purchasingI am considering the OpenPandora game handheld device for both gaming, emulating, and general portable linux-shell-and-python-hackery. I'd like a little device that I can carry around that can be used to generally fritter hours away with a handheld-linux-toy, that also plays some fun games. Is the Pandora a good idea for someone like me, or not? It looks good, but I'm looking to hear from someone who has owned, or at least tried one.
I don't have any experience with OpenPandora, but it looks to me like another in the long line of Linux-based handhelds people have tried to sell over the years. I've owned a few of these (anybody remember the Agenda VR?).
My advice: If you just want a handheld Linux toy for personal hacking, then this might be a lot of fun to play with. But don't expect a large community or long-term support from the company behind it. These products have a tendency to not last very long.
Take a look at the development tools and documentation to determine if it is something you'll enjoy hacking on, and try to get a feel for whether there is enough of a community that you won't be on your own when the company stops supporting it before it reaches maturity.
It's likely that this will end up collecting dust in your closet in a year or two, but the same can be said for any gadget. It is up to you to determine whether the price is worth the fun you will get out of it.
There's a hands on first look video on Youtube.
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