Slashdot Mirror
GP2X Surpasses Expectations
Harry Trotter writes "Gameparks GP2X Linux Based Console had a lot to live up to with Some amusing boasts from Gamepark, but it has lived up to its pre-billing rather well with great ports of commercial games and emulators such as Mame, Vice (Commodore 64), NeoGeo CD, Duke Nukem 3D, ScummVM and another 150 more releases so far, all of which can be followed at GP2X News & GP32 Xtreme. The Open Source Development of this console has ensured a following that will keep the console alive for years to come."
Is 320x240 enough? I'm an Action Quake 2 addict, but not sure I can play on 320x240.
If it's not, they could render at 3 times width and then do ClearType.
as gp32 (and future gp2x) owner, i'll just state some things (hoping they won't be discussed/used as slander)
:)
:) :)
-the current units are poor (both soft and hardware): hardware is pretty much okay, i think they had to fix 1 thing after their first shipment (poorly soldered audio jack), software is still in development, consider the current units more like devkits and units for the true fanatics, the software will improove
-a lot of the current problems are due to this...:
*low battery life: clockspeed is higher than default atm, so it requires very good batteries (2300mah+, rechargable ofcourse, 4hour life to be expected), how this will improove, nobody knows
*bricking units: firmware is early, and flashing can go wrong, will improove, and if you're careful, you won't suffer from it
*video playback is not what it's said to be (little formats supported): the will iproove with newer firmwares, if all promises will be made, noone knows, lets hope for the best
*poor joystick: dunno, have heard some complaints about it, haven't had one in my hands yet, the same was said about the gp32, but i adore it's joystick, the gp2x joystick however is completely different
*memory cards support: will improove with firmwares
similar with most other problems you can think of
about software support i'm sure you can expect a lot from the gp32/2x community, just don't expect to buy it now and get a fully functional super emu machine in your hands, most emus are alpha stage, unstable and slow, pretty normal for a handheld that's not even really released yet, more like devkits atm... and only available for nearly 2 months or so...
take a look at the gp32 progs, (www.gp32x.de is the gp32 filearchive), and in a year or two you'll may expect similar things for the gp2x, with better emus for snes and better systems (we hope thigns like gba, amiga, psx, although those are the limits of the handheld)
AA batteries have the distinction of being available at just about any airport, train station, and drug-store anywhere. In general you don't need to "carry around" the batteries if you don't want.
In contrast, dedicated Lithium cells requiring a special charger and a wall outlet is definitely a drawback when your game runs out of juice.
P.S. I still much prefer the original gameboy advance design because of the easily replaced standard 'AA' size batteries. I'd have bought the GBA-SP, but the lack of standard batteries and lack of standard headphone port precludes me from getting one.
{ - Generic Guy - }
I agree with you 100%. You'd also be surprised as to how many experts READ slashdot to gain some insight into what the market wants or needs. Two of my customers design System-on-a-chip devices, and I know they read up on Slashdot often to see what bugs the geeks the most.
Just because it isn't expert advice, doesn't mean that it isn't good advice that I can u se in my future. When you're in the IT business it is VERY important to also have your ear open to what others are saying. That being said, I think I am one of the few people who will admit that slashdot helps me make a profit with my productive time.
"A pair of alkaline AA cells gives 3.0 volts. A pair of NiCd or NiMH AA cells gives 2.4 volts."
And rechargable alkalines also give 3.0 volts, but it doesn't look like Rayovac makes them any more because most digital devices are more interested in greater current throughput rather than a higher voltage. We're not talking about a flashlight.
Besides, most electronics have their own voltage regulator on board. A Sega Game Gear took 6 AAs, do you really think the circuits ran at 9 V? If the original Game Boy required 6 V, how could all other Game Boys from Pocket onward could run the cartridges with only 3 V? Odds are, only one battery (whether it's 1.5 V or 1.2 V) would be sufficient for operating voltages and the second battery is there only to put in more coulombs (i. e. a higher current for a longer amount of time).
I find it interesting that the GP2X has a native port of VICE already, whereas OS X is still shackled by a version that runs extremely poorly through X11 and ESD.
Shame, used to be my favourite emulator too. Might take a look at porting it properly in my Copious Free Time - hopefully the speed with which it was ported to the GP2X indicates that it's easier than the VICE team claim to port.
I was given a GP2X for Christmas so I've not had too much time to use it. There are certain flaws which are evident though.
1. The LCD screen has a problem with refresh rates as it appears to be interlaced. This apparently can be tweaked by running some third party utilities which adjust the clock speed of the CPU and the LCD timing but it isn't perfect. You either get a washed out screen or a flickery interlaced screen. Alledgely a future firmware upgrade will fix it...
2. The unit is very plasticy and poorly finished. The edges around the shoulder buttons are quite sharp.
3. It is very easy to brick the unit as the firmware upgrade system is very unreliable. The safest way appears to be using a third party utility.
4. How it appears as a USB device is odd. It tells the computer that is a HD instead of a removable disk. This means that your PC expects the SD card to be formatted with a partition table.
5. The unit is quite fat. They never show you a side profile view or the back for a reason and that is because there is a lump where you put the 2xAAs.
I've tried the Megadrive/Genesis and SNES emulators so far and they both work quite well apart from the lack of sound in the SNES emulator. Playing DiVX files also works but I've had some problems where it crashes and required you to turn the unit on and off. Both of these problems should be fixable with new firmware.
Basically, if you want a games console then buy a DS or a PSP. If you want to run your own stuff or that the idea of a games console running Linux appeals then get a GP2X.
Umm, call me crazy but doesn't the fact that the vast majority of the games on the platform seem to be provided through emulation throw the entire legal state of this console into question? Does this thing come with lots of ROMS pre-loaded? Apparently not (from reading their website). Nor do they seem to offer any way to download ROMS through their website? So I'm assuming the only way to get the ROMS is through the usual sources (piracy).
/. hacker crowd capable of doing this, this is hardly practical for kids (as suggested by some posters) or the general public.
How practical is this for consumers? "Sure, it can play zillions of games but you have to download them from warez sites." So while this might hold some interest for the