38 replies to this topic

[MDave]

It depends on who reviews them. Linux dudes will be all positive. All the boys and girls that asked their mom and dads to get them one for christmas, expecting to play The Sims and Half-Life 2 and Call of Duty 4 are going to be boo. All the hardcore gamers expecting to play new fancy DS and PSP commercial quality games are going to be dissapointed, but won't mind since they can play emulated games anyway. Gadget geeks are either going to love or hate it, depending on form factor, features and functionality etc.

Everyone registered on these boards just for the pandora are going to generally like it, to extremely foaming at the mouths for craig's signature. Maybe a few oddballs will hate it, but pre-orded one anyway

[CandidStan]

I reckon the folk at Engadget will be all like

On the whole though, I think the common thread between reviews will be "huge potential, niche market." That'll be early on though. If the device starts to draw the interest of biggish software development teams, the tech press will realise that it's so much more than a GP2X-like oddity.

I really hope so, given their other posts about the pandora with titles such as: Pandora boots up, flashes colors on screen.

Edited by CandidStan, 06 January 2009 - 06:54 PM.

[Zeno Arrow]

I think the magazines should be sent Pandoras for review AFTER the first batch has been sent out

SCREW THAT!
I am one of those people hoping to get my hands on one of the extra 200-300 hundred.

I'm confused, sending the review Pandoras after or before the paying customers makes no difference to you, there will still be the same amount to fight over (first batch = pre-orders + review items + a few more). Or are you suggesting no review Pandoras should be sent out from the first batch? That would be silly.

[gadgetoid]

As a member of the press I would support the Pandora's being sent to users, some of whom will potentially be developers, before the press. I've covered the Tapwave Zodiac, GP2X and Nokia N8xx in some form or another and, particularly with the GP2X and Tapwave Zodiac, because I got these early on in their lifetime, they had not reached their "prime" or got anywhere near it.

OpenMoko, for example, warned me that their newly minted product would be an incredibly basic phone with little to no advanced functionality until the community produced it (I never did get my hands on one, either).

Obviously, I'm as interested in the Pandora as everyone else so I would love to get my hands on one as soon as possible, but am no stranger to waiting and waiting for things.

If possible I'll be taking a stance of continuous press coverage of the Pandora. No cut and dry review can do these products justice, my attempts to adequately cover the N810 in the short period of time Nokia would loan it to me are a good example,.I had a brief run in with the fantastic community, a look at some essential apps and barely scratched the surface. It'll now almost run Android but I'm no longer on the scene to cover it, simply because I can't *buy* everything!

I fully know what to expect from the Pandora and understand that "the community" as as big a part of the experience as the device itself. My coverage will reflect this.

Sadly, as Gadgetoid isn't the most popular site in the universe I don't expect to get my hands on a Pandora ever, much less from the first batch. The same goes for the GP2X Wiz which I will also endeavor to cover. As much as I would love to be a part of the community (again) and cover every little homebrew gem to grace these devices I can barely scratch up the cash for one and certainly not both!

You may remember me from such publications as GP2X.gadgetoid.com (http://web.archive.org/web/20051223060338/http://www.gp2x.gadgetoid.com/).

I miss those days

Hello to any old friends! I can't for the life of me remember anyone's names!

[TheGoodDoktor]

It needs a killer app.
I wonder what that will be?

[Phawx]

Ah the Good Doktor toying with us all. What DreamCast game is it again... oh that's right. I remember what you said it was.

[Zeno Arrow]

As a member of the press I would support the Pandora's being sent to users, some of whom will potentially be developers, before the press.

With all due respect, I doubt the team would be considering sending press/review Pandoras to media sources that wouldn't be drawing in a big enough crowd. Engadget, Gizmodo, popular Linux magazines, popular tech/gadget magazines, etc... Not referring to you gadgetoid but if anyone who wants a free Pandora just because they have their own blog is going to be disappointed.

