Buy Or Wait

[Mark Watson]

Chums

I'm of a mind to thumb a nose at Mac and their iPod, Sony and their PsP, and Palm and their LifeDrive, all of whose products have been competing for my money.

I know I'm not going to get something that necessarily works straight out of the box in every respect, and I know enough about computers to work my way around any problems that the current GP2X has, but there's a nagging voice in my head suggesting I wait until 2006 for another shipment or two, to enable a few of these bugs to be sorted.

But I'm worried if I wait then either

- the company making them will go bust and I won't be able to get one
- the price will go up, or the prices of the above goodies will fall
- I may wait and find out that whilst a few things are sorted out then they are things which I could have sorted, so the delay in buying wasn't really necessary.

I emailed the UK distributor who said that orders placed now would be shipped in early December.

So what do you think guys? Go for it now? Or wait?

 

[Eolair]

Honestly, I don't think anyone can answer those questions with any certainty so I'm just going to give you some nonsensical nonsense

GPH may or may not go bust. The sales are looking very good, beyond the best of expectations, but they are a small company with some problems which may quickly cause them trouble (software/hardware/GPL/etc).

The price on GP2X will most likely not go up, but the prices on your "goodies" may very well fall. That is the way of all electronics.

You may find that the delay was unnecessary, or you may not, depending on whom you listen to. I doubt anyone can say with certainty at this point that the retail units released in 2006 will or will not be better hardware wise. There will not be any significant changes though, no performance enhances or new capabilities. Most likely GPH will concentrate on firmware fixes and some minor changes in the manufacturing process to get the return rate down.

The answer if you should get it or not is very much up to you. Ask yourself why you want it. What does it have that can't be replaced by something else. If you're just looking for the latest cool toy then anything might do, even the PSP. If you want the GP2X for it's uniqueness as a linux based, open sourced, multi capable gaming platform with strong community support, then there's really no alternative.

That's what I think. You'll have to make your own decision though.

 

[deepmenace]

i dont think there are gonna be any hardware changes for a while yet.

i say order it - be there at the beginning. if not you'll come onto this forum and regret it thru the xmas hols for sure ;-)

 

[iignotus]

Of course, having a GP2X, I'm apt to just say go buy one right now; they're great.

However, it is not a replacement for an iPod, PSP, or LifeDrive. It is its own monster. You need to tell us just what you're looking for in a handheld.

For example, iPod has much more storage and a better music interface (at the moment) than the 2x; PSP has commercial games and hollywood movies; LifeDrive is a genuine Palm device, and can run all sorts of bookkeeping (for lack of a better word) applications that the 2x won't be able to.

 

[WrongEyedJesus]

Of course, having a GP2X, I'm apt to just say go buy one right now; they're great.

However, it is not a replacement for an iPod, PSP, or LifeDrive. It is its own monster. You need to tell us just what you're looking for in a handheld.

For example, iPod has much more storage and a better music interface (at the moment) than the 2x; PSP has commercial games and hollywood movies; LifeDrive is a genuine Palm device, and can run all sorts of bookkeeping (for lack of a better word) applications that the 2x won't be able to.

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I definitely agree here. The 2X will provide you with aspects of the other devices you mention, but its biggest pull is the emu/port/homebrew/community side of things, it is most definitely its own animal.

This is very similar to those old threads comparing the GP32 with the GBA etc. Not really comparable.

As he says, what you looking for in the device should dictate what you plump for in the end. Sounds like I am stating the obvious, but hopefully you can see what I mean.

 

[Digital Awakening]

I think it's best to do what Lik Sang says. Wait for the official release in 2006 and the 2nd eddition. If you buy it not there will be a few minor hardware problems while I'm quite positive all of them will be fixed for the official release. There's barely anything released at this time and most is still not fully optimized, esp the Quake games. By waiting you will not just make sure your unit will be as good as possible but also you can spend your time doing other things then betatesting.

 

[Mark Watson]

I'm leaning towards the GP2X as it does several things on the one device, and i think that's going to suit me best. The wife's just back from shopping and bought a pair of nice (ie not cheap) boots, so the wind is in my sails for the moment.

Mind you, from doing a bit of researching, the Tapwave Zodiac has come onto my radar, and you can get some on ebay for the same price as a new GP2X. dither dither dither....

 

[adgloride]

I like the gp2x but theirs still a few bugs in it. I'm just hoping the firmware fix comes soon. But I would wait for the second edition which is mean't to be bug free.

 

[gearhead23]

Hi Mark, I would like to point out that the zodiac is no longer supported by tapwave. Also note that GPH will probably give you little support or none, but in the support of the gp2x most of the vendors of the unit will give you a 1 year warranty and these boards will answer any or all of your questions.

 

[WrongEyedJesus]

Also note that GPH will probably give you little support or none

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Though the community here is very strong so there is support available (if sometimes a bit grumpy ) in respect of using the device.