Pandora Classic Review

October 15, 2018

The Pandora Classic is a handheld linux computer designed with gaming in mind, but capable of doing anything imaginable with linux. It is a bit dated and slow by today's standards, but a successor (the Pyra) is in development. I got mine off eBay for $137.50 with a broken shoulder button and a pretty borked software setup, which was easily remedied with a little soldering and a clean OS install.

Specs are as follows:

Processor:	ARM Cortex-A8 CPU @ 600 MHz
Operating System:	Custom edition of Ångström Linux
Graphics:	PowerVR SGX530 @ 110 MHz
Memory:	256 MiB DDR-333 SDRAM
Display:	800×480 resolution touchscreen LCD, 4.3" widescreen
Dimensions (W x D x H):	5.523 in × 3.287 in × 1.152 in
Storage:	512 MB NAND flash memory
	Dual SDHC card slots
Battery:	4000 mAh rechargeable lithium polymer battery
Keyboard:	43 button QWERTY and numeric keypad
I/O Ports:	USB 2.0 high-speed port (480 Mbit/s)
	Externally accessible UART
	Headphone output
	TV output
WiFi	IEEE 802.11 b/g
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR

A useful config tweak for me to get bluetooth music working with my car was to edit /etc/asound.conf

pcm.!default {
    type     bluetooth
}

Edit 12/11/2018: Wikipedia lists a 4200 mAh battery, but both of mine and the pandorawiki list 4000 mAh.

Comments

©2013-2025 All Rights Reserved.