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The Portable Linux Based GP2X is Here
An anonymous reader writes "Today sees the opening of the Official GP2X Site where you can see the new console from Gamepark.com, who last brought you the GP32 a fantastic console for homebrew developers. This console is a major step up with Dual 200Mhz cpus and is basically a Portable Linux handheld that can easily do ports like Quake, Doom and Emulators like Mame. Its Open Source SDK gives all amateur and commercial Developers the ablity to release software on a brand new console like the old Amiga/Commodore 64 days. More screenshots of the GP2X can be found at GP2x news."
UK pre-orders for the machine are being taken at GP2X.co.uk (formerly GBAX) at £125 for the machine. It's shipping in October :)
What kind of storage can you realistically get on SD cards? I have to wonder, given that most XBox/PS2 games are now pushing the 4-5 gig range. Quake was good, but a smidgen outdated.
I do realize there are games that are less than a gig, but does this have a realistic chance of becoming a mass market item?
Working link here: GP2X
With two processors and a screen as big as it is, how long will 2 AA's last I wonder?
I think it would be fantastic to see this take off, perhaps it could jumpstart open source games. (yeah yeah insert comment about Tuxracer)
I'm a minister!
seems in some ways a downgrade.
they went from a 4inch screen to a 3.5 inch one. screen res went down and they took out the wireless.
http://www.livejournal.com/users/metricmusic
Wow, this looks really cool. I especially like the AA batteries. I have about 10 rechargeable AAs and could easily pack them with me on vacation and keep this thing going for a long time. Not something you can do with proprieatary batteries
I'm a bit miffed on the resolution of the device. The big bold text claims 720x480, while the specs say 320x480. I am going to guess that it's the latter, as 720 on a 3" screen would be a really expensive lcd.
I'm a minister!
Your cellphone runs Linux? It comes with a free SDK so you can make your own games? It has a SD slot and USB? It has a 3.5" screen?
-- "So, what's the deal with Auntie Gerschwitz et all?"
When Quake was originally released, my housemate had a PC with 64MB of RAM and a 200MHz Pentium Pro, and I remember Quake running just fine.
Of course, when he later downloaded GLQuake it ran like an aboslute dog without a 3d accelerator card, but that's a different story...
It's official. Most of you are morons.
A bit rough around the edges? Have you tried turning AA on?
-- "So, what's the deal with Auntie Gerschwitz et all?"
IIRC, DS games are only 128 Megabytes (1 gigabit) in size, max. So, pretty darn big. I may be off -- it may be 1 Gigabyte (8 gigabit), but still... SD cards aren't exactly 1.44 meg floppies, ya know. ;)
Now that harddrives are becoming so small and the price isn't that bad, I reckon they are really limiting their device by just supporting SD, especially when they try and flog it off as a portable movie player. I'm sure if they stuck in 20gb hdd and had to add a tiny bit onto the overall width people wouldnt moan and you'd probabaly get more sales out of it
1) HDDs have moving parts and are prone to failure in portable devices.
2) HDDs have moving parts requiring more power - a nono in a portable device.
3) SD == expandable - need more storage? Buy another card. You will be able to buy a 4Gig SD card next year for next to nothing.
Frankly, I think the lack of a HDD is a good thing - I would kill for a mp3 player with a CF slot....
My pics.
Should we tell them they've plastered "GP2X" all over the website, but the device clearly has "GPX2" written on it?
All those who believe in telekinesis, raise my hand.
I would kill for a mp3 player with a CF slot....
Here you go. I want my mother-in-law dead. Make it painful and slow.
Kidding aside, I've had one of these for about 18 months and I'm very happy with it.
You buy this and can play a lot of (admittedly "old") games on it, I'd love to take Sam 'n' Max on a plane journey! This clearly isn't aimed at the kid who "wants something cool to play with", it's for people who know that this really is something cool to play with/work with/develop for. I have a friend who is really into the previous console and I believe has one of these pre-ordered, he makes them sound very cool and useful. However, personally I'd probably rather have a PSP. I can play most of these games on my PC after all.
well whoever makes them... I want one... I was going to get an Ipod for Xmas and stick Linux on it, but this beastie is far more usefull and cooler than an iPod... iPods.. every Tom, Dick and Harry's got one... far too common...
