoard is a low-power open-source single-board computer produced by Texas Instruments in association with Digi-Key and Newark element14. The BeagleBoard was also designed with open source software development in mind, and as a way of ...
, IGEPv2
The IGEPv2 board is a low-power, fanless single-board computer based on the OMAP 3 series (also known as Cortex-A8) of ARM-compatible processors. It is developed and produced by Spanish corporation ISEE and is the second IGEP platform in the seri ...
, Touch Book
The Touch Book is a portable computing device that functions as a netbook, and a tablet computer. Designed by Always Innovating, a company situated in the city of Menlo Park, in California, USA, it was launched at the DEMO conference in March 2 ...
, and Gumstix
Gumstix is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Redwood City, California. It develops and manufactures small system boards comparable in size to a stick of gum. In 2003, when it was first fully functional, it used ARM architect ...
Overo series. The Gizmondo 2 was to be a potential commercial competitor of the Pandora, but the Gizmondo 2 was cancelled.
GPD Win
GPD Win is a Windows-based palmtop computer equipped with a keyboard and gaming controls. It is an x86-based device that runs Windows 10. It is capable of running any x86 Windows-based application that can run within the confines of the compute ...
can also run Linux.
See also
*DragonBox Pyra
The DragonBox Pyra is an upcoming Linux-based handheld computer equipped with a keyboard and gaming controls. The project entered prototyping stage in 2015. Pre-orders began on 1 May 2016, with a final release date still undefined. In August 2 ...
*Comparison of handheld game consoles
Comparison or comparing is the act of evaluating two or more things by determining the relevant, comparable characteristics of each thing, and then determining which characteristics of each are similar to the other, which are different, and t ...
*Linux gaming
Linux gaming refers to playing video games on a Linux operating system.
History
Linux gaming started largely as an extension of the already present Unix gaming scene, with both systems sharing many similar titles. These games were eithe ...
References
External links
*
Official wiki
Official forums for the Pandora and iControlpad
{{Handheld game consoles
ARM-based video game consoles
Embedded Linux
Handheld personal computers
Handheld game consoles
Linux-based video game consoles
Personal digital assistants
Seventh-generation video game consoles
Texas Instruments hardware
Crowdfunded video game consoles