Gamepark Releases the GP2X Wiz

Craig writes "Gamepark have officially released the follow-up to its successful Linux handheld, the GP2X. The GP2X Wiz is a 533Mhz Linux-based handheld that's a similar size to the GBA Micro, with a touchscreen and 12 games preloaded into memory, many of which are demos of commercial games. The system comes with 1GB of flash memory, which can be expanded with SD cards. The Homebrew Community have already released ports of games such as Quake, Wolfenstein 3D, Warcraft and emulators for SNES, Genesis, Commodore 64 and the arcade emulator Mame."

Comments

Huh?

[Runefox]

I was under the impression that this was launched long ago, as I remember them (Gamepark Holdings) advertising it for sale at least a year ago. Doing a bit of research, I guess they thought it would be launched far sooner than they really could. I remember they had pricing available and everything.

Re:Huh?

[Svartalf]

No... They had a holdup due to supply issues much like Pandora's had- otherwise you'd have both of them available right now for your gaming pleasure.

Re:Huh?

[daid303]

The first preview versions arrived at distributors about 10 days ago. But today (or yesterday) the large amounts finally shipped. Expected to arrive within a week.

Successful?

[sys.stdout.write]

Describing it as "successful" is quite generous, considering I am a gaming fan and have never heard of it..

Re:Successful?

[sys.stdout.write]

And neither has anybody else.

Re:Successful?

[Anonymous Coward]

Do you often play homebrew games, use a handheld emulator for classic games, or write your own games for distribution? If the answer to at least one of this isn't yes, you are not the target market, hence you haven't heard of it. Word of mouth works well, but not as well as a slashdot article.

Re:Successful?

[h4rr4r]

If it made money it is successful. Since it did not fail, it is successful. There are lots of successful people and products I am sure you have never heard of.

Re:Successful?

[Anonymous Coward]

let's put this in perspective.

Re:Successful?

[Anonymous Coward]

Describing yourself as "a gaming fan" is quite generous, considering the GP2X was successful and you have never heard of it..

Re:Successful?

[papasui]

Need to realize that it's a niche market they are after. They aren't competing with the DS or the PSP in the commerical games arena, but the homebrew arena.

Re:Successful?

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, how many handheld gaming systems have *you* launched? If it were me, I'd consider any launch to be successful. Heck it the thing burst into flames in everyone's hands and gave people herpes, I'd still consider it successful.

Re:Successful?

[Patch86]

I didn't realise the universal measure of success was whether you had heard of it.

Seriously though, success is relative. We're not talking about a DS beater here. They're a comparatively tiny company and their target is the very niche market of home-brewers and enthusiasts. From the stand point of the size of their company and their stated aims, they've been pretty successful so far.

Re:Successful?

[Anonymous Coward]

Heh, UK

http://www.google.com/trends?q=GP2x,psp,porn&date=all&geo=gbr&ctab=0&sort=1&sa=N

Re:Successful?

[Anonymusing]

Whooosh.

If selling 60,000 units was enough to be profitable, then it's a success. Maybe not iPod-like success, but still a success.

Re:Successful?

[Anonymous Coward]

You do realize that Microsoft lost money on every X-Box sale, don't you?

Re:Successful?

[Svartalf]

Did it break even or make a small profit? It's successful if it makes that criteria. It might not be wildly successful, but it's successful.

Re:Successful?

[Dogtanian]

Describing yourself as "a gaming fan" is quite generous, considering the GP2X was successful and you have never heard of it..

Not really; as I was about to point out (but this comment has already mentioned), the GP2X isn't really a direct competitor for the DS and PSP, at least not in most of the world. It's primarily marketed towards homebrewers; those not interested in that could quite conceivably have missed it, though I'm still slightly surprised that he/she has *never* heard of it at all.

Re:Successful?

[Zashi]

yes, it is successful for what is basically a mom and pop operation. I have a gp2x and it is pretty great, stability issues aside. (Hardware is depressingly poor quality).

Re:Successful?

[h4rr4r]

If they sold 1 unit and made a profit then it would be a success.

Re:Successful?

[Anonymous Coward]

Really? I find my gp2x to be quite high quality. Although mine's the newer F200 model, the white one.

Wiz beat the pandora. Oh well, that race is over now.

Re:Successful?

[Hadlock]

60,000 units of anything lacking a national advertising budget is pretty impressive. Just because it's not sold at walmart doesn't mean it has to sell a million units in it's first year. If you hand build 3,000 gaming PCs at your house one year under "PCOLAMAN GAMERZ PCS" brand and make $20,000 in profit after you salary and parts costs, is that successful to you? Or did you fail and should you give up.