Donald 'Duck' Dunn: We had a band powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline.
your ppro has 256k (or more) l1 and l2 cache. it can also issue and execute instructions out of order. the strongarm has none of these features.
the cache alone makes an enormous difference, the out of order execution on top of that results in a cpu which is about 50% faster than the strongarm right off the bat.
not to mention -- much of doom was hand coded x86 assembly. the zaurus arm port obviously can't use that, and afaik no arm assembly equivalents have been written so the doom port uses straight C.
Its lack of 3D hardware is another nail in its coffin. Can it compare with PSP in gaming? No at all.
Bear in mind what a lot of people are saying about the PSP: "Okay, there's no games on it apart from half a dozen identical racers, but it's really cool for running homebrew software! I hope I don't have to upgrade to firmware 1.50 and break all my emulators!"
This GP2X? It's half the price of a PSP, and while it doesn't have the racing games, it does have the cast-iron guarantee that the company that makes it is not doing everything it can to destroy your homebrew experience and prevent you using your hardware to do whatever you like - unlike Sony, who tighten their grip on their platform with every revision.
Can it compare with PSP in eye-candy? Not at all, not even close. Can it compare with PSP in emulation and homebrews? Well, let's see - it's half the price, it runs Linux, and it's explicitly marketed at the homebrew scene. Hmm, I wonder.
So maybe it's not your thing. That doesn't mean it's crap, you know?
What crack are you smoking? I've been using SD cards with Linux for years. If you don't have a device that uses the security features (nearly all of them), then it just works like any other flash device would.
It might be possible to lock content on an SD card so that it wasn't accessible from Linux, but one you purchased blank and formatted yourself isn't going to give you any problems.
GamePark created the GP32. It didn't do so well, so they open-sourced it. Then it did pretty well, selling to hackers.
So then Gamepark wanted to make a successor. They argued over whether or not to make it open-source again.
They couldn't agree, so they split up into Gamepark & Gamepark Holdings.
GP went on to develop the XGP, a closed-source, high-powered console. GPH created the GP2X/GPX2, a less-powerful but open-source console.
They're both successors to the GP32, but very different concepts, made by two different companies.
Hope that helped. . .
So.. it has come to this
All of you folks (myself included) that push for open standards and open hardware need to put our money where our mouths are.
Bonus 1 - the device runs linux
Bonus 2 - the architecture is open
Bonus 3 - the creators say they won't ruin homebrew
What if we code games/apps for this in a platform portable way? That could mean a bunch of new games (albeit old-style, but what's wrong with that?) for Linux.
I use a 4-in-1 reader and it just works. With everything. I don't have it handy right now to look at, but it was a $25 or $30 job at Best Buy. (I *think* the brand name was ImageMate, but that could easily be wrong.)
Support's built right into the kernel. Plug it in, wham, it works. No hassle. Each slot looks like a different SCSI device. I've used it for both CF and SD and it works fine.
Via VMWare, the built-in card-reader on my monitor also works perfectly with OpenBSD and with Linux, both for CF and SD. I presume it would work if I plugged it straight in, as well, but I don't run Linux directly on this machine.
I've had NO problem using multiple SD cards with Linux for years. I don't know where you guys are getting your info (and/or your readers), but there's no reason whatsoever for it to be difficult. It's such a no-brainer that I am completely confused why we're even having the conversation.
It JUST WORKS. Plug it in and you're good. You don't have to think about SD or MMC, you just get a universal reader, plug it in, and off you go. The SD encryption features aren't used by any device I know of. You can argue semantics about it "being used as an MMC card", but no normal human cares about that. They want to plug it into the computer and have it work. If you buy an SD card, that will happen. That's all that matters.
