MiniMenu on PC-on-a-USB-Stick + iCP

[Mars2005]

This is actually a repost from the iCP topic 'Bundle OpenPandoraOS minimenu for PC with iCP', but I felt it could benefit from both general talks.


The iCP brings OpenPandora play to your respective phones, and the OpenPandora is the all-round multi-purpose device we all love, hate and crave. Still, I'd like to use a wireless gamepad to play Metal Slug on my oversized LED TV without much fuss and additional wires. How about developing a 3rd device, using David Braban's $25 PC-on-a-usb-stick (Raspberry Pi), adding bluetooth capability, nand and SDslot, port the minimenu to the 700MHz ARM11 usb-stick, coupled with 128MB of RAM running OpenGL ES 2.0 with 1080p output (current specs), connect a couple of iCPs and have wireless retrogaming goodness running on any HDMI capable monitor/tv. There's gold in them thar ideas.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/pQ7N4rycsy4?feature=oembed

 

[Mars2005]

Well the pc-on-a-usb-stick won't be in production for another 12 months, after which the boards have been realized, in full, by another company covering the totality of the research, development and production. Although their product comes from a different angle, it utilizes similar hardware as the OpenPandora and could therefor be adapted for the proposed thumbconsole; OP Ltd. wouldn't have to build it themselves from the ground up. It does mean contacting them and asking whether certain additions (like the nand, SDcard & bluetooth) are possible and how much additional cost it would take, but perhaps this might be interesting for them as well as their goal is to make an affordable, programmable pc-on-a-usb-stick. With the new changes in production lines (the break with CircuitCo) and 1-2 years to smooth out the present production process of the OpenPandora batches, a new device hits the market which is theoretically compatible with an established peripheral (iCP) and useable with existing software (OpenPandoraOS) on compatible hardware (Raspberry Pi) which plugs into any monitor or tv.


As a long-term option for the future it doesn't sound like such a longshot, does it?.

 

[Mars2005]

Yeah, you're probably right. Thought it might've been a nice source of future revenue directed at a more commercial, gamer-oriented crowd. But I suppose the raw power of current smartphones in combination with HDMI already allows fully-fledged pandora gameplay, and then some. But, we can dream