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Via-based Handheld Game Console Runs PC Games
An anonymous reader writes "Via Technologies has teamed up with Ministry of Mobile Affairs (no, it's not a government agency) to build a handheld game console based on Windows XP Embedded that runs existing PC games. Described as the world's first handheld gaming device based on the x86 architecture, the Eve Mobile Gaming Console is said to be capable of instantly running thousands of existing PC games. Eve's embedded computer is built around a 533MHz Via Eden-N processor (which supports SSE and MMX) equipped with 128MB DDR266 SDRAM, and a 20GB hard drive. A built-in 4-inch LCD screen supports resolutions up to 640 x 480 pixels." The initial impressions are pretty grim, and the form factor leaves something to be desired, at least for a product vying for a share of the GBA market.
Modular -- Screen unit detaches from the controller. Carry just the screen unit around for media on the go. Swap controllers for a customized gaming experience.
This and the fact that there's nothing on the screen lead me to believe this is a Very early prototype and I'm doubting it's going to make it out 1st Q 2005.
"It's funny that you say that it comes out of nowhere," said Andrew "Bunnie" Hwang, the "minister of mobile affairs" at The Ministry of Mobile Affairs (MoMA), based in San Diego. "It actually fills a vacuum in the market," of an X86-based handheld, he said.
It actually gets better when he explains that you can pay to "unlock" the device (like hackers won't figure this out within a day or two...":
If a user wishes, Hwang added, he can purchase a separate SIM card "for a reasonable price" that will completely unlock the console, so users can download whatever content they wish.
I guess we will see what happens in the marketplace.....
Happy Trails!
Erick
http://www.busyweather.com/
ahh nevermind
Can it play monkey island?
Fully sick, brother! :)
That should run most of the older emulators just fine. From console to PC back to console, go figure. Now if it would only butter my toast for me.
- Your stupidity got you into this mess, why can't it get you out? -Will Rogers
Just wait till the longhorn version comes out. You'll have to drag around a highend desktop computer just to run it.
most PC games have too many buttons.
a group has managed to hack the moma and it is now running linux without copy protection.
I have no
but is it going to be ever built by anyone and sold at retail? sounds like a support nightmare. also in the pics it's good to use, but only at places you could bring your laptop to(it's bulky).
would be fucking awesome for emulators and stuff like that though..
but I'll put my dollar on the bet that says "nice research project for pr purposes, to be never really hit the market properly if at all."
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
When they say existing PC games, they must really mean it! Not current, but existing. The question is how long do those games have to have existed for? The hardware config is totally insufficient, aesthetics and usability aside.
~Someday, I hope to be an aspiring author.
If it folded (or better, slid open to reveal a mini-keyboard) I'd buy it to replace my Zaurus and run 20GB of MP3s and a copy of xmms (or winamp).
But with that elbow bend, it's useless.
Opinions on the Twiddler2 hand-held keyboard?
Looks like a low power server to me. Or a GPS unit with software you can update. I'd sit one on the dash of my van.
It'd also be great for emulation. The thing just screams MAME. Or Ultimate Amiga Emulator.
How about portable network analyzer? It'll probably run standard Linux distros.
This thing is not a toy. Well..ok. It is a toy, but it's useful too.
Weaselmancer
Weaselmancer
rediculous.
If it plays Diablo II, it's a lot smaller than the thing I currently lug to LAN sessions.
Yes it wont sync but it would be nice to use it as a pda/calculator/game machine. Why settle on just one this.
Hmm maybe if any VIA employee's are reading this, you may want to consider mathmatical keys and a mini qwerty keybord. If it runs more things than games you could expand your marketshare.
http://saveie6.com/
Via is proud to present its first new line of handheld game console that has all the abilities of windows XP, this all into your pocket!
- it bluescreens
- it eats more power than required, replace the batteries every 2 hours
- you have to reinstall windows xp every month
- it can get worms if you plug it on internet! (no need to install outlook, the disk share will be enough)
-
Can it run linux?
How long till someone reserves http://moma-linux.sf.net/ ?
MOUNT TAPE U1439 ON B3, NO RING
if it runs starcraft and/or civilization 2, gimme one right now!
I hope this thing comes to market. Then Fails, Think Dreamcast Folks!
It's likely to be cheaper than an iPaq, and if it has USB (which makes me wonder how you get the games onto the 20GB Hard Drive) you can plug a USB Mini Hub into it for Keyboard/Mouse and have a sweet little Linux Box... or even a portable Emulation System....The possibilities look appealing.
Arrgh! But I don't think you'd want to try word processing on a 4" screen.
Make America grate again!