SD is better than MMC anyway... the MMC cards are so thin they're pretty fragile. SD is quite robust. I have been carrying a card in my wallet for the last two years, and it's none the worse for wear. And you get a nifty write-protect tab, which I like very much.
If I understand your anti-SD objection correctly, you're upset about something that's totally irrelevant.
:-O
That's not the official GP2X website. That's the GBAX website, an online GP2X distributor. Hardcore-gamer is the distributor on spain.
Here is a list of official distributors.
The official website is still www.gpx2.com
The console will be released in october/november
Every single game I know (Ok, I'm old-school) has a linux version or runs in a console for which linux has a working emulator... approximately 1000 games.
It's better to be the foot on the boot than the face on the pavement. ~~ tkx Kadin2048
"Here is your order summary, including shipping costs and any taxes.
Items in cart: 2 x GP2X Console Value Pack
Total Items cost: £ 249.98
Shipping cost: £ 17.5 (International)
Total cost with shipping: £ 267.48
To pay please click proceed.
Firefox users any problems please use Opera or Internet Explorer."
This system seems more aimed at a niche market, so they're not directly competing with the PSP. Also, it appears that their previous product, the GP32 was profitable enough.
Personally, I'm more interested in this console than a PSP. An affordable handhold Linux system with USB and twin 200MHz processors does sound tempting. Shouldn't be too hard to get a terminal on this thing, and the USB connection opens up the possibility of buying a small keyboard for it.
So all SD cards must support MMC mode. MMC mode works. Therefore....(left as an exercise for the reader).
I did say, if you notice, that nothing uses the encryption capability of the card anyway. It doesn't *matter* what the internal protocol is, as long as it works to do what we want, which is store and retrieve data. I can take an SD card, plug it into an SD slot, and it just works. That's all I really need. You can think of SD as MMC in a better package, with a write-protect tab.
If they change the rules at some future time, and start shipping SD cards that don't support MMC mode, we can switch formats to something else. All our existing cards will keep working. It's not like they're going to wave a magic wand and remotely disable the ones we already have.
And:
A) It's exceedingly unlikely that they would be able to force all the manufacturers to stop supporting MMC mode;
B) Even if they COULD, the screaming would be so loud that SD would be destroyed as a standard. They're not likely to do that.
D) Linux users, relatively speaking, buy lots of hardware. SD's manufacturer may not want us to have access to the encryption stuff, but we have better software to do that anyway. Why would they blow off a big chunk of the market by changing the rules when they didn't have to? They've got it nailed now... the cards work in vanilla mode for everyone, and encrypted mode for people who have paid for a license. That's a great setup. Why on earth would they change?
C) Real MMC works in SD slots anyway, so if they DO pull a boneheaded move and try to shut us out, we can just buy native MMC.
I don't see any possible downside here. Do you?
Gamepark actually encourages people to make homebrew apps, unlike other manufacturers.
You might want to be a little careful of this statement... You see, the company that you knew as Gamepark that made the original GP32 has since split up into two companies: "Gamepark Holdings" is the company that is working on the GP2X (Or GPX2, as some references call it... there was a contest to decide on a name, so there is some ambiguity). However the other company, known simply as "Gamepark" is working on a completely different handheld system called the XGP. From what I've heard, the XGP is likely going to be quite a bit powerful, with hardware 3D accelleration (basically a Korean PSP)... however, everything I've heard about it indicates that the XGP will NOT be an open platform in the way the GPX2 is striving to be.
So in other words, "Gamepark Holdings" is encouraging the homebrew community... "Gamepark" is not. At least, not yet.
-"One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man." -EH
Where can I find details?
Some questions that arise: Is that 'USB2' port just a cardreader for the SD card, in which case I'll probably leave it on the shelf, or is it a full USB2 host port that I can connect (externally powered) keyboards/mice/hard drives/... to?
Can it supply any power?
What's the power consumption idle with screen on, idle with screen off, idle with external screen on, playing mp3, or playing movies?
What does 'ebook' mean?
html, lit, rbf, pdf, ...
Can it show encrypted .lit et al?
Mention has been made of wireless using a wireless SD card, which is pretty useless if you've got to swap it for your storage.
Is there any likelyhood of an enhanced model with wifi?
How much ROM/RAM is there?
Is there a URL for the SDK, before buying?
Gamepark just doesn't STEAL your access to your own hardware.
"homebrew" is a red herring. other manufacturers block access to your property through legal and technical means.
arbitrary code execution = "the right to read". that's the logical conclusion.
over the next 2-3 decades, DRM/Insidious Computing will creep its way through society (it's international) and will become more and more generally accepted.
enjoy these carefree days because your children won't be able to, not without paying a per-fee for everything.
want to take a picture of the run-down Statue of Liberty? sure, that'll be 20 bucks err credits. (why print worthless money when you can have worthless electronic credits instead).
being in the Eye of the Storm, it's hard to see where you are or where you're headed.
enjoy your DRM/Insidious lifestyle... unless you keep fighting back.
in the words of John Connor " there's no fate but what we make for ourselves". if you like having these artificial restrictions, then just keep it up. if on the other hand, you are reasonable, intelligent and have a lick of sense, you'll oppose it in all its forms.
no one is even remotely going to tell you that in the coming years we'll get LESS DRM. no, it will ONLY INCREASE. that is certain unless we fight those greedy sons of bitches who want to turn back the tide of property rights to the feudal age.
the most important first step is simply being mindful of the implications. it's virtually impossible to avoid DRM/Insidious Restrictions in this modern age unless you happen to live in a cave. so for now, enjoy the gadgets/computers/music/videos you already own. to deny geeks shiny electronic things is heresy and punishable by death. but i merely ask that you keep these matters in your immediate consciousness. when you buy that next gadget/shiny thing/etc try to remember what you are owed and what you are really getting through legal and technical restrictions imposed on you by the manufacturers.
that's the first step. knowledge and education is key. so pass on some information you have gathered from online resources to your friends and family. you don't have to sell it to them, just help them become aware of the sitauation a little bit more than they are. god knows the mainstream media won't tell them why DRM and Insidious Computing are not in their benefit.
http://www.eff.org/IP/DRM/
http://www.drmadness.com/
remember, ALL DRM is about preventing the owner of the property in question from exercising their rights and preventing full access to what they legally and ethically own.
Science : Proprietary , Knowledge : Open Source
calling it "homebrew" does a disservice to people who try to own their own property.
it's called Arbitrary Code Execution.
you wouldn't call programs written by non-corporate people as "homebrew", would you?
they're all just programs but full access to those devices are willfully denied to you, the true owner of the product. using legal and technical means to remove property rights is immoral and unethical.
if you want to rent devices, then call it renting and treat it accordingly. but if you sell something then after the fact prevent full access to it, that by definition is stealing. it should be illegal to engage in this disgusting business practice if it weren't for those meddling lobbyists and their pet congresscritters.
Science : Proprietary , Knowledge : Open Source
I spose the PSP and GP2X markets over lap, but i believe the GP2X will always be cheaper. If we take linux as an example, about 85% of all software for linux is open-source based, this same trend would naturally continue on the GP2X, even tho Game Park Holdings have included the DRM feature to help and encourage commercial games. Take a look at the PSP, it costs what £179 on play.com/amazon with a memory stick OR 1game, with case and headphones. Each game will cost about £29.99 as well as the UMD DVDs. Whereas because the GP2X is based on Linux it would hopefully attract alot of Linux user's attension and thus there would [hopefully] be a open-source gaming market for it. My point is, get a PSP and you'll be forever buying games, and accessories. Get a GP2X and rip your CDs or Torrent a Video/album/Movie (questionable leagality tho), and then play an fun Open-source game. ableit Tux Racer or Plane Shift, or a Quake/Doom variant.