For the second  time, a fellow pre-orderer has been allowed to examine and use the (almost) final Pandora. This time “x68000″ is the reviewer.

Check out his entire review as well as some comparison shots after the break.

First Impressions

I was unsure what to expect when i first clapped eyes on the Pandora, half of me anticipating it being a heavy, bloated and unpocketable device. There was no need to worry though as it is smaller in the flesh (plastic) than it looks in the pics. Very compact and very pocketable.

The Controls

The biggest worry for me would have been dodgy controls, ala GP2X – Spongy Action buttons and naff D-Pad. The good news is that the D-Pad feels excellent, very Sega Saturn/Megadrive like, this is better than could have ever been expected from a homebrew device. The action buttons are also in a different league to the GP2X, have a good level of travel and no spongy response either, they also feel well spaced from one another. Analogue nubs have been a big talking point round here and after forking out 100k to develop and manufacture them from the ground up, I can see why Craig is so pleased with them. They feel well weighted and balanced with excellent feedback and a good level of travel from their centres. A huge improvement over what Sony managed on the PSP.

The Keyboard

I didn’t expect much usability here, but was astonished at how usable it actually is despite the small form factor. The keys sit well above the handheld, allowing plenty of travel, excellent for such a small device. I managed to type a few sentences whilst holding the Pandora and typing with my thumbs – Totally painless.

Screen

I tried some early builds of N64 , MAME and Megadrive emulators, basically the same as you have seen in the videos so won’t comment on that, but i will mention that the screen coped brilliantly with the fast moving scrolling of Sonic & Knuckles with no noticable motion blur – A wholesale improvment over the PSP.

Summary

Whilst taking the elevator back down to the Ground Floor in Pandora Towers HQ, i felt a mighty sense of relief, ecstatic that nothing has been botched up or just plainly swept under the carpet. I understand how frustrating the wait has been for all concerned but can assure everyone that it will be worth the wait when you get the finished product in your hands.

In my eyes, the Pandora is everything the GP2X should have been and a whole lot more.

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