So let's see...it's a 500MHz x86 with only 128MB of RAM, a fixed LCD that goes only to 640x480, and a case that exists only in the crappy renders of second-rate designers. And it seems like it's meant to be limited only to games, not other Windows applications. Sure beats a standard laptop...
Anybody care to explain why I should think this is more than (exceptionally incompetent) vaporware?
It claims that having an x86 CPU is a big plus, but how many consumers either: a) know what a processor architecture is, or b) care? It could be so that it runs Windows, to play Windows games, but with the size of the hard drive (20gb) and the current size of games (UT2004 is >5gb), how many PC games will fit? In a year, when the MoMA is released, I don't think that games will be getting any smaller.
MOUNT TAPE U1439 ON B3, NO RING
If that doesn't deserve an OT mod, then nothing does.
*COUGH* vaporware *COUGH*
Most likely. After all, who wants to play PC games they played 3 years ago even if they are portable?
...in about a year, after this crashes and burns horribly in the marketplace, when they dump the remaining inventory through TigerDirect or eBay or something. After the miserable failure of this product, we will probably be able to get one for a couple hundred dollars or so.
I mean, look at the thing. $500, then you get to pay more to turn on the disabled features? A weird, non-foldable shape that won't fit in a pocket and might not even fit in a briefcase? This thing is a trainwreck of a product.
I just hope the product engineers planned ahead for the dismal sales, and designed it to be easy to hack (bootable from USB, etc.)
This would make a decent little gadget for playing my old Atari 2600 games. The tiny screen wouldn't be a handicap and the controls are right there. If you can get MAME on it you could play quite a lot of stuff.
You could also use it as a "photo wallet" (each day on vacation, dump all your photos to its hard drive, look at them with the screen to verify that they are there, and wipe your camera's chips clean for the next day). It only has CompactFlash, though.
You could even use it as a universal remote for your home; with 802.11 networking, it could talk to a computer and you could then do anything.
Of course you could use it as a portable audio/video player, if you can deal with the awkward shape.
Let's hope they make lots of these things before they figure out that no one wants them; they'll be really cheap!
steveha
lf(1): it's like ls(1) but sorts filenames by extension, tersely
A small notebook pc would be about as easy to carry around as that thing, and it will play most existing pc games too. Plus the notebook's screen will actual ly fold down, meaning you could store it somewhere when you aren't using it.
Look at Palm devices: more and more games are being added to the library for this family of PDA's. A lot of games are coming out for Microsoft's Pocket PC platform. The only drawback for these systems is a lack of internal storage.
Look at iPods: a ton of local storage, a well-designed user interface, and the "cool" factor that marketing companies spend billions searching for. But other than video and some basic text notes (that you can't edit on the device), the iPods and other hard drive-based media centers can't play games or do other "computerish" tasks.
What happens when we combine these two products? Eve. It's a Pocket PC, but since it runs "XP Embedded" you can theoretically run any existing PC game. Spend a little time and effort, and you won't even need a USB keyboard. You could also just store music or video on there.
It's an RCA Lyra with a bit more processing power and an add-on controller. If they can hit the $500 point next year, there might (might) be a market, but I think more people will buy it for high quality video on a teeny screen than for any gaming options.
Ooooh, and wi-fi, so you can watch the videos on the other Eves are you...
THe usb protocol/whatever isbased on a client/server model. Keyboards are clients, the USB controller on you PC is the server. My guess is, that since you're connecting this to your big PC to download games, it only has a client chip.
Seriously... Who needs that shit ? The VIE EDEN platform is not capalbe of playing high qulaity games. The old DOS based games you could play would be fine with DOS. A lot of people might fall on the "plays thousands of PC games" because they think it plays them DOOM3 oh the tram. It won't. When do these companies realize the real need ? A PDA below the USD400 price tag in metal casing, with classical PDA functions and a built in 1.8" HDA so you can seriously use it for MP3. Oh, and add a GPRS system.
Hello?? Fred?! Is this you?
Warning: That link is a redirect to "peoplesprimary.com". I have no idea what's on the site.
"They redundantly repeated themselves over and over again incessantly without end ad infinitum" -- ibid.
Warcraft I, Dungeon Hack, and the entire Zork Trilogy with your blazing fast 533MHz processor!
Do you think if you throw it *just right* it will come back?
I have a theory that the truth is never told during the nine-to-five hours. -- Hunter S. Thompson
I think this niche is already filled by the Sony Vaio TR series. At 1.4"x7.4"x10.6" the Sony is pretty darn small. The Sony has a 1 GHz pentium M, .5 GB DDR ram, and a 40 GB drive. It comes wireless equipped, and, no, I don't own one. Base model runs $2,200 US, which is probably a bit more than the VIA/MOMA will sell for, I'm sure.