Press coverage at this early stage makes sense (even if it just mildly increases the size of the second batch). If someone wanted to getting a first batch Pandora they should have ordered when they had the chance or think themselves extremely lucky if the get one of the 200-300 available from the first batch.

[TheGoodDoktor]

Ah the Good Doktor toying with us all. What DreamCast game is it again... oh that's right. I remember what you said it was.

Sorry my post was misleading. I wasn't implying anything.
I was just wondering what the killer app will be as that is what will get the good reviews coming in.

[Zeno Arrow]

I was just wondering what the killer app will be as that is what will get the good reviews coming in.

Linux stuff on the go (Firefox, etc...), PS1 emu, Pandora Panic to show off the enthusiasm of the community. The rest of the impressive stuff might have to have a 'Coming Soon' status. These sorts of comparisons may turn a few heads too:

[Phawx]

Ah the Good Doktor toying with us all. What DreamCast game is it again... oh that's right. I remember what you said it was.

Sorry my post was misleading. I wasn't implying anything.
I was just wondering what the killer app will be as that is what will get the good reviews coming in.

[audovoice]

Worst console ever.

Klingon was not included as a supported language option.
The cardboard box that the Pandora comes in I found to be poor presentation next to my unopened mint condition Super Nintendo, and Sega PDA; a system so rare that it only sold three units.
And lastly I ask you, when will the gaming industry make a key pad for those in need of a roomier grip?

[gadgetoid]

anyone who wants a free Pandora just because they have their own blog is going to be disappointed.

Engadget are out, then, ha ha!

And I'm inclined to agree with you there, also. Bunk review sample requests from inexperienced nobodies fill up PR-bod inboxes like spam mail. Of course, I don't "just have my own blog" so it's not that which worries me.

With a project like Pandora, where a massive marketing budget simply does not exist, they will, of course, favor those sites that are categorically more popular... and most probably the ones they've heard of. It's a shame, really, because most magazine journalists and large sites are unlikely to avidly follow the Pandora and act like a community site.

I would actually like to find a couple of reliable guys from the community to run a Pandora section on Gadgetoid, even if I can't personally be a part of it. Communities are a nice thing to support/follow and a good source of return readership.

[Svartalf]

I reckon the folk at Engadget will be all like

Heh... They'll have trouble using it because of them needing to wipe the drool off of it constantly...

On the whole though, I think the common thread between reviews will be "huge potential, niche market." That'll be early on though. If the device starts to draw the interest of biggish software development teams, the tech press will realise that it's so much more than a GP2X-like oddity.

It might be very early on, but if you have titles that'd just crush the other near-term competition and pulverize the current crop of handhelds, it's going to be a bit different indeed. I'm hopeful to hand off a few useful things and sweet-talk a few indies out of port projects, some that just need an ARM build, some that need a bit of work (though not all that much...).

In one a sentence: A really great gaming device , which is sadly to hard to use for beginners in Linux.

Considering that you won't know it's running Linux unless you're doing a power-user type action on it or you're developing against it as a target, I think not.

SCREW THAT!
I am one of those people hoping to get my hands on one of the extra 200-300 hundred.

That's the magazines getting units already pre-ordained for them that're not in the alloted first run counts. It makes quite a bit of sense, really, if you think of it that way.

Sorry my post was misleading. I wasn't implying anything.
I was just wondering what the killer app will be as that is what will get the good reviews coming in.

I don't think it's going to be any one app. If you get the permission to push your port out the door, I've a suspicion since it's a top-rated DC title, it's going to be one of them, yes. I'm hopeful the few I'm working on right now will be in that same set, but I'm a bit nervous going up against such stiff competition...

[taltoris]

Isn't kind of pointless to be speculating how the machine will be reviewed before it exists?

If it works well when it comes out, then it will most likely get good reviews. Otherwise, it won't. Isn't that how this thing works?

[Capn_Fish]

If it works well when it comes out, then it will most likely get good reviews. Otherwise, it won't. Isn't that how this thing works?

Yes, unless there's bribery, conflicting interests, etc. involved.