MIDs, or Mobile Internet Devices, have never been hotter, and there are two open-source handhelds slated to land this year that could very well win over quite a few consumers. GamePark's GP2X Wiz, which will be hitting stores soon, looks to be a capable gaming unit as well as an open source machine, but it's OpenPandora's Pandora handheld that has most gadget-lovers salivating. Though it once seemed to be potential vaporware, the Pandora team has let word slip that the product is edging closer to release.

Claiming that 2009 "will surely be the year of the Pandora," the design team behind the desirable open-source device has posted a new video of the now-fabricated and assembled unit. Though the current build is still missing its internal components, the team ensures those awaiting the device that the project is coming together and has posted an "unofficial estimated" launch date of April 7.

Judging by the video, there's still quite a bit of work to be done on the case itself. But the team has had working hardware for the innards for some time now, so some final fabrication, polish, and QA work seem to be the only things that stand in the way of the release which once seemed to be a mere fantasy.

As we've mentioned before, the unit is packed with an ARM Cortex-A8 600Mhz+ CPU running Linux, PowerVR SGX OpenGL 2.0 ES compliant 3D hardware, an 800x480 4.3" 16.7 million color touchscreen LCD, a full keyboard and dual analog stick layout, Wifi 802.11b/g, Bluetooth, and a High Speed USB 2.0 Host, as well as a host of other slots and an alleged (and lofty) ten hours of battery life.

Though the OpenPandora team's unit is powerful on paper, the Pandora and the Wiz will be doing battle with one another for the affections of MID-loving gadgeteers when they launch later this year. We're planning to look at both extensively when they release, so be sure to watch out for more coverage down the road.

Update: Reader BikeHelmet has turned us on to a few additional facts about the Pandora that inquiring minds will want to know. Firstly, the CPU is a 900 MHz Cortex A8 which has actually been underclocked to 600 MHz. This, combined with the fact that the battery is a high capacity lithium polymer, is largely what makes the 10 hour battery life plausible.

The official forums for the device also reveal, for those wondering, that the Pandora will be capable of playing back 720p H.264 video content. The hardware currently supports the profile; all that's needed is a codec.