Some mornings it's hardly worth chewing through the restraints to get out of bed.
The reason there's a vaccuum in that segment of the market is that, at this point, anything that fits that vaccuum is going to SUCK!
Honestly, what games are there for the PC platform that A) require only 640x480, B) run adequately at 500-odd mHz/128MB RAM, and C) require only a D-pad and four buttons to control? I sounds like this overpriced toy is going to require games written specially for it, so what's the point of making it x86 PC compatible?
If a job's not worth doing, it's not worth doing right.
If you're astute and look at this picture you'll see that it's not just a Ministry of Mobile Affairs logo on the screen. In fact, it's a logo photoshopped over a Half Life screen. Mmm...portable half life.
My Slashdot account is old enough to drink...
At 20GB that would be a cool use for it. Also, with the described CPU speed you could probably watch (tiny, but at least decent resolution) DivX movies? 20GB is enough to have a small distro with Mplayer etc.
I wonder what the video hardware is, and the controller specs. If somebody could hack up a driver for the buttons, it would also make a nice portable MAME/SNES/etc emulator. You could do a lot of this on windows too, but if somebody could manage drivers for the display/keyboard linux/OS could bring a lot of custom functionality to this little gadget.
I'm guessing the CPU power of this thing is enough to drive old non-3d dos games and that's about it.
The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. - Benjamin Franklin
It pops up multiple windows with the goatse image.
1) Price. If you can get a PSP cheaper, it's going to fail. Period. The PSP is probably going to start at, what, $200-250? So I'd say it'd better be around $150-175 MAX if it wants any chance at all.
2) Accessories. It was mentioned above that they intend to have a detachable game pad area, and I hope that it uses some sort of customized USB 2.0 connection for that so they can have a large array of easy to develop add-ons. Examples: A mini-keyboard, a stand with a built in USB HUB, so you can plug in a mouse/keyboard or external HD/DVD drive, or whatever you want. Also, a Wi-Fi add-on (or standard built in) would be an obvious must have.
A 533mhz cpu with 128mb ram will run some pretty decent games. If this GPU subsystem is decent at all, and they have some sort of widdled down version of widows running you could conceivably run Q3 based games, which is pretty nice for a handheld system.
Personally, I think that if this does make it to market, it will fail on both points 1 and 2. It will likely be in the $300-400 range, since they will have to actually make money on the hardware, as they don't get licensing fees from software sales like Sony and Nintendo. The accessories will likely be available, but will be either too expensive, reach market to late, or be just plain stupid (think GB camera and printer).
If it does manage to hit the shelves at a decent price and they improve the form factor some, it could be a very cool gadget. In all likelihood, however, I think I will be one the ones grabbing one of these as they get discontinued so I can turn it into a bathroom email/web browser!
Anybody with more information? Did they actually show anything that works? I wonder what this "Service" is!
Why isnt there a /usr/doc/Linux-HOWTO/EVE-MOMA-Linux-HOWTO yet?
(\_/)
(O.o) This is Bunny. Add Bunny to your signature
(> <) to help him achieve world domination.
If the device really looks like that i'd be surprised if it even made it into the shops. I'd be prepared to place money on the fact that it wont even make it through the door, and if it did I doubt it would be successful.
Who the fuck do these people think are going to make games for these 1823192837 different devices? Here's a hint: not Nintendo or Sony.
But if it plays exisiting pc games, they dont need an exclusive publisher of any type. The Gamepark GP32 seems to do pretty well, and people really just put MAME on it.
Moderation Totals: Flamebait=2, Troll=1, Redundant=1, Insightful=6, Overrated=1, Underrated=1, Total=12. (not mine)
for Linux?
Here's the scoop on peoplesprimary.com
Wifi halflife on demand whereever I am without a laptop... this is the work of the devil!
Have you never owned a cartridge-based gaming system? :-)
Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
I bet this thing will run Duke Nukem Forever GREAT! I can't wait!
The Braying and Neighing of Barnyard Animals Follows.
Crack the damn game.
Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
It SUX! It Blows! It's stupid looking! Sony RUL3Z!! Gamecube SUX!! BLAAAHH!!.
Four months ago everyone (and that means EVERYONE) said the Nintendo DS would tank. Now people can't get enough of how cool it is. Now everyone is saying the PSP will tank, when four months ago it was to "instantly stomp Nintendo out of the handheld market."
Face it folks. Everything sux. Because everything sux, nothing has any value. When nothing has any value, it is much easier to ignore the suffering of other people.
