Hardware documentation

For adding custom extensions see Hardware hacking

General

• Official Hackers Manual (v1.01) from OpenPandora Ltd, includes warnings about damage and warranties (or loss of).

Board

Pandora PCB rev 5

The Pandora is based upon OMAP3530 and DM3730 System-on-a-chip, that includes a whole family of processors in one single chip:

• ARM Cortex-A8 CPU
• PowerVR SGX graphics core
• C64x+ DSP core

OMAP3530 (600MHz units)

• OMAP35x: Main page on TI site[1]

• OMAP3530 specific page[2] This lists the features of the chip and has all the applicable Technical Documents

• specifications

• Texas Instruments Wiki

DM3730 (1GHz units)

• DM3730 specific page[3]

• Texas Instruments Wiki

Other OMAP3530 Projects

• Always Innovating Touch Book[4]
• Beagle Board Resources[5] As it uses the same SoC, many BB resources are also relevant for the Pandora.
• Beagle Board Google Group[6]

Cortex-A8

This processor is part of the ARM risc cpu family[7] that is licensed by a lot of hardware vendors. It has multiple command extensions as NEON (similar to MMX for x86 architecture)

• r1p1[8] Note: OMAP3530 uses rev1p2
• UPDATE: r2p2 Documentation [9] Note: OMAP3530 uses rev1p2
• NEON instruction set [10]
• NEON memory hazards[11]

PowerVR

• Official site
  • OpenGL ES 2.0, several million polygons per second.
  • OpenGL ES 1.1 Tutorial
  • SGX driver info

C64x+

Digital signal processors allow to do complex calculations within only a few cycles

• CPU and Instruction Set Reference Guide[12]
• TMS320C6000 Assembly Language Tools v 6.0 Beta User's Guide[13]
• TMS320C6000 Optimizing Compiler v 6.0 Beta User's Guide[14]
• TMS320C6000 Programmer's Guide[15]

TPS65950 power IC

• Main page on TI site[16]

See also Hardware documentation

accessories

Currently a Pandora branded case, a TV out cable and replacement batteries are available, though as of mid-2011 production of the TV out cable has not started yet. The lead developers are currently entertaining other possibilities.[17]

A page in this wiki has been started to list potential generic accessories and peripherals that will work with the Pandora.

512MB Pandoras (early 2012) The Pandoras produced in Germany by Global Components.

Early 2012 systems shipped with an OS that can only address 256MB of the 512MB RAM. You can check this by typing `free` in a terminal. For these systems, an OS update is needed to see and use the full 512MB. As of May 2012, that OS is available as an optional beta update.

The Pandora project has been a group effort from the beginning. The hardware development team designed Pandora based on specifications requested by potential users. The main physical features - qwerty keyboard, dual analog pads, clamshell design, pocketable size - were considered important by most of the community. The physical appearance of Pandora is a result of getting all the necessary hardware into a pocket sized device while keeping the cost reasonable. Many other layouts were considered, but the final design is the best possible solution.

Where does the stylus fit?

The stylus fits in a slot in the bottom, near the front and on the right hand side. It slides in parallel to the battery.

• 

  Carrying case