Or the opposite, working on the hardware... No, wait, vapor isn't hard! that can't be...
Joking aside, the Pandora development process has been remarkable in its openness and the way community input has been incorporated "en route". It's exactly the opposite of how Nokia treats the Itablet user community.
We know that 100 selected developers have received the "Mk 0" development edition of the Pandora; we know that there is a problem with the USB chip that needs to be addressed by the manufacturer (and sharing that information with the community scathed pretty close to a breach of NDA); we already know that the Pandora -- contrary to earlier announcements -- will have bluetooth onboard; we have seen the circuit boards; we have seen the prototype cases; we have seen a developer board boot.
How much of all this did Nokia share with its community? There is a thread on this board about the ergonomics of the D-pad, almost identical to threads that were started not long after the 770 came out; how much of the input in those threads made it to the N800?
You have to realize that Nokia isn't in the least bit interested in community input for the Itablet line; they're only interested in a community that will alleviate the work they would have to do themselves otherwise.
I actually hope the Pandora IS released. The sooner the better. Competition is good. They just need to be careful with the time-bound announcements...
But the Pandora is -- by your own words -- no competition for the Itablets: The Pandora is announced as (among others) a UMPC, which the Itablets are not, are they?
Joking aside, the Pandora development process has been remarkable in its openness and the way community input has been incorporated "en route". It's exactly the opposite of how Nokia treats the Itablet user community.
We know that 100 selected developers have received the "Mk 0" development edition of the Pandora; we know that there is a problem with the USB chip that needs to be addressed by the manufacturer (and sharing that information with the community scathed pretty close to a breach of NDA); we already know that the Pandora -- contrary to earlier announcements -- will have bluetooth onboard; we have seen the circuit boards; we have seen the prototype cases; we have seen a developer board boot.
Yes, it's really impressive; and it's not at all like Nokia's process; the reason? Not to dismiss their interest in making a better console vs. making a killing, but partly because the Pandora team knows their product will "suck" and be denounced as such; they have a niche market and are aiming for it, so they don't have to worry about competition...
Originally Posted by
How much of all this did Nokia share with its community? There is a thread on this board about the ergonomics of the D-pad, almost identical to threads that were started not long after the 770 came out; how much of the input in those threads made it to the N800?
Well, as mentioned before, too much openness about plans is a potential problem when you're worried about competition; but accepting input is always good, AFAICS.
Originally Posted by
You have to realize that Nokia isn't in the least bit interested in community input for the Itablet line; they're only interested in a community that will alleviate the work they would have to do themselves otherwise.
No, I don't have to realize that; they're interested in sales, and they know that sales depends on people liking the product, and that one way to make a product that people will like is to listen to what they have to say about the last product.
If not, why that survey on tableteer?
They're interested, and more than the least bit. You could argue that it's one of the lesser bits, still, and I'd like to see that change, but they didn't pay for a survey just to throw out the results completely.
(PS: See the N810, with a nice shiny keyboard? That's from listening to the community; many people wanted a keyboard (although I'm still not persuaded it's a great idea, and especially reject that implementation), so they put a keyboard in one model.)
But the Pandora is -- by your own words -- no competition for the Itablets: The Pandora is announced as (among others) a UMPC, which the Itablets are not, are they?
umpc, mid, ulpc, netbook, the lables are to many...
latest was mind i think, basically a mid with gps capability :P
its as if one could start a (********) bingo based on those terms...
as for the openness of the pandora team vs the nokia team, i think it comes from nokia being a "old" corp, used to a attitude of keeping their cards close to the chest.
umpc, mid, ulpc, netbook, the lables are to many...
latest was mind i think, basically a mid with gps capability :P
its as if one could start a (********) bingo based on those terms...
Honestly, as silly as it seems, I think the terms *do* make a difference. Phone, Smartphone, MID, UMPC (tablet), Netbook (ultraportable laptop), Laptop, & Desktop are terms I think we will be hearing for a long time. MID would be an N8x0/900 & iPod Touch, while a UMPC would be a larger tablet that can't be fit inside your pants pocket. That's the determining factor right there. I come from the smartphone world, and I know what a smartphone is... but the MID category is definitely a new idea for me, and I'm liking it. As for the other terms, a netbook is obviously a limited, ultraportable laptop, and it's much easier to say too!
as for the openness of the pandora team vs the nokia team, i think it comes from nokia being a "old" corp, used to a attitude of keeping their cards close to the chest.
There's nothing wrong with being paranoid when money is involved is there? I thought that was just natural for humans to look after their best interest...
* Maintain current features (WiFi, Bluetooth, Maemo, etc.)
* An SDR (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software-defined_radio)
* GPS
* Standard USB port (I think it would be better then the current USB device port)
* Button controlled volume
But the Pandora is -- by your own words -- no competition for the Itablets: The Pandora is announced as (among others) a UMPC, which the Itablets are not, are they?
How much of all this did Nokia share with its community? There is a thread on this board about the ergonomics of the D-pad, almost identical to threads that were started not long after the 770 came out; how much of the input in those threads made it to the N800?
You're letting your bitterness get the best of your common sense. Nokia's and Pandora's approaches are fundamentally different. Pandora isn't burdened by a long legacy of proprietary development. You are expecting too much, too soon from a monolithic cell phone manufacturer. I suggest a cold dose of reality to temper that idealism.
* Maintain current features (WiFi, Bluetooth, Maemo, etc.)
* An SDR (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software-defined_radio)
* GPS
* Standard USB port (I think it would be better then the current USB device port)
* Button controlled volume
What's non-standard about the current port, and in what way would a separate host-port be better than including a host-mode dongle/adapter with it? To me, the only argument I see against the current situation is the inconvenience of having to acquire a third-party adapter. It makes more sense to include an adapter in the package than to add a ~0.5" square port in an already-cramped device...
An SDR would be really cool, but if that happens, you know the interface won't be publicly available, and the code won't be open-source, right?
Not to dismiss their interest in making a better console vs. making a killing, but partly because the Pandora team knows their product will "suck" and be denounced as such; they have a niche market and are aiming for it, so they don't have to worry about competition...
I'm a bit lost here, why would they think this and why would they expect it? The hardware is very cool, I'll get one just to play with that hardware in some sort of package (rather than a dev board).