People are losing their jobs right now because "everything sux." Little gets invented at large companies any more because "everything sux." Good projects never get funded because "everything sux." Businesses can't get capital becuase "everything sux." Society suffers because "everything sux."
Yeah. It's important.
Business isn't willing to pay for products, innovation and careers, so we get brands, mortgage commercials and layoffs.
Would a notebook computer fit in my pocket, like my existing portable gaming solution?
Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
I can see someone playing Diablo 2 on this. Might not be the easiest thing ever, and only 4 hotkeys, but it could be done.
... but will it run Linux??
Whatever runs, will run slow.
"Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job."-THG
Does that mean we finally have to worry about viruses and secure issues on handheld game console?
Has anyone else noticed this MoMA was started by Andrew 'bunnie' Huang? This guy is one of the formost underground experts on what has come to be called hardware hacking, and in that respect he is a genius. I seriously doubt that an MIT graduate of this caliber would let something stupid come to market, give this project some time. Plus, hes a regular /.er.
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun the frumious Bandersnatch.
.deviatefromtheabsolute.
Needless to say, this could be fixed so easily:
I think the biggest flaw of this product is that they decided not to follow through on a promising idea. It's a portable mini PC tuned for gaming, for chrissakes! Gadgeteers would love that thing if it only allowed them to tinker with it!
Wow, Blizzard really must be addictive.
Finally a platform for people who use Gamemaker to make games!
Whatever, a 640x480 screen, the controller was ok, the twenty gig harddrive was interesting.
Under 500 bucks?
Ok, a decent handheld computer, I thought. It would be fun to hack around with and install interesting things on it. Like a cheap zaurus handheld or something.
I was wondering then how long the batteries would last, so I scanned one of the articles to see if they said anything about batteries.
BOOM!
You need a special sim, or a even a extra special sim to unlock the device?
Why the FUCK would I want to do anything to unlock a device I just paid for?? Copy protection?
Fuck you Via, this was a bad move.
I'll never even considure purchasing this POS.
Handheld crap is hard enough to mess around with, but with paraniod copy protection to fight with? No fun for me.
So stupid, this thing is doomed from the start and it's un-portable shape is just the nail in the coffin.
While this may not bea good implementation of the idea, the idea itself is awesome!!!! I would LOVE to have a gadget like that, done right, with me on the train to work, so I could play Heroes of Might and Magic 2, Fallout, Day of the Tentacle, Betrayal at Krondor, Doom, etc etc ...
Ow, ow, hot... *drop/crunch* damnit...
"Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
...or you could get a Zaurus now.
I admit it is only going to run low power games (being able to drop RAM in would be nice) but the stats for it are not that bad - 2 USB two ports - chain me up a keyboard,mouse and a link to the net. 20gb of storage on a x86? Yeah - I can run linux on that. If the price is right it looks to me like a fun little linux box (MAME, xmms, xine, and anything else you want) hot swappable batteries and video out?? Might be the "portable" computer (drag it everywhere - plug in as needed) that everyone hasa been talking about. The video chipset even looks nice. Will it run Half-Life 7? No, but could it blow the pants off a GBA? Yeah, I think so.
Sera
"Come my friends tis not too late to seek a newer world." -Tennyson
Slashdot, where armchair scientists get shouted down and armchair theologians get modded up.
is it just me, or does that screen look like it's at a totally inappropriate angle? it looks as if you'd have to tilt your wrists forward in order to view the screen straight-on.
three cheers for carpal tunnel syndrome.
(damn caps lock) It's my Belkin game pad, fitted with a screen!! Yes that what they must have used.
There was an unknown error in the submission.
Did anyone notice the small half life title at the top of the picture?? That is quite an aspiration for it.....I can see how this would be useful for lan parties if they just stuck an ethernet port on it.
Doesn't everybody know that MoMA is the Museum of Modern Art?
Price. If you can get a PSP cheaper, it's going to fail. Period. The PSP is probably going to start at, what, $200-250? So I'd say it'd better be around $150-175 MAX if it wants any chance at all.
The PlayStation 2 hasn't failed in the United States while never at any time being cheaper than the Nintendo GameCube. It's all about the titles, and as you mention, this handheld can apparently run some pretty good titles natively and emulate thousands more.
It's a decent idea, although some things are very wrong imo.
The size and shape is a huge issue, with it's size, it would be like carrying something the size of a brick (or a little bigger). Also, not being able to fold it discourages game play, because it could potentially be harder to use in certain areas, like lying on the couch.
While it could potentially play some newer games, the controlls and screen size will be a huge factor. I doubt any newer games would be playable, and many older ones due to lack of screen size, and controlls.