Re:Successful?

[Talderas]

Hmm, I notice that both porn and the psp see a jump in searches right before Christmas.

Re:Successful?

[Cyner]

Obviously you're not the gaming fan you thought you were. The GPH has been around for quite a few years now, and have made several successful gaming systems. Just because they're not extremely popular like Gameboy or PSP does not make them unsuccessful.

Re:Successful?

[Darkness404]

You do realize that most consoles are sold at a loss don't you?

Re:Successful?

[entgod]

Virtually all keywords have either a jump or a fall right before christmas (see hygiene for a fall, don't ask me why).

Re:Successful?

[Anonymous Coward]

But not homebrew as is "beer" right? Bummer...

Re:Successful?

[Artuir]

There's a Russia joke in here somewhere, I swear it.

Re:Successful?

[pcolaman]

60,000 units would be a bad day for the Nintendo DS.

Re:Successful?

[Shamenaught]

Yep. That's why you can get a ~200 GFLOP computer with a built-in BluRay DVD player for $300.

Re:Successful?

[Hadlock]

I mean, the guys who started Alienware in their garage were total failures.

Re:Successful?

[pcolaman]

If they sold 1 unit, I can guarantee you they would not have made enough profit to call it a success.

Re:Successful?

[pcolaman]

Considering how long they've been selling them, I'd say 60,000 units is not what I'd call a critical success. Perhaps they are above the break even point, but a success? Let's lay off the koolaid.

Re:Successful?

[Anonymusing]

Maybe, but that is entirely irrelevant to the definition of "success" in this situation.

Re:Successful?

[pcolaman]

Enlighten me to the definition of success. As the parent said, this device is being marketed as a portable gaming system and without the aid of Google, most people discussing this article wouldn't even be aware of it's existence. And really, I have not seen data that shows in any way that it has been a "success." What are the costs of production versus the price? What are the overhead costs of the company? I couldn't even find pricing on their website, so I'm not sure how anyone can call it successful.

Re:Successful?

[Anonymous Coward]

Definition of success, since y. Also, a lot of people wouldn't have heard of a lot of things without, you know, talking about it. So, what is your point? You're a crappy troll!

Re:Successful?

[clickety6]

Describing yourself as a "gaming fan" is quite generous, considering it is a successful gaming console and you have never heard of it... ;-)

Re:Successful?

[somersault]

You must be some kind of genius! I would like to subscribe to your newsletter so that I don't miss out on any more of your amazing insights which completely miss the point.

Re:Successful?

[pcolaman]

Well if I'm smart enough to know that 1 unit would not produce an adequate profit, then yes, I must be some kind of genius. Thanks for noticing.

Re:Successful?

[somersault]

He said "if.. and", not just "if". It was a purely hypothetical situation, not a question. We all know that selling one $200 console is not going to recoup development and manufacturing costs.

Re:Successful?

[Anonymous Coward]

It's successful in that people in Asia (and everywhere else) use emulators and pirate the hell out of NDS games (and older games too). You haven't heard of it because you haven't been paying attention.

Re:Successful?

[pcolaman]

No, actually he just said if. And I quote:

If it made money it is successful. Since it did not fail, it is successful.

He said if it did not fail, it must be successful. If I remember correctly from college logic classes, that would be referred to as an affirmative conclusion from a negative premise. In plain English, it's a logical fallacy.

Re:Successful?

[brkello]

I was going to make the same comment. I'm a gamer and never heard of the thing. What does it take to be successful these days? Oh well, if Palin is considered intelligent enough to be the VP, then I guess this gaming device could be popular enough to be called successful.

Re:Successful?

[somersault]

Look again, the post that you were replying to when I replied to you said

If they sold 1 unit and made a profit then it would be a success.

Now I can play M.U.L.E. on the go!

[xmason]

Irata, here I come!

Re:Now I can play M.U.L.E. on the go!

[revlayle]

I wanna use my Atari to play E.L.U.M.

No analog controls?

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't understand how anyone could release a modern console with no analog sticks...

Re:No analog controls?

[khellendros1984]

It has a touchscreen. That's a sort of analog control, I guess. If it isn't, then you could say the exact same thing about the Nintendo DS.

Re:No analog controls?

[Anonymous Coward]

I have to agree with khell. Pardon my ignorance, but I don't know of any handheld consoles that have "analog sticks" built in. Someone please enlighten me.

