Gp2x > Ipod?

[AzraelUK]

My iPod's broken due to the local bully pushing me into a wall with the iPod in my pocket. A new on is pricey, so I was thinking - the GP2x can do music, right?

Gaming and music are the two big things in my life. How good is the MP3 player on the GP2x? What's the gaming like compared to, say, a Nintendo DS?

I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty with Linux, and I can write basic C/C++. On a scale of STDs to Robot Dinosaurs (where STDs are not awesome at all and Robot Dinosaurs are incredibly awesome) how awesome would a GP2x be for me?

Also, only one thumbstick? What?

 

[fishybawb]

A GP2X would probably rank somewhere around dinosaur (non-robot) for you. It's pretty bulky to be carried around as an MP3 player, but it does the job of actually playing music OK. Gaming isn't really comparable to the DS in that there are few commercial titles. If you're a ROM whore though, the GP2X is far superior to the DS.

It's only one thumbstick because it's not an analog ala PS2/360/whatever controllers, it's a digital joystick. If you get a new GP2X, it'll be the F200 model anyway, which has a d-pad.

 

[AzraelUK]

Cool. Dinosaurs are quite awesome.

I'll probably get an F100, which is going on eBay for under £70 ($140)
I'm a ROM whore - I've wasted far too much time playing N64 titles, wishing I was part of that generation. What systems can the GP2x emulate?

Is the GP2x capable of 3D at all?

Oh, and, uh, is the F100 a touch-screen system?

 

[fishybawb]

3D, yes, but only software based - the GP2X doesn't have hardware acceleration for that kind of thing.

Forget about N64. If you're into <=1990 arcade games, SNES, Megadrive, NeoGeo, Atari ST (or other systems technically "inferior" to those), then you're in luck.

I'd recommend an F200, if only for the touchscreen. ScummVM is great for playing Lucasarts adventure games (Monkey Island et al), and the touchscreen is much more pleasant to use for those vs. moving the mouse pointer around with a joystick.

 

[Tobriand]

You may already realise this, but it's worth pointing out that the battery life on a GP2x is probably significantly worse than an iPod. Not sure what iPods weigh in at, but a 2x will last between 3 and 5 hours, maybe 6 if used solely for MP3 playback (but you'd be lucky).

This might cause a bit of a reduction from dinosaur, but bear in mind the awesomeness of the gakming available might well bring it back up .

 

[Coder_TimT]

You may already realise this, but it's worth pointing out that the battery life on a GP2x is probably significantly worse than an iPod. Not sure what iPods weigh in at, but a 2x will last between 3 and 5 hours, maybe 6 if used solely for MP3 playback (but you'd be lucky).

This might cause a bit of a reduction from dinosaur, but bear in mind the awesomeness of the gakming available might well bring it back up .

Just FYI, doing some testing with ommpc with screen off, through the speakers, at 75Mhz I got 8.5 hours with Powerex 2700s. 5.5 hours at 170Mhz. Never got around to testing with headphones as opposed to speakers...Maybe I'll put a fresh charge on the batteries and let it run tonight...

Still 1/2 to 1/4 of ipod battery life depending on what model you compare to, but just carry around an extra set of AAs and you're good to go...

If you're primary use is as a pocketable mp3 player, I would look for a dedicated player just for that fact that the gp2x isn't terribly pocketable. Something else to consider is that if you have alot of non DRM free iTunes purchased music, you're going to need another ipod to play it....funny how that works...

 

[fishybawb]

Just FYI, doing some testing with ommpc with screen off, through the speakers, at 75Mhz I got 8.5 hours with Powerex 2700s. 5.5 hours at 170Mhz. Never got around to testing with headphones as opposed to speakers...Maybe I'll put a fresh charge on the batteries and let it run tonight...

Wow! :blink:

I'm primarily using my GP2X for devving these days, so it's permanently plugged into an AC adapter, but that's very cool stuff. I'd be very interested in hearing the results of headphones vs. speakers

 

[AzraelUK]

It would primarily be used with headphones, unless I want to share The Device Has Been Modified with my nerdy friends

 

[gruso]

I was looking for an iPod replacement when I found the GP2X. I had (well, still have) a new Nano, the video playing one. It's a beautiful piece of hardware, but the stupid encrypted firmware* and painful video support** drove me up the effing wall.

* Dare to use something other than iTunes? Think again. It cripples the unit and requires a reset, losing all content & settings. iPod Linux? You're dreamin'. You can jailbreak an iPhone, but not a 3rd gen Nano.
** MP4? GTFO. Do not want a dual video library, do not want to spend hours converting stuff.

In comparison, as a media player, the GP2X is clunky at first. Seeking through long tracks/videos is much nicