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The OpenPandora was one of the last of a dying breed of amazing products; the Pocket PC. Quite literally, the abilities of a laptop in your pocket; word processing, web browsing, Linux console adminstration, even serious programming.

The OpenPandora, with it's D-Pad, four buttons and analog sticks, also married the Pocket PC with the open-source (emulation) gaming handheld, such as the Sony PSP, the GP32X, and the Dingoo.

Unfortunately, the multitouch iPhone and Android, battle-hardened by a massive tech arms race, easily outpaced the power of the Pocket PC; if not it's unique abilities. iOS and Android are nothing like real PC operating systems, and lack a keyboard or onboard programming environment. They are geared to an era where man consumes, and rarely produces.

Perhaps the OpenPandora will remain a relic of an older time; when most users programmed their computers, and were not programmed by them.

Note: However, for those who still subscribe to this dying ideology, the developing Dragonbox Pyra has the same Pandora case and unique keyboard/button/joystick layout, but also a TI OMAP 5 processor running a full blown Linux operating system.

Guides

(will add later)

Recommended Programs

The OpenPandora has a motherlode of Linux programs, games, and emulators.

Recommended Apps

Games

  • Action
    • Gravity Force
    • Super Hexagon - Maneuver your way through waves of hexagon walls. Ported from Android.
    • VVVVVV - Escape from a damaged spaceship, whose malfunctioning machines pose major obstacles to your survival. A Commodore 64 style retro platformer.
  • Adventure and RPG
    • Digital: A Love Story - A simulation of the home computer scene and the BBS systems of the 80's. Amazing story behind it all.
    • Narcissu/Narcissu: -side 2nd- - A series of visual novels that is closer to the powerful emotional pathos of a Japanese movie, than the typical "galge".
  • Arcade
    • Arkanoid Remake - It's good ol' Arkanoid. The graphics are amazing.
    • Boson-X
    • Cannonball - Pandora Compatibility layer for the 80's beach racing arcade game Outrun.
    • Classic Invaders - It's Space Invaders.
    • Mari0 - It's Super Mario... with P0rtals.
    • Not Pacman - It's Not Pacman. Because what if Pacman were like one of those wooden labyrinth games?
    • Not Tetris - It's Not Tetris. Because what if the Tetris blocks had realistic physics? You'll have a hell of a time making a single line; though gravity might just do that for you.
    • Syobon Action - It's Not Mario. Because everything you know about a platformer is wrong.
    • Spout - A simple, almost Gameboy style indie game where you propel a block like a rocket, and use the exhaust to destroy blocks.
    • Mini Slug Project - A Metal Slug inspired shooter game.
    • Neverball - Roll a ball around and avoid falling off the platforms.
    • NodeReviver
    • ProtoType - R-Type style shooter.
    • Siroi Danmakukun - A bullet hell shooter.
    • Spheres of Chaos
    • noiz2sa
  • Puzzle and Board Games
    • ASCIIpOrtal - If Portal was a beautifully rendered ASCII game.
    • Gweled - Just like Bejeweled, but with awesome music.
    • Lemmings SDL - It's the classic Lemmings, now native to the Pandora.
    • Portile - Another great portal-style game.
  • Simulation and Strategy
    • Starcraft - Amazingly, the full desktop version of Starcraft has been ported to the Pandora, and runs at full speed.
    • Homeworld - A similarly spectacular desktop port for another classic RTS.
    • OpenTTD - Transport Tycoon Deluxe, where you build a railroad empire; similar graphics and isometric design as RollerCoaster Tycoon.

Emulators

  • Home Consoles
    • Picodrive - A Sega Genesis emulator.
    • SNES9X - A Nintendo SNES emulator.
      • SNES9X+ (Rebirth or higher) - Optimized, newer version of SNES9X, which requires a more powerful processor.
    • PCSX ReARMed (Rebirth or higher) - PSX Emulator. Requires as much CPU power as the Pandora can give it.
  • Arcade
    • GNGEO - A Neo Geo/Arcade emulator; for Metal Slug, King of Fighters, and all those other awesome arcade classics.
    • C4A MAME - The jack of all trades for arcade emulators.
  • Handheld Consoles
    • gPSP - The famous full-speed Nintendo GBA emulator.
    • DraStic - Exophase's famous DS emulator got it's start on the Pandora. Runs almost at full speed for most games, a once unthinkable prospect for the weak little CPU.
    • PPSSPP - Sony PSP emulator. It's slow and only supports a few games, but such an emulator is an incredible prospect already.
  • Home Computers
    • UAE4ALL - An Amiga Emulator, returning you back to a world of incredible computer games and the demoscene.
    • Hatari - An Atari ST Emulator. Comes with quite a few
    • Vice - A Commodore 64 Emulator.
    • Atari800 EX - Imagine your Atari 2600 games; but enhanced! With better graphics! That's what the Atari 800 offered; but it was overlooked everywhere but Europe.
  • Flashenv - A few older Flash games can be run with this compatibility layer.
  • Nxengine - Cave Story RPG emulator. It plays one game; Cave Story. And what a great game it is.

OpenPandora Alternatives

The OpenPandora is unmatched in vintage home computer emulation, thanks to it's unique features of resistive touchscreen, dual joysticks, and full keyboard.

However, for the rest of us, we're probably looking for something different.

  • Pocket PC Linux Console
    • Nokia N900 - Seriously, even this elusive open source legend is a fraction of the price of the OpenPandora (at $100 on eBay). It has a very modern Symbian-style theme with the best translation of a Desktop Environment into a smartphone that anyone has ever attempted.
    • In fact, you can even run a few Pandora PNDs on it (as long as the app needs no joysticks), since it uses the exact same TI OMAP chipset as the Pandora.
    • Palm Pre 2 - If you really want to get into the low end, the Palm Pre 2 with WebOS costs only $30 on eBay, and is capable of running Debian chroot with XOrg.
  • Game Console Emulation
    • Android Phone + PS3 Controller - Just grab a cheap Moto G or some other Android 4.x phone, pair it with a PS3 Controller, maybe even slap on a Gameklip to hold it in one piece, and you've got far more processing power and screen quality than the OpenPandora and perfect performance for all general console emulation up to the PS1; the stuff we best remember in America and Japan. Not to mention the larger ecosystem of Android games.
    • Moga - A more portable Android gamepad alternative to the PS3 controller. Folds up and fits in your pocket.
    • Nvidia Shield - It's really just an Android with a gamepad form-fitted and built-in. Not sure why anyone would want it instead of the cheaper, more accessible controller combos, but hey, it's there.
    • Ouya - An Android set-top Box that plugs into your TV and comes with an Xbox-style controller. No different from before, just a form factor for the living room.
  • Experimental Linux Board/Linux TV Box
    • Raspberry Pi - Costs only $25-35, yet offers similar specs to the Pandora itself. It's a bare board, but you could plug it into a TV, use it as a server, and even create a Pocket PC out of it (with some difficulty).
  • Ultimate Pandora Replacement
    • Dragonbox Pyra - Made by the same Pandora company, but with a new 720p IPS display and a TI OMAP5 processor. Otherwise, the layout, resistive touchpad, joysticks, full size keyboard, and wallet-busting price is exactly the same.