That being said, It seems like a good choice for emulators. I know many who would love to have the classic NES and SNES games that haven't been ported to the GBA or other consoles.
Look out, it's VIA, and another one of those PC game devices that just might work. Maybe. Well, kinda. You never know.
Imagine a beowolf cluster of those!
System:
Graphics:533 MHz Eden-N Processor
133MHz Bus
SSE and MMX instruction Set support
128MB DDR266 SDRAM
High-Performance 64-bit DDR SDRAM Controller
20GB Hard Drive - Data transfer rates of up to 133 MB/s
VIA CN400 Digital Media Chipset - Integrates S3 Graphics UniChrome Pro Graphics Core
200Mhz Graphics Engine Clock
128-bit 3D Graphics Engine o Pixel rate up to 200 million pixels per second, 2 textures each
o Triangle rate up to 4.5 million triangles per second
o Microsoft DirectX 7.0, 8.0, and 9.0 compatible
o Microsoft DirectX Texture Compression (DXTC, S3TC)
o OpenGL(TM) Support
o Z-bias, LOD-bias, Polygon Offset, Edge Anti-aliasing and Alpha Blending
o Specular Lighting
MPEG2 & MPEG4 Hardware decoding
Audio:
VIA Vinyl Six-channel Audio
Full Immerzio(TM) Gaming support
o EAX® 1.0, EAX® 2.0
o DirectSound3D®
o I3DL2(TM)
o A3D® 1.0
LCD Display
The Eve Mobile Gaming Console integrates a 4, 640x480 TFT LCD screen. In supporting up to 640x480 resolutions, the Eve Console can easily play all PC games natively.
Hard Drive
The Eve Console includes a single 1.8 20GB hard drive for storing the OS and the game data. This is sufficient to store a large library of games and digital media content. This is transferred to the system either via wireless LAN or by USB2.0 pass-through to a PC.
Batteries
Prismatic Lithium-Ion batteries are the current favorite choice for the console. Two packs of batteries are provided so that the batteries can be hot-swapped for continuous, uninterrupted play.
Port List
The ports that are user-accessible on the Eve Console include:
Power jack (DC barrel type)
2x USB 2..0 jacks (Type A host style)
1x Compact FLASH type II slot
2x battery slots (as specified as handgrips)
1x smartcard card slot (15mm x 1mm slot)
2x 1/8" stereo jack for headphones out & microphone in
1x 1/8" stereo jack for composite video out
802.11b wireless LAN
Button List
D-pad (WASD)
L/R triggers
Cluster of 4 action buttons
Line of 6 auxiliary function buttons
os trabalhos e os dias: http://zmoreira.net
> build a handheld game console based on Windows XP
> Embedded that
Chipmaker VIA posted an article on their website Friday claiming to be the first ever to port the full line of Microsoft Office and Server products to the handheld game console. The article mysteriously vanished and was later replaced by an article claiming the chip giant to be the first ever to port McAfee Antivirus to the handheld game console.
boycott slashdot February 10th - 17th check out: altSlashdot.org
You can undock the keypad from the screen.
Get a free ipod.
they should have made it a PDA type of thing, plus the function to play some games, then it will have a future.
This thing sucks. No HW 3D-based PC game (i.e nearly every PC game since Wing Commander) would run well/at all on such low-spec hardware so it has limited appeal. Buying a Pocket PC would be better:
Possible advatages of this over Pocket PC:
* Maybe cheaper (but after buying the unlocking sim who knows?)
* Controllers may be better
Advatages of Pocket PC:
* More portable
* Useful for stuff other than games
* Anyone over 20 yrs old using a Gameboy-style device in public looks like a retard. Not so with an IPAQ-style devce.
Frankly, if they can make THIS for under $500, that gets me pretty damn excited. Why? Because it means they can tear off the controller, slap a keyboard on there, and make a PDA/ultratiny PC that would far outstrip the capabilities of your run-of-the-mill Pocket PC or Palm (something that no one has been able to do cheaply yet).
Seriously, I'm pretty jazzed.
+++ATH0
What are you all talking about? I had a Pentium II 350MHz until this summer, and I could play Warcraft III without much issue.
Wing commander... That was from back in the Pentium-100 days wasn't it? I think you're underestimating or overstating, or doing something totally wrong, hehe.
-Jesse
Nothing says "unprofessional job" like wrinkles in your duct tape.
I wonder if the Ministry of Silly Walks is under the supervision of the Ministry of Mobile Affairs.
Looooots more stuff is compiled and known to work on x86 (especially, if we're lucky, industry-standard x86) than that ARM-based chip, my friend.
+++ATH0