Originally released in 2010, it was designed to take advantage of existing free and open-source software and to be a target for homebrew development.

[5][6] The Pandora was designed based on ideas and suggestions contributed by GP32X forum members, with the goal of creating the ultimate open source handheld device.

[7] When announcing the system, the designers of Pandora stated that it would be more powerful than any handheld video game console that had yet existed.

[1] The final case and keymat design was made by Dave Cancilier[8] (DaveC), who was known on the forums for custom hardware modifications.

[16] As of September 3, 2012, 4600 units had been shipped and 400 early supporters were still waiting to receive a console,[17] as these pre-orders are only fulfilled when sales to new customers are made.

In March 2013, the pre-order queue of the German OpenPandora GmbH company (owned by Michael Mrozek aka EvilDragon) was finally cleared.

The Pandora is designed to be a handheld game console with high-end PDA capabilities, but may also be run as a low-power full-featured Linux desktop.

[27] The interface is custom themed to fit the small form factor and touchscreen, analogue joystick, and keyboard-based inputs available.

It is possible as well to run Android (gingerbread) through a PND package on top of the Ångström distribution, while it requires overclocking to perform flawlessly.

[37] The Pandora uses standard libraries such as OpenGL ES and SDL which are freely available, allowing anyone who wishes the ability to develop for the system.

[49] Specifications:[50] Based on Pandora Classic with following changes: Based on Pandora Classic/Rebirth with following changes: Other single-board computers using OMAP3500 series processors include OSWALD[57] developed by Oregon State University students for computer science education, Beagle Board, IGEPv2, Touch Book, and Gumstix Overo series.