FS: OpenPandora

[ToastBucket]

So I ended up getting Palmer's Pandora from Bo a while back and fixing it up. It is in great condition except for a few flaws.

1. Right nub is a bit finnicky. Sometimes needs to be recalibrated or just spun around a bit after bootup.
2. The SD slot 2 is broken. Seems the lock mechanism broke because cards either get stuck in there or spring right out.
3. There are a few small, barely noticeable chips/dents/whatevers in the case on the right side. Picture here.

All of these issues can be fixed by yourself, ignored, or you can talk to EvilDragon of the OpenPandora boards (Major player in production of the Pandora)about sending it to him. He will most likely fix it for free.

For those of you who don't know much about this thing, it is a mini PC, about the size of a DMG. It is capable of emulating lots of consoles, playing many homebrew games, writing word documents, reading comics, playing movies, and much more. This is open source. It runs a full desktop Linux distro (XFCE under a customized version of Angstrom) and the software database is growing very rapidly. More info here.

Here is also a video to show it working and such.





I am asking for $300 shipped for this. I will also throw in a 4GB SD card loaded with some applications, emulators, ROMs, etc. While this may seem steep, consider that the only other options to get this device are to get a $350 preorder and wait months to get it (maybe years) or pay $500 to get one in 7 days.

 

[samjc3]

I must say, I am interested. But I really shouldn't spend my money on this. Convince me I need it.

 

[ToastBucket]

I must say, I am interested. But I really shouldn't spend my money on this. Convince me I need it.

If what you mean by "shouldn't spend my money on this" is that you shouldn't waste your money on buying a game console, it is much much more, as you may know. It has AbiWord (and the entire OpenOffice suite through a Debian extend) so you can work on school papers in class, in an airplane, or on the toilet, and then just put it in your pocket. A lot of people complain that smartphones nowadays are better. But the Pandora has a few things that these phones lack. First one would be the controls. The Pandora has a comfortable, large mobile keyboard. Definitely the nicest mobile keyboard I've ever used. It also has the full gaming controls, so no touch buttons or using keyboard keys for emulating and such. The second thing would be community. The Pandora is open source and community based. The community is constantly porting, creating, and adapting software for the device.

The Pandora can be used for almost anything. Emulation (There is even a DC emulator in progress), school work, work work (pie charts and the like), creating music (synths and looping programs), editing music (audacity etc.), watching movies and listening to music, reading books and comics, surfing the web, IMing, and lots lots more.

There are really only a couple things the Pandora doesn't have. The first being Flash Player, however there is a semi working version that is still being developed, as well as Gnash. The second is the capability to heavily edit video. While I would love to be able to edit HD video without slowdowns on something as small as the Pandora, it's not something we will be seeing for a very long time if ever.


Personally, the main things I use this Pandora for are playing SNES and Genesis, reading comics, watching movies, and listening to music. I love the Pandora. It lived up to the expectations I built while waiting for it. The only reason I'm selling it is because I need to fill in the hole that my recent purchase of a $1300 video camera left and because I have another Pandora coming very soon.

 

[samjc3]

I know all that. I just have things I should really be buying instead, but god, I want one so bad.

 

[ToastBucket]

I know all that. I just have things I should really be buying instead, but god, I want one so bad.

Buy it But seriously, if you want one, I'd say this is quite the deal. It is $200 less than an "instant" Pandora and $50 less than a preordered one, simply because it has flaws that can be fixed for free. I'd most likely drop the price if you tossed in something interesting for a trade as well, but I don't want to do a full trade because I need moneys

 

[Zeflis]

SWEET MOTHER OF JESUS I WANT THIS!!!!

While this was in the final stages of development I looked so much into this and wanted it so bad but could never afford it Now even more so because all my money is in my GCp's and other hobbies.

But SERIOUSLY. some one buy this thing! It is so amazing at doing everything especially with the full button controller and QWERTY key board built right in! This is an amazing peice of technology thar has been crammed down to the size of a ds lite almost and this is a great deal! Keep in mind that there are two sd card slots so you can have up to 64gb of memory!

 

[ToastBucket]

Sold to Samuel Jackson