Pandora – Portable Linux Handheld for Gamers

If your Nintendo DS is collecting dust on the shelf and your PSP is currently serving as a paperweight, then perhaps you need to try something a bit different. What about a handheld device powered by a specially tweaked version of Linux that has been designed for gaming, web browsing, coding, emulating or productivity purposes?

The Pandora is a kind of open source hybrid gaming/PC handheld gaming book. It comes equipped with D-Pads, analogue pads and buttons specifically for gaming, but also has a QWERTY keyboard. It sports a touchscreen enabled screen with a 800*480 display that’s perfect for showing off emulated games. In fact you can easily play old C64, MSX, Atari ST, Amiga or even Spectrum games using readily available emulators.

In terms of hardware, Pandora comes equipped with a TI OMAP3530 CPU running at 600Mhz, 512Mb DDR3 SDRAM, 512Mb NAND Flash memory, an IVA2+ video/audio processor, 802.11b/g wi-fi, Bluetooth, dual SDHC memory card slots, headphone and TV outputs, an internal microphone, two USB ports and a battery that can offer 10 hours of usage time from a single charge.

If Pandora sounds like the answer to your prayers then you can pre-order your own German-built unit from the website now for 375euros or about $500USD.