Re:No analog controls?

[Narishma]

The PSP has one analog stick and the upcoming Pandora (if it ever gets released) is supposed to have two of them.

Re:No analog controls?

[digitalunity]

Something I haven't seen really, and would like to see in handhelds is a strain gauge under the buttons to measure downward button pressure.

I can imagine dozens of ways to use that force intuitively in games, from throwing objects in sports games to modulating throttle, brake and steering control in car racing games.

Re:No analog controls?

[tepples]

Something I haven't seen really, and would like to see in handhelds is a strain gauge under the buttons to measure downward button pressure.

You mean like the buttons with area-sensitive underlying contacts in the Dual Shock 2 and the area-sensitive touch screen in the DS, neither of which got used by a lot of games?

Re:No analog controls?

[pelrun]

The pandora is getting mighty close to completion; the last few boxes will be ticked in the next couple of weeks before mass production begins.

Re:No analog controls?

[bencoder]

The original GP2X(the predecessor to the Wiz) had an analog stick, although it was quite rubbish and got changed to a D-Pad in the later version(F-200). The pandora is almost complete and has dual analog controls of their own design (as well as a d-pad).

Re:No analog controls?

[geminidomino]

The original GP2X(the predecessor to the Wiz) had an analog stick

Actually, it wasn't analog. It was digital and had a very bad contact layout, which is why it had such lousy diagonals.

Re:No analog controls?

[geminidomino]

You mean like the buttons with area-sensitive underlying contacts in the Dual Shock 2 and the area-sensitive touch screen in the DS, neither of which got used by a lot of games?

And when they were used, it was invariably BADLY.
Damn AK47 in MGS2...

Re:No analog controls?

[TheCRAIGGERS]

I'm reasonably sure (I haven't investigated this, but I doubt I need to) that most "analog button" designs like you're talking about are patented.

While there may be a novel way to do it, there aren't too many other ways of doing this that don't require huge tracts of land on the PCB to implement. Sadly.

Ouch

[Steauengeglase]

Looks like it would cause a bad case of dual Nintendo Thumb. Also, where is the wireless? Am I missing this in the product description?

Re:Ouch

[khellendros1984]

I don't see any mention of wireless support in the description, or in the stats on Wikipedia. My guess it that it's missing =/

Re:Ouch

[daid303]

Wireless is an addon module, details not yet released. If you want a 'everything in 1' device, then wait a bit longer for the "open pandora". Which is inspired by the GP2X and everything that was wrong with it. (I own a GP2X and it's an nice device, but the "open pandora" will greatly surpass that)

Re:Ouch

[motang]

The only thing that stopped me from getting the GP2X and now the GP2X Wiz is that it doesn't have wireless on it. It would have been perfect to have something like that on it with a web browser. Oh well, that's one of the reason I upgraded from a DS Lite to the DSi for the web browsing capability.

any detailed specs?

[Anonymous Coward]

Weight?
Resolution?
How long does the battery last?

Re:any detailed specs?

[lobiusmoop]

Wikipedia is your friend

Re:any detailed specs?

[Anonymous Coward]

Wikipedia is your friend

Wikipedia isn't your friend, it just says that so it can play with your cool toys.

Android?

[Facegarden]

Does anyone know if this can/will run android?

I'm beginning to think that android should be on every portable, and for something like this that runs linux, one would imagine it's either doable at worst, or officially supported at best.

Any thoughts?

-Taylor

Re:Android?

[salesgeek]

Android is becoming the new beowulf cluster. Take any small device. Claim we should run Android on it. Instant +5 funny!

Re:Android?

[BikeHelmet]

Android will likely run on the Pandora. The Pandora is the spiritual successor to the GP2X. (as opposed to actual successor)

A bunch of community/forum elites got tired of fighting with lame design choices like the difficult to use joystick, or poorly thought out DPAD, or removal of networking/debugging support; they're making their own dream handheld, which is significantly more powerful, and is designed right.

According to them, it has the best input scheme they've ever tried. ;) That could just be creators tooting their own horn, but after talking with them and reading their posts for the past year, I really doubt it.

The GP2X F100 was the best version of the GP2X, with every version after that getting worse. Updating firmware was absolutely horrible, as no less than five versions of the GP2X were released, all of them bricked by different versions of the firmware.

Despite the lame joystick, the F100 v1 was the best because of projects like USB networking, USB debugging, and even a Java VM. Then GPH replaced the USB chip with a cheaper one, cutting two of those features, and they continued to make bad choices after that.

