Slashdot Mirror
Palm OS Based Gaming Device Nears Release
Sokie writes "During the past few weeks Tapwave, a startup founded by a couple former Palm employees, has been slowly unveiling the features of their upcoming Helix (Flash heavy link) handheld gaming device. So far, the specs include a 480x320 16-bit color display, dual Secure Digital (SD) slots, Bluetooth connectivity for wireless multiplayer (Wi-Fi available through SDIO), multiple analog controls including triggers, ATI Imageon graphics, and dual rechargable lithium ion batteries (no word yet on battery life). In addition to some cool sounding hardware, several prominent game companies are already signed on to develop games for the Helix, including Activision and Midway. It will also run traditional Palm apps like Calendar and Address Book. Tapwave will continue to unveil a new feature each week for the next few weeks, and the product is supposed to launch in September or October and retail for about $299. PC World has some additional info."
I've had a couple of long conversations with the Tapwave people. They are most definitely targetting the 25+ group who see the Gameboy as a toy. The device is pretty compelling.. it offers PDA functionality in a pretty slick form factor that wouldn't look out of place in your average office or work environment.
What you have to realize is that they're not looking to take over the gameboy market. They don't need to sell a bajillion units to succeed in their business model.. their goals are to find a niche market and I think they have a great chance to do pretty well.
Turn s60 photos into awesome videos with mScrapbook for all S60 3rd edition phones!
Althought there are some Palm OS phones on the market, Palm OS is not really suitable for cell phones. The Palm OS interface heavily relies on the touchscreen, while most cell phones have only the numeric pad and a few buttons.
Currently the most popular mobile gaming platform is J2ME, but it is slow and has too many limitations. I guess we'll have to wait at least a few more years before mobile gaming gets mainstream.
The display is 16-bit color. The ARM processor will likely be similar to the one in your GBA. What I'm really wondering is if someone will port Progress Quest.
There is very powerful HP 48 emulator available for your PalmOS device. Even runs my old HP 48SX programs.
As far as I am aware, the proc is 32bit (ARM) and the display is 16bit (== ~64k colours).
The main difference between this and an ARM powered Palm (from what I've read anyway) is that this has a custom gaming API and the extended hardware to turn it into a games machine (as some ppl have noted, Palm games tend to be on the simple side (speaking as a Tungsten owner)).
It is 16-bit, ass.
the tapwave unit supports both 8bpp and 16bpp graphics (developer can choose using API call). this means 256 and 64k colors. nothing new on this end - the device however is 480x320 in landscape mode.
:)
it is no different from a Tungsten|T unit technically. however, it does use an accellerated 2D graphics chip and there is an API specifically targeted that uses the hardware accelleration = good. the device also ships with the X-forge engine (for those developers too lazy to write their own 3d engine), so, that brings a lot of developers who have already done X-forge projects over.
Palm games are not always simple - thats a mute comment. most are, but, not all. for example, a few hits/classics are ported to the platform such as Lemmings:
http://www.ardiri.com/palm/lemmings/
and, some 3D engines have been written as well - its not just gem-swapping games. there are some very addictive technically pushing games available as well. it is a small market for the big game developers tho, and, thats why it is mainly run by hobby based developers. thats solely because Palm has always been an organizer. tapwave is trying to push it as a gaming console, with the benefits of Palm. you will see more companies do stuff on this device. Palm is accepted as a standard - and, is very easy to use. dont think about 68k units, think ARM