While the parts are partitially mass produced already and assembling those will be the next big step, here are some news about the current progress on the Firmware:

Quote:

The OS is also coming along quite nicely. Automatic PND-Discovery and PXML support is working perfectly, as can be seen in this little video done by skeezix (sorry for the low quality, devs usually don’t have professional video cameras. As soon as cpasjuste’s GUI is included, I’ll make a hires video showing a nearly completed stage of the OS).

The video shows how the icons of the apps appear on the Desktop when you insert an SD Card and how they disappear as soon as you remove them.

The only thing that needs to be done to make the OS ready for a first release is to include cpasjustes GUI and add a First Boot Wizard which helps you to easily setup your Pandora.
And that’s what we’re currently working on.

Source: http://openpandora.org/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_6DE_14b4o

Pictures do say more than thousand words, don’t they?

http://www.gp32x.com/board/index.php?/topic/50407-new-pix-from-mweston/

Source Code for the SDL tutorial of the German Pandora Wiki, second part.

http://dl.openhandhelds.org/cgi-bin/pandora.cgi?0,0,0,0,46,34

Source Code for the first chapter of the SDL tutorial of the German Pandora Wiki.

http://dl.openhandhelds.org/cgi-bin/pandora.cgi?0,0,0,0,46,26

Thrake had uploaded severall code examples on how to use GLBasic on the Pandora. Most tutorials are mainly german.

GLBasic Intro & Menu Source Code – http://dl.openhandhelds.org/cgi-bin/pandora.cgi?0,0,0,0,46,27
GLBasic Levelschleife & Scrolling Source Code – http://dl.openhandhelds.org/cgi-bin/pandora.cgi?0,0,0,0,46,28
GLBasic Steuerung & Schießen Source Code – http://dl.openhandhelds.org/cgi-bin/pandora.cgi?0,0,0,0,46,29
GLBasic Gegnger & Objekte Source Code – http://dl.openhandhelds.org/cgi-bin/pandora.cgi?0,0,0,0,46,30
GLBasic Powerups & Sound Source Code – http://dl.openhandhelds.org/cgi-bin/pandora.cgi?0,0,0,0,46,31
GLBasic Objekte & Kollisionsabfrage Source Code – http://dl.openhandhelds.org/cgi-bin/pandora.cgi?0,0,0,0,46,32

http://wiki.openpandora.de/

Source Code for the SDL tutorial of the German Pandora Wiki

http://dl.openhandhelds.org/cgi-bin/pandora.cgi?0,0,0,0,46,33

Most of you might be happy to read, that the mass production for the motherboard of the Pandora has begun.

3895 boards on the way!

http://openpandora.org/

The Pandora is comming closer and closer to a release. This also requires the device to pass the CE tests. So here are some fresh news, directly from the source.

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Hiya folks!

I guess you’ve been waiting for me to post, eh? Looks like it, browsing the boards 😉

We just did some CE (EMV) measurements today. First, we have some pics for you which show some of the testing setup and site.

Now, onto some test results, shall we?

Well, the tests went good so far, we have peaks that shouldn’t be there. BUT the guy who did the test was really nice and helped me to find out what caused those peaks. And it’s a pretty simple thing: The LCD Ribbon cable needs to be shielded. So the BOARDS are fine, we can start mass production 🙂 The only thing we need to do is shielding the ribbon cable, and that’s it. Since the cable is not part of the boards, it doesn’t affect the board production. Craig was basically right when he said our friend metal tape would help here. 😉 (okay, it’s not THAT easy, but there are various shields for ribbon cables out there ;))

Another interesting thing is what he did tell me about FCC.
According to him, we don’t even need FCC. FCC is only for radio devices (like wireless microphones, etc.), but not stuff like computers or gaming devices like ours here. They’re running an FCC certified testing site, so they should know.
I’m gonna find out more about it, but it seems to be true – I did check my mobile phone, some gaming devices, etc. They don’t have any FCC sign on there. And the REAL certified devices have the certificate number beneath the FCC symbol. Everything else isn’t really certified… so check out your devices. If there’s just something like “FCC Approved”, it’s no certification…

Good thing, eh? 🙂

Anyways, I’m getting the exact testing results tomorrow as PDF (I got them as printed copy, but I don’t want to scan all in), so I’ll post more details about that in the next days.

http://openpandora.org/

News from the Pandora front by EvilDragon!

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It already has more content than the old one – and we really do hope you like it!

As we’re nearing release, we thought we could revamp it a bit – it should make it easier for newcomers to find out what the Pandora is.

We also added status page, which had been a request for months by a lot of people.

There will be more content added during the next weeks, new pictures, articles, infos, etc.

Just stay tuned, there’s still a lot of work to be done here.

Now, you’re also waiting for some official development news, right?

Well, as you’ve seen on the last blog post, the prototype TV Out cables and the first mass produced boards have arrived at Michaels place. And guess what: We haven’t encountered any problems so far with those! So the boards and the cables have already become a reality. Yay!

Now the only thing we need to wait for are the cases. The mould is still in production – the Pandora apparently is more complex than the company at first thought. They try to finish it before the Chinese Autumn Holidays (which are in October), let’s all hope they manage to do this. We’ll keep you informed. We’re also still trying to get WIP pictures from the mould creation. Would certainly look interesting!

Recently, I’ve seen a quite a few threads on the boards which were about “how long are you still gonna wait” or other disappointments about the long delays or the currently quiet time without any updates…

Well, I know it’s hard – but there’s not much we can update at the moment. Everything is finished except for the case mould, and all we can do is wait until the company finishes it. Once they finish it, it’s just a matter of days until we have the first REAL final Pandoras in our hands – and then the real fun begins: Mass production. And no, I don’t think it will be two months ™ until the mass production starts… it could start a few days after we have the first real Pandora… and that should be the case within the next weeks!

And as some guy asked at the boards how we handle the situation… well, I can only speak for myself, but I have really mixed feelings.

On the one hand, I’m happy that we have a community like you, following our progress and waiting sooooo patiently. On the other hand, I feel bad because we had so many delays and have your money… then again, I see that the only tiny thing missing is the case, which should also be finished soon, which makes me happy, as it means there’s a light at the end of the tunnel!

For me, it’s a real rollercoaster ride. And while I’m eagerly awaiting putting this project behind me, I think I’ll also miss something when we delivered it. Really weird feelings.
I hope that does answer your questions 🙂

See you soon!

http://www.openpandora.org/

The final keymat prototype did arrive a few days ago!

http://www.openpandora.org/