One of questions I see a lot on the GP2X forums, is 'should I buy a GP2X or wait for Pandora'.
I still believe it is a good idea to buy a GP2X until the release date of the Pandora is final. Right now we only know the first 100 units will be probably sent to developers in May. They have to test the units, that will take a couple of weeks or even months. After the test period there will probably be bugs in the design and fixing that will take some more time as well.
Also after the Pandora is released, the sofware library will not be as huge as the GP2X. The only reason I can think of to wait for Pandora is when you want it primarely for PSX emulation. There is a PSX emulator for the gp2x, but it is too slow to be really usable. See examples here
When you buy a GP2X, you will know what you get:
- Lots of great emulators and homebrew that will give you the ability to play an amazing amount of games
- Still actively developed for
- Light weighted
- Easy vertical playing of Mame games
- A lot of quality homebrew, fa Sqdef, Ruckman
- Most of the problems from older versions of the GP2X has been solved fa the current d-cap on the F200 is very good.
Even if every developer would stop developing for the GP2X you would still have 1000's emulated games and homebrew to play. Enough games to keep you busy for the rest of your life.
When you read the GP2X forum, most of the discussions are about the Pandora or the newest emulator/homebrew. There is almost no discussion about the games that already play flawless and are available.
That is what I aim to achieve with this blog, show what the GP2X is capable of today.
[Edit] 07 July 2008: Production of the GP2X has been stopped. That doesn't make this blog entry less valid. You can still buy the GP2X cheap second hand.
My guess is that it will still take some time (months) to produce the Pandora.
[Edit] March 21st 2009:
Nope still no launch of Pandora :( Whatever the reason of these delays, a lot of them were predicted (I was one of them) so the Pandora team should be more careful in predicting launchdates. I add another prediction here... I don't expect its release before July 2009
[Edit] June 7th 2009
Launch of Pandora is confirmed being July 2009.
[Edit] June 27th. I will not update this opinion anymore, because of the launch of the Wiz and Dingoo. A second hand GP2X will probably cost as much as a new Dingoo. If you don't want to wait for the Pandora or you think it is too expensive, buy a Wiz or a Dingoo. They are both great for retrogaming.
Pandora will not be launched in July (hopefully August)
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I totally agree with you! The GP2X hasn't died yet, and won't die for some time still! It still has many things to give and much potential. The f-200's touchscreen hasn't been actively used in many programs yet. Also as you pointed out, we still haven't seen the power of the Pandora, or even whether it's gonna be a successful project or not. Everyone is in a hurry to abandon the GP2X and that's a shame. Keep up the good work, maybe you'll help the GP2X community stay focused a little longer on our little miracle called the GP2X rather than trying to find a messiah in the Pandora, which hasn't even been released yet!
Hey nice, a comment :)
You are absolutely right.The F200 has got a lot to offer. I also hope to see some more use of the touchscreen, Especially computer emulators will benefit a lot from something like a virtual keyboard.
I don't see any signs of Rigor Mortis yet. Mame4all is just released and there is more great stuff on its way.
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