Despite all this, the community persists.

The GP2X has very lackluster hardware, but emus are reported to run better on it than on a PSP or even iPhone. (despite both of those having significantly faster hardware) That's because of the relatively open nature of the platform.

Most of the GP2X community (gp32x) is throwing their weight behind the Pandora, because it's fully open, rather than just relatively open. We don't want to have our input ignored, then fight with lame design choices. We want the devs to listen, and we want a platform that has mature open source drivers available - a platform like the OMAP 3530. :)

Re:Android?

[Facegarden]

Android will likely run on the Pandora. The Pandora is the spiritual successor to the GP2X. (as opposed to actual successor)

A bunch of community/forum elites got tired of fighting with lame design choices like the difficult to use joystick, or poorly thought out DPAD, or removal of networking/debugging support; they're making their own dream handheld, which is significantly more powerful, and is designed right.

According to them, it has the best input scheme they've ever tried. ;) That could just be creators tooting their own horn, but after talking with them and reading their posts for the past year, I really doubt it.

The GP2X F100 was the best version of the GP2X, with every version after that getting worse. Updating firmware was absolutely horrible, as no less than five versions of the GP2X were released, all of them bricked by different versions of the firmware.

Despite the lame joystick, the F100 v1 was the best because of projects like USB networking, USB debugging, and even a Java VM. Then GPH replaced the USB chip with a cheaper one, cutting two of those features, and they continued to make bad choices after that.

Despite all this, the community persists.

The GP2X has very lackluster hardware, but emus are reported to run better on it than on a PSP or even iPhone. (despite both of those having significantly faster hardware) That's because of the relatively open nature of the platform.

Most of the GP2X community (gp32x) is throwing their weight behind the Pandora, because it's fully open, rather than just relatively open. We don't want to have our input ignored, then fight with lame design choices. We want the devs to listen, and we want a platform that has mature open source drivers available - a platform like the OMAP 3530. :)

Ah, awesome, thanks for the info! Sounds like a good project. :)
-Taylor

Re:Android?

[Jae686]

I have a gp2x (F100) and the build quality was not the best. I've managed to crack the solder of the headphone plug during normal use..... Not to mention that HORRIBLE joystick.....

Re:Android?

[TheCRAIGGERS]

Pandora preorder-er here- I was under the impression that a couple things weren't totally open, like the analog nubs they created specifically for the Pandora.

Re:Android?

[BikeHelmet]

The hardware isn't totally open - but does it have to be?

The software is (including drivers), which is better than any other handheld project I know of.

I'd actually like them to keep some of their code closed source, to protect it from projects originating within huge companies, or knockoffs from places like China. The likelihood of another legit open-source project like the Pandora coming around (not being made by them) is pretty slim, so the only people benefiting from it being totally open is corporations which can steal the designs.

After putting in such a huge investment(in both time, money, and effort), I think the team deserves to get some money back, for helping make our dreams a reality.

And yes, the nubs have their own firmware. The source has not been released. (Do we care? :P I don't know what my keyboard is doing inside, either.)

Re:It is 1GB not 1gb

[Anonymous Coward]

I sometime think the editor is sleeping.

If you're going to be pedantic then at least get your own post right, you yutz. I hear that there are a lot of good night schools with ESL classes which cater to your kind, mister Chang Wong!

Run-on sentences...ftw!

[Anonymous Coward]

"Gamepark have officiallly released the follow up to its successful Linux handheld the GP2X, the GP2X Wiz is a 533Mhz Linux based handheld thats a similiar size to the GBA Micro with a touchscreen and 12 games preloaded into memory many of which are demos of commercial games, the system comes with 1gb of flash memory which can be expanded with sd cards.

As much as I hate to beat a dead horse; that should read:

Gamepark have officially released the follow-up to their successful Linux Handheld, the GP2X. The GP2X Wiz is a 533MHz Linux based handheld of a similar size to the GBA Micro, with a touch screen and 12 games preloaded into memory (many of which are demos of commercial games). The system comes with 1GB of flash memory, which can be expanded with SD cards.

I vote that we no longer use the word "Editor" to describe the English-challenged people who post stories to slashdot. Perhaps "Paster", or "N(ever)RTFS-er".

Re:Run-on sentences...ftw!

[Anonymous Coward]

I would be more likely to treat Gamepark as a single entity, making it "Gamepark has officially released the follow-up to its..."

