Gamepark Holdings Officially Announces the WIZ Handheld

Croakyvoice writes "Gamepark Holdings, the makers of the GP2X Console, have today announced the successor, which is called the WIZ. The new GBA Micro-sized console features a touchscreen, Linux OS, an Arm9 533MHZ 3D processor with 64MB of ram and will have commercial games on sale at launch in October. Best of all for fans of homebrew and emulation on the GP2X, all that needs to be done is recompiling of sourcecode."

Comments

Obligatory

[bigtallmofo]

...I heard that nobody beats it!

Re:Obligatory

[jo42]

Wot's up with naming things after urinating? First the Wii, then the Wiz. Wot's next? The P33?

Additional Info

[eldavojohn]

From what specifics I could find on it, they are planning on supporting Flash 7.0 and I think this means one could play swfs on it (of which I know several addictive games online).

As for other support, I'm kind of disappointed that they went far enough to support Lyrics (Lyc) files but they only support TXT for their E-Books. I would be nice to see Plucker supported by default so that all the Project Gutenberg books would be readily accessible in something better than just plain text. But, I suppose that's just a matter of recompiling for the targeted architecture. I wonder if proprietary e-Book formats will ever be supported on devices like this? That's probably just wishful thinking--why would Amazon divert sales of the Kindle to something like this?

Re:Additional Info

[AKAImBatman]

they are planning on supporting Flash 7.0 and I think this means one could play swfs on it (of which I know several addictive games online).

Flash 7 is pretty ancient tech at this point. The vast majority of Flash games are Flash 8 with many of the new ones being made in Flash 9. However, the Nintendo Wii has the same limitation, so you may find Wii gaming sites to be useful on the device.

emulation

[flynt]

Can someone write an emulator so that we can we WIZ on our Wiis?

Re:emulation

[AdamThor]

Emulators are inefficient, and the Wii is not the most powerful of the current gen:

WIZ might make Wiis wheeze...

The Pandora

[ledow]

Although the Wiz is the "official" successor, the successor in spirit (and with a much more open development process, and much more likely to actually get up-to-date source code published - the GP2X firmware versions aren't always open-sourced properly) is the Pandora... www.openpandora.org - which is due out at roughly the same time as the Wiz.

Most of the developers for the GP2X are actually putting their weight behind the Pandora first - I know, I'm a GP2X software porter of things like Simon Tatham's (of PuTTY fame) Portable Puzzle Collection... (Blatant advert: http://www.ledow.org.uk/gp2x/ for that particular one). This is mainly because GPH are notorious for poor information and stock-status. Most countries had trouble importing the GP2X before it was EOL'd anyway, and you don't get anything useful out of the company at all.

Forget the Wiz, open the box....

Re:The Pandora

[LotsOfPhil]

Pandora specs:
* ARM® Cortex(TM)-A8 600Mhz+ CPU running Linux
* 430-MHz TMS320C64x+(TM) DSP Core
* PowerVR SGX OpenGL 2.0 ES compliant 3D hardware
* 800x480 4.3" 16.7 million colours touchscreen LCD
* Wifi 802.11b/g, Bluetooth & High Speed USB 2.0 Host
* Dual SDHC card slots & SVideo TV output
* Dual Analogue and Digital gaming controls
* 43 button QWERTY and numeric keypad
* Around 10+ Hours battery life

Re:The Pandora

[dreamchaser]

Really? Just copy paste? No effort to even say something from your own head? Wow, how informative.

It added more to the discussion than your AC whining did.

Re:The Pandora

[Goaway]

A qwerty keyboard? Is that some kind of joke?

That thing is suffering HORRIBLY from feature checklist mentality. Just throw more and more features at it in the hope of attracting people who just read the feature list, without any regard for making a system that makes sense as a whole.

Re:The Pandora

[atraintocry]

Absolutely. The GP2X is a great little device, and the Wiz improves on a lot of key areas of its design. Essentially it's somewhere between a hardware revision for the '2X and a new product.

The Pandora, on the other hand, was developed in response to what the GP2X community was interested in, with lots of feedback and every step. As a result we have two fairly different devices on the way: a GP2X "micro" with improvements all around (but an unfortunately lack of regular buttons on the right hand side) and the Pandora, which is closer to an UMPC but runs on ARM and is designed around gaming.

In the end, though, I don't think the big difference will be the built-in controls, as both these devices do a lot more than just play games. I think it's going to be the price, and the fact that the Pandora has WLAN.

Re:The Pandora

[Drasil]

The feature list of the Pandora is pretty much exactly what I'm looking for when it comes to mobile computing. Small enough to fit in my hip pocket, while having most of the features of a full blown laptop. It makes very good sense to me.

Re:The Pandora

[Anonymous Coward]

Do you know ANYTHING about the history, community, or purpose behind the GP32, GP2X and Pandora?

The Pandora is not intended to compete with the likes of the PSP or DS.

It is intended as the ultimate homebrew/retro-gaming/emulation device. As such, a keyboard has been a highly requested feature; it will be perfect for emulation of things like the C64, Amiga, DOSBOX, etc. Not to mention making it practical as an ultra-mini notebook.

Believe me, they are not just "throwing features in" to try and attract buyers; the feature-set has been 100% community driven, this is exactly what everyone wanted. I think they've done an outstanding job and can't wait to get my hands on one.

Re:The Pandora

[Svartalf]

I would not go so far as stating 100 hours. The rather large (for a handheld, that is...) Li-Ion battery they expect to ship it with will give it roughly 10 or so hours of runtime with the power consumption of the components on the bringup board I got. This is at the clock speed of 600MHz. Underclock it and it'll consume a lot less juice and with the DSP core in there, it should be able to play MP3's, etc. with much less juice. Something like 20+ hours, maybe.

Re:The Pandora

[atomicthumbs]

The hardware designer, MWeston, has stated that by turning off the CPU and main RAM and screen and almost everything else, they'll be able to get 100 hours. The music will be played by the DSP, using the chip's built-in 64KB of scratch memory as RAM.

Cheezy Anime

[InsaneProcessor]

All of the games look like cheezy anime. I am not impressed or amused. This just looks like another hand held disappointment.

Re:Cheezy Anime

[Dogtanian]

All of the games look like cheezy anime. I am not impressed or amused. This just looks like another hand held disappointment.

If it's meant to be like the GP2X and GP32 (of which some misguided person made the same criticism), then you're missing the point. Those were primarily meant for those seeking a more open, hackable handheld that can run emulators and all sorts of other things. They're not really competing with the DS or PSP, which would be better choices if you just want to play games- or at least the kind of mainstream games that Nintendo and/or Sony want you to play.

Re:Cheezy Anime

[Kingrames]

so make your own.

Re:Cheezy Anime

[geekoid]

I hate that fallacy.
Just becasue someone can't do something doesn't mean that can't identify something that is crap.

I can't build a jumbo jet, but if someone made one with square wheels, I would point out the flaw.

I can't afford one

[sm62704]

I went to the site, and there was no listed price. "Son, if you have to ask what it costs, you can't afford one". Too bad, It looks like something I would really like.

Maybe the lack of a price on the "buy it now" button was an oversight; if so, they need to get their heads out of their asses. Very few of us are Bill gates or Larry Ellison; we can't buy things we don't know the price of.

A lame website makes me think they must have a lame product as well. Be careful with your sites, folks! A good site will sell a bad product, but you can't even sell a good product on a bad site.

Re:I can't afford one

[goose-incarnated]

179 us dollars - can't remember where I read it, may have been engadget

A hand held disappointment?

[spun]

Must... resist.. penis joke... Damn it! too late.

Don't know about anybody else...

[ProlificLurker]

This is the only Whiz I'll use!

Re:Specs?

[Drooling Iguana]

I've transcribed the first section of the specs from the brochure:

Product Name: GP2X Wiz
CPU ARM9 533MHz, 3D Accelerator
RAM: 64MB
NAND Flash Memory: 1GB
Size: 121(w) * 61(h) * 18(d)mm
Wwight Approx. 93g (Without battery) / Approx. 136g (Including battery)
External Storage: SD Card
USB Function: 2.0 High Speed
O/S: Linux
Battery: 2000mAh Lithium Polymer
Buttons: Up / Down / Left / Right, A/B/X/Y, HOME/SELECT, Volume Up/Down, Power On/Off/Hold
Display: 71.12mm(2.8inch) OLED Touch Screen Panel
Resolution: 320x240 (QVGA)
Expansion Port: 24Pin (Power Supply and Data Transmission)
Recharge Method: AC Power/USB via Computer
Consecutive Play Time: Approx 5 hours (Video, Game)

Re:OpenPandora

[4D6963]

How could it not be cheaper than the Pandora? The Wiz has a much less powerful SoC, the Pandora has the most powerful SoC out there (TI OMAP 3530), with WiFi, Bluetooth, a keyboard, analog dual nubs on top of the D-pad and the *proper* other buttons (a double D-pad?? What the hell are these guys smoking?). Also a 800x480 screen vs 320x240. Oh and I'm not even talking about the vast battery life in the Pandora. That's the sort of thing that make the difference between just another PMP/console and a cutting edge high end gaming console/UMPC.

The Wiz replaces your GP2X, the Pandora replaces your GP2X, PSP (OK it doesn't have the commercial games but it will emulate all PSX games better than the PSP and it's vastly more powerful than the PSP anyways), and EEE. That's right, I said EEE, same screen resolution, a keyboard, WiFi/Bluetooth (does the EEE even have Bluetooth?), a possibility to put Ubuntu on both (no Windows though), and considered the reduced size and increased battery life it makes it an advantageous replacement.

So yeah, comparing the two is like comparing an Audi TT with your mom's Volkswagen. You can drive on the road with both, but that's where the comparison ends, hence the necessary price tag difference.

Re:Reality Check

[TimSSG]

You do know if reverse engineering is illegal all the IBM compatible PCs are illegal because the BIOS was reverse engineered. Tim S

Re:Reality Check

[atraintocry]

• Reverse engineering is legal, at least in the US. Most tech companies would be out of business if it wasn't.
• Reverse engineering has nothing to do with copyright or copy-protection. I can't figure out if you're talking about the DMCA or what, but you definitely are confusing things, perhaps on purpose.
• Emulators aren't illegal. End of story. NES hardware clones have nothing to do with emulation. Again, you're either confused or purposefully being confusing.
• This isn't the music industry. Nobody's "targeting" anybody. ROM sites aren't elaborate honeypots as you seem to be suggesting. Even the ROM sites don't get hassled, providing they stay in line with what the ESA asks (no high-profile games like Mario, Zelda, etc).
• Judges interpret the law as written. That it doesn't agree with your personal beliefs doesn't mean it's wrong or that any particular judge is an idiot.
• There's no commercials. For Christ's sake, they're probably hoping to sell 50,000 tops, half of them in South Korea. To the extent that they advertise that you can play emulated games, it's because in Korea they can get away with it and everywhere else they're way under the radar.
• Sony and Nintendo can do as they please? You said reverse engineering, and by association, emulation, was illegal. By that logic, they'd still be breaking the law.

Look, obviously most of these ROM files are being played computers, MAME boxes, and devices like this, by people who don't own the originals. Downloaded from people who don't have distribution rights. And I'm not going to tell you not to vilify people when you're clearly so good at it. But for god's sakes, at least get your damn facts straight. Reverse engineering is legal. Emulators are legal. Both are important tools and used every day in the tech industry. LEARN TO READ.