FAQ

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This FAQ is aimed mostly at people who are new to the Pandora. It may also be out of date in places.
If you are looking for specific information, try the unofficial user manual and the tutorials pages of this wiki

Contents

What is the Pandora?

Pandora is a pocket-sized computer.

It is a gaming platform, a UMPC, a PMP, a MID, and many more trendy acronyms as well.

For technical specifications, see Pandora.

What can it do?

It can do almost anything a regular PC can, including everyday things like:

  • Play games.
  • Browse the internet.
  • Play music and video files.
  • View images.
  • View and edit text documents.
  • Run chat / IM clients.

It can also do hobbyist things like:

What can't it do?

These lists are not comprehensive.

1) It can't do things that require hardware it doesn't have.
  • Take pictures (it has no camera)
  • Geolocation (it has no GPS)
  • Make phone calls (it isn't a phone)
    • Although there is VoIP software like Mumble.
  • FIXME: That global wireless internet thingy.

However, the Pandora does have Bluetooth, two USB host ports, two SDIO slots and user port headers, so it's possible to use additional hardware. More on that later.

2) It can't run some software

Like many other palmtops and cellphones, the Pandora has an ARM architecture. This is different from traditional desktop, laptop or netbook computers which use x86 architecture.

Software which has not been written specially for ARM architecture or the Pandora will not run. This means traditional desktop software will not run. More on that shortly.

Some software which runs on ARM architecture still won't run on the Pandora. So although there are cellphones and palmtops which have ARM architecture, their software won't necessarily run on the Pandora (or on each others hardware).

Solution 1) Use Alternative Software

The Linux world has generated a staggering number of applications, some of which are designed for "refugees of proprietary software". For example, if a particular Windows application has not been ported to the Pandora, there is a good chance there is an alternative you can use.

The Pandora or Angstrom repositories are not the only place for software. Most open source Linux software can be compiled on the Pandora.

Solution 2) Porting

Applications could be modified to run on the Pandora. The modification process is called "porting".

Some software authors port their software to run on ARM software or even for the Pandora. Others do not.

Perhaps you can convince the author to port their program. Otherwise if software is free and open source then someone in the community may port it.

But porting can be quite hard. A good description of porting software was given on the forums by WizardStan:

"I liken emulation to having a box and blocks of wood of different shapes. The Pandora is the box, and the blocks of wood are a puzzle that needs to fit in that box. Things like NES and Gameboy are small puzzles: you can see that the blocks will easily fit in the box, you could practically just dump them in without actually solving the puzzle.
SNES and Genesis are a little bigger: you need to do at least some of the puzzle in order to get it small enough to fit, but many of the pieces can just be dumped in anyway, and if you do enough of the puzzle you have room left over for extra features.
N64 and Playstation you see this big pile of blocks and can imagine that there might be some way to arrange them so they'll just fit, maybe a little wiggle room, but not much else. Dreamcast and PSP is even a little bigger pile than that: if the puzzle can be built into the box, it will just barely fit with no room for error.
Saturn, PS2, etc... they have a huge pile of pieces; an expert puzzle builder looks at it and knows that it doesn't matter how you arrange them, they just won't fit in the box."
Solution 3) Emulation

If software is proprietary and the author is not willing to port it, then the only possibility for running it is an architecture/processor-level emulator like QEMU or Bochs.

This technology has unavoidable speed limitations and is unsuitable for most contemporary software. However, it does work well for "old" computer applications.

Emulation is exactly how the Pandora can run earlier-generation console games. They are proprietary and the manufacturer is unwilling or unable to port or provide the source code so the entire platform is emulated for a game to run.


See also:

Why not an X86 processor?

x86 processors are horrible for pocket-sized devices.

  • They are very power-intensive.
    • Using one would greatly lower battery life.
  • They heat up a lot.
    • Using one would require fans, adding noise and lowing battery life even more.
  • The Pandora would be larger and heavier.

There are probably other reasons as well.


Intel has been designing more laptop-friendly CPUs. Hopefully one day this technology can be applied to handheld computers.

Is the Pandora part of Game Park (GP32) or GamePark Holdings (GP2X) ?

No.

Game Park (GP32) and GamePark Holdings (GP2X) have nothing to do with the Pandora project.

Several of the lead developers are regional distributors for the GP32 and GP2X handhelds, but they are not subsidiaries of those manufacturers. The Pandora project is partially inspired by the open source handhelds that came before it - the GP32 and GP2X - but takes the hardware and software to the next logical level.

There is also overlap in the developer and user communities for the Pandora, GP32, and GP2x.

Who is making it?

The primary developers are:

  • Craig Rothwell (Craigix)
  • Michael Weston (MWeston)
  • Michael Mrozek (EvilDragon)
  • M. Fatih Kilic (mfk)

However, there are dozens of other community members who are involved with both the hardware and software aspects of the project.

How does the Pandora compare to the GP2X?

Very favorably.

  • More powerful CPU.
    • Rough estimates put the Pandora CPU at about 3x as powerful as the GP2X.[1]
    • Better emulation of already supported consoles (SNES,PS1)
    • This gives the possibility of emulating more advanced consoles (N64)
  • More RAM, internal storage, and removable storage options
  • Significantly better 3D hardware and software support.
  • Larger, higher resolution display.
  • Touch screen.
  • Longer battery life - 10 hours.
  • Wifi and Bluetooth.
  • QWERTY keyboard and analog controls.

Was the Pandora made to compete with the PSP / DS / eeePC / etc?

No.

The Pandora is different from anything currently available.

It was designed to serve a niche market of hobbyists and retro/indie gamers. The developers are aware that much of the general public will not need or appreciate Pandora's feature set.

It is more portable than a UMPC or eeePC, and it has far superior gaming controls. Pandora is much more powerful than a PSP or DS, and with it's high resolution screen and qwerty keypad is more capable of general computing activities.

These features come at the expense of a higher cost than commercial gaming handhelds and a steeper learning curve than traditional ultra mobile PCs. Not everybody will be willing to make the trade off and try something new.

Pandora v2

No information has been released on a "Pandora version 2".

Discussion can be held in the Pandora 2 forum.

Everyone is welcome to share their opinions, but remember that the Pandora was created for many different kinds of hobbyists. There will be some features suited to one hobbyist which are less suited to another. Perhaps you dislike something only because you're not that kind of hobbyist. Having said this, discussion is healthy!

However, the developers are not currently interested in v2 discussion. They're busy working with the current Pandora.

There is no intention to change anything between batches. Any changes made will be small and only out of necessity. -- Chip, on gp32x

Software Questions

See /software

Emulation Questions

See /software/emulation

Hardware Questions

See /hardware

Troubleshooting

  • Something does not work as expected?
  • A PND application or the whole operating system crashes?
  • You suspect hardware troubles?

See Troubleshooting common problems.

Warranty

By law there is a one year warranty. Faulty hardware will be replaced.

Also, LCDs with noticeable dead pixels will be replaced.[2]


(TODO: There's more info which should be placed in a main warranty page -- or better yet, link to an official web page on this topic)

Logo Questions

See /logo

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