Re:Run-on sentences...ftw!

[e4g4]

I let that be as Gamepark is a European company - and different dialects of English take different approaches. The Brits (IIRC) treat companies as a plural entity, whereas us 'muricans treat them as singular entities.

Re:Run-on sentences...ftw!

[TrevorB]

Gamepark (GPH) is Korean.

Re:Run-on sentences...ftw!

[Anonymous Coward]

South Korea isn't in Europe.

Re:Run-on sentences...ftw!

[Zashi]

gamepark and gamepark holdings are two different companies last I checked.

Re:Run-on sentences...ftw!

[geminidomino]

Gamepark Holdings is the one releasing the Wiz.

Re:Run-on sentences...ftw!

[M8e]

Neither is North Korea ;)

Nice, but who cares?

[MrEricSir]

When this thing was announced, there was no iPhone, Android, etc. Are handheld game-only units still relevant at this point?

Re:Nice, but who cares?

[fatski]

According to the article it can do e-books, video and music, so not strictly game-only.

Re:Nice, but who cares?

[raijinsetsu]

I'll remember this the next time I see you holding a device with two joysticks to your head...

Re:Nice, but who cares?

[Anonymous Coward]

Considering that roughly 700,000 game-only handhelds have been sold every month so far this year, I'd argue that, yes, gaming handhelds are very much still relevant.

You're assuming people have exactly one device for every abstract desire they have. Unscientific inspection generally shows that not to be the case -- among my friends with gaming-capable smartphones and DS/PSPs, the breakdown is something like this:

12% have only cool phone
25% have only DS/PSP
63% have both

And many of those who own a DS also own a PSP.

Also, 100% of my friends who own a Wii also own either an Xbox 360 or a PS3.

People tend to have devices with overlapping functions. Otherwise, there would still be a market for smartphones without cameras in them. :(

Re:Nice, but who cares?

[Anonymous Coward]

The need of another hand-held console is debatable, but I'm sure Nintendo, Sony and millions of kids disagree with you

Re:Nice, but who cares?

[Anonymous Coward]

Also, 100% of my friends who own a Wii also own either an Xbox 360 or a PS3.

Just wondering, but do 100% of your friends who own a 360 or PS3 also own a Wii?

Re:Nice, but who cares?

[Anonymous Coward]

Not even close, but I should have mentioned that initially. "My friends" is hardly a rigorous scientific sample, but it's larger and more varied than "the only guy who will talk to me when we're not raiding together".

Re:Nice, but who cares?

[Wraithlyn]

They are if you want proper gaming controls.

Re:It is 1GB not 1gb

[ShadowRangerRIT]

If you're going to be pedantic, they both use a capital 'G'. GB vs. Gb, not GB vs. gb. So the use of "gb" is ambiguous. Of course, since storage is traditionally measured in bytes, it's obviously GB. I'd only consider Gb as a possibility when talking about network bandwidth or the like.

All you need to know

[MrEricSir]

is that NOBODY beats the Wiz!

Re:All you need to know

[Yvan256]

Alright then, I'm taking out my credit card.

Oh wait, it's maxed out!

VISA beats the Wiz!

Re:All you need to know

[howlingmadhowie]

note to self: stop watching WWE. parent poster did not write "Cena beats the Miz". in through the nose, out through the mouth. in through the nose, out through the mouth. in through the nose ...

I'll wait...

[geminidomino]

I got bitten by the crappy hardware of the first GP2X (4-contact digital "fake analog" stick so about 75% of the movable area was "dead zone", and diagonals were almost impossible), lousy battery life, tendency to blow capacitors...

I'll wait until this thing has some solid reviews on it...

Re:I'll wait...

[Zashi]

Sadly I have to agree. I didn't have /too/ many problems with my gp2x (I have a second gen). I mostly used it to play SNES and GB games. battery life wasn't a problem. I used 10-minute-to-charge NiMH AA. 2700mAh for your extended enjoyment. The freezing and crashes seemed more due to the hardware than the software.

Re:I'll wait...

[Samah]

I got bitten by the crappy hardware of the first GP2X (4-contact digital "fake analog" stick so about 75% of the movable area was "dead zone", and diagonals were almost impossible), lousy battery life, tendency to blow capacitors...

I had one of those too, and I actually ordered a replacement thumb grip from the UK (ie. concave, not convex). I bought the F-100 when it came out, and they changed it to 4 separate digital buttons (much better). The touch screen was pathetic though; it didn't even register most of the time in the official menu system, and the image browser would crash after 5 minutes or so of usage (memory leak I think). Anyone with half a brain would be using GMenu2X though.

I bit the bullet and bought an NDS and M3 Real cartridge last week. I think I should have just bought one in the first place.

Yet another correction

[93 Escort Wagon]

... 12 games preloaded into memory many of which are demos of commercial games

No, if you read the announcement - they are demos of games currently in development. It appears there are no games available now except for what's pre-loaded onto the device itself.

Not sure why you'd buy this now...

Re:Yet another correction

[Narishma]

Just like there were no games for the previous handhelds from Gamepark (GP32 and GP2X) and people still bought them. They are used mainly for homebrew and as emulators of older systems.

Looks sketchy

[Anonymous Coward]

And made in China

Can anyone actually confirm that this is a decent product?

Re:Looks sketchy

[Yvan256]

Can anyone actually confirm that anything electronic isn't made in China these days?

To somewhat quote Armageddon: "PSP, iPod touch, Nintendo DSi... all made in China."

Re:Looks sketchy

[Zashi]

one of its selling points is that it is cheap. Part of that low price comes from less-than-great quality components. But really, I wish they'd produce a software compatible high-end version too. Developing on the gp2x is very fun and easy. I ported gojo to it.

Re:Looks sketchy

[maglor_83]

Some things are made in Taiwan...

Re:Looks sketchy

[Jae686]

Long live SDL. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zEQhhaJsU4&feature=fvst

Holy buttons!

[Garbad Ropedink]

I've been hoping somebody would release something like this for a while. I tried to crack the firmware on my psp so I could run some homebrew stuff on it. That failed miserably.

These people will get my hard earned money if their console does what they say it can.

Re:Holy buttons!

[daid303]

Look back at what the GP2X has done, and you'll see that they hold up to the 'open' promise.

But if you want a real open device, then go here: http://www.openpandora.org/ Inspired by the GP2X, and everything that was wrong with it.

Re:Holy buttons!

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't think I'd feel comfortable dropping 300+ dollars on something that I'd only use to play SNES games. Nice that it can run Quake 3 engine, but those games won't be enjoyable unless you're going to be lugging a USB mouse around with you. I do prefer the clamshell-type design over the winged GBA-type design though. I'm waiting for an open handheld with a more GBASP-type design.

alternative to this which looks more promising

[andycon]

http://openpandora.org/ this is made by some of the same people that were on the first GP2X team i believe. from what i've read it seems more promising.

Re:alternative to this which looks more promising

[Lemming Mark]

[Citation Needed]

The Pandora people have posted plenty of pictures and videos of their prototypes, working units, production samples, etc to demonstrate that their project is real.

There was a Linux-based console that turned out to be a scam recently but it wasn't the Pandora. Perhaps you are thinking of that?

Re:alternative to this which looks more promising

[daeglin]

Pandora is certainly not a scam, they already have our money but they are still working. It might be a vaporware but I don't think it will be since it is a Linux device fairly compatible with Beagleboard and I am sure there will be enough enthusiast who will port new software to this device.

Re:alternative to this which looks more promising

[pelrun]

Somebody mod the parent as troll - we've seen many update pictures/videos in the last few months with the final prototype pieces being built and tested. In fact, an update video showing the first fully assembled prototype pandora (with final case, keyboard and gaming controls) should be posted online in the next day or so.

That's about as far from 'vaporware' as you can get; nobody goes to that much trouble and expense to design and build a device only to not bother selling it. And since OpenPandora isn't publicly traded, it's impossible for it to be a pump and dump scam.

Re:alternative to this which looks more promising

[Garbad Ropedink]

You're right. It does look more promising.
I'm just looking at the site now.
Why the hell haven't any of the big companies released something like this?! How?! How?!

Re:alternative to this which looks more promising

[Anonymous Coward]

You're right. It does look more promising.

Also more expensive. For that price, I can't see why somebody wouldn't just go all the way and get a netbook.

Re:alternative to this which looks more promising

[entgod]

The big console companies make their money selling games, not hardware. If free mobile games were to become big, it could eat a big chunk of their revenue. Almost like microsoft releasing something like linux because that's what the users want :)

Re:alternative to this which looks more promising

[Anonymous Coward]

The CPU (Intel ARM Cortex A8) has been only recently released. The particular model in the Pandora was intended by Texas Instruments to be used in open source projects. We'll soon be seeing commercial devices using the A8. I believe the upcoming Nokia internet tablet (N9xx) running Maemo 5 has nearly identical specs as the Pandora but will have a different design. (The gaming controls on the Pandora sound like they'll be top notch.)

Anyway, the Cortex A8 already allows emulators to run well on the Pandora, even without GPU optimization. It seems relatively powerful with low power consumption. I'd like to see an A8 vs. Atom comparison, to get a better understanding of what the CPU power / power consumption trade off is.

The reason "any the big companies haven't released something like this" is that they are interested in your buying games from them. It's like expecting a PC peripheral company to make a $50-$100 printer that uses open source ink refills.

Re:alternative to this which looks more promising

[ZosX]

The Phantom. A highly appropriate name if there ever was one.

Re:alternative to this which looks more promising

[pelrun]

I stopped using my laptop the second I got my first Zaurus several years ago, and I've never once been tempted by the netbook craze, as they're just too big! :D

I can't wait till my Pandora arrives in the mail, as the Z is getting a little long in the tooth.

Re:alternative to this which looks more promising

[TheCRAIGGERS]

Because I can't put a netbook in my front pocket?

Re:alternative to this which looks more promising

[Anonymous Coward]

And you can't put a Pandora in your front pocket, either. Unless you have some big front pockets, in which case, you probably can fit a netbook in your front pocket, fatass.

Re:It is 1GB not 1gb

[Anonymous Coward]

I measure things in gram-bits, you insensitive clod!

Linux?

[jplopez]

Now imagine a Beowulf cluster of these.

Re:Linux?

[Anonymous Coward]

1998 called, they want their meme back.

What's that in Geek?

[argent]

* Powered by a 533Mhz 3D accelerator plus flash engine

What's this in geek?

Why are they pointing to some web forum instead of the manufacturer, anyway?

* The new console boasts a 533MHz ARM9 CPU with 3D acceleration.

That's better, I think.

Re:What's that in Geek?

[Svartalf]

What's this in geek?

It is a 533MHz ARM9 based SoC with OpenGL ES 1.1 and OpenVG 1.0 hardware support and APIs to use the same. This means you can do OpenGL 1.4 type games with reasonable performance. It probably doesn't have the oomph to do ioquake3 stuff (CPU's just not there) but it should do the things they're claiming of it all the same.

Re:What's that in Geek?

[Anonymous Coward]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mW6CAD2UVek

Apple still sells iPod

[tepples]

When this thing was announced, there was no iPhone, Android, etc. Are handheld game-only units still relevant at this point?

They are if you don't want to spend $70/mo on another phone contract. Consider that Apple still sells iPod products, including the iPod Touch PDA, even after the introduction of the iPhone.

The size of WHAT?

[Yvan256]

I'm sorry but the author of that sentence has never even seen or held a Game Boy Micro in person.

From the specifications alone, you can see that the GP2x Wiz is 50% bigger and 70% heavier than a GameBoy Micro:

Game Boy Micro:
- 50Ã--101Ã--17.2 mm (86860 mm3)
- 80 grams (built-in battery)

GP2x Wiz:
- 121x61x18 mm (132858 mm3, 50% bigger)
- 136 g (with battery)

As far as processing power goes, however, the GP2x Wiz wins. No debate there.

I'm also not a fan of what seems to be a dual-gamepad setup, even if the pad on the right is supposed to be used as "buttons" (and even if the pad is split in four equal parts, it's still a gamepad). Weird, to say the least.

Re:The size of WHAT?

[Hatta]

and even if the pad is split in four equal parts, it's still a gamepad

No it's not. And to be clear, official Playstation controls do not have a real game pad. This is their biggest failing.

Re:The size of WHAT?

[Yvan256]

The buttons of the GP2x Wiz still looks like a gamepad shape to me from the photos. With square corners too.

As for playstation, there is a real gamepad on the PS/PS2 gamepads (and PS3 too, I assume). Yes there is a "hole" in the middle but underneath it's still only one piece.

Re:The size of WHAT?

[Audiophyle]

Game Boy Micro: - 50Ã--101Ã--17.2 mm (86860 mm3)

Wow, 50-101 Angstroms is pretty small! I guess they named it Gameboy Micro for a reason!

Re:The size of WHAT?

[Anonymous Coward]

Even if it's four separate buttons, it's still a gamepad. And it works better that way. Four separate buttons is superior to one linked together gamepad. The only controller with this type of setup I've held is this one cheap PC gamepad designed like a dual shock, but it works a lot better than your typical Nintendo/Sega/Sony gamepad.

Re:The size of WHAT?

[Hatta]

Four separate buttons is superior to one linked together gamepad.

In what way? It's certainly easier to press a D-pad in one place to get a diagonal than it is to try and press 2 buttons at once.

IMO, the best gamepad I've ever used is the logitech dual action. It's pretty much a playstation controller with bigger grips, and a real d-pad. Works great for everything except 6 button games, and N64 emulation.

Re:The size of WHAT?

[CZakalwe]

Sorry but that's just ridiculously small! Does it come with a free magnifying glass? :/

Re:The size of WHAT?

[pelrun]

Magnifying glass? How about microscope! :D

Re:The size of WHAT?

[Anonymous Coward]

In what way? It's certainly easier to press a D-pad in one place to get a diagonal than it is to try and press 2 buttons at once.

Nope.

Re:It is 1GB not 1gb

[Yvan256]

If you look at specifications for things like RAM and Flash chips, it's always in bits. I'm talking about manufacturers here, not end-user products.

Dingoo

[ezelkow1]

Im not sure the wiz is going to be as successful as their previous attempts. They are getting very strong competition from a bunch of chinese manufacturers releasing units all based off of ingenic processors. They all have comparable speed and specs to a wiz, with a few less features, but they are all half the price and already come with fully functioning emulators. The big one out now is the A320 dingoo. Theres a growing dev group behind it that have almost completed porting linux to it, but the unit already comes with emulators so its already fully functional out of the box. All this for 80$, half the price of the wiz.

almost want it just for the name

[Eil]

Now whenever friends, family, or even complete strangers ask me what I'm doing, I can cheerfully reply that I'm playing with my Wiz.

The problem I have ...

[Qbertino]

The problem I have with the current state of homebrew console developement and open source game developement is, that the game developement pipeline, i.e. the pipeline for developing (and deploying) anything beyond a non-trivial CLI or GUI app is a huge fuss, even compared to the old days of the Commodore and Atari plattorms. The bizar mess even the most humble modders and hobby gamedevs have to go through to develop across FOSS platforms (BSD, Linux, OpenSolaris, whatever) is a slap in the face to anybody who wants to bring game innovations to FOSS. And the modders *are* the forefront of game innovation - that's a fact.

Open Source / Homebrew needs a proper working one-stop zero-fuss developement pipeline for non-trivial grapical and multimedia apps. And I am *not* talking about the latest and greatest in 3D GFX and effects. I'm talking about a simple, OpenGL & Sound supporting IDE + compiler + generator + x-plattform OpenGL and sound support. Not even video would be required.
Give me a MonoDevelop or a KDevelop or Erics python IDE from which I can compile and deploy for an standardised x-plattform multimedia enviroment (video is not even needed) and I'll be on my way to develop the first game for all these devices including the regular Linux desktop. The problem is that it isn't even possible to get consistent coherent information on how to develop for these things. The only half-way resonable tool I can find for these is some shoddy closed-source windows-only GL Basic IDE that looks like it came from 1989.

What the f*ck do I have to worry about compiling my toolkit when l'll be busy for well over a year building the libs and components for my game. Constantly compiling against moving targets in Linux's equivalent of DLL hell? No sir. Get your shit together and build a multimedia enviroment and pipeline that stays consistent for a few years - than we can talk business.

As long as the absolute minimum in this regard isn't delivered the modders will stay with Windows, their free (beer) Steam Engine and Softimage licences. ... And I will continue to develop Games in Flash. I can hardly believe I'm writing this, but x-plattform multimedia deployment - even to FOSS - isn't half the hassle with those Adobe crooks than it is with FOSS tools, kits and pipelines. That's the bitter truth.

Re:The problem I have ...

[Anonymous Coward]

I respect what you wrote, and I think you are a sexy man. Tell me, do you have a moustache?

Re:The problem I have ...

[4D6963]

What the hell are you babbling about? Installing a fully featured cross compilation toolkit for most of these machines is most trivial, and compilation using them is just as trivial. There days they all come with SDL and OpenGL ES out the box. You just install your often ready to use toolkit and compile your programs and there you go. Way to see issues where there aren't any.

Where is 16:9 ?

[AHuxley]

Why no widescreen ? Just interested, most other devices aim for a wider display. So did the next gen gamepark hints.
Thanks

Re:Where is 16:9 ?

[Anonymous Coward]

No widescreen because widescreen sucks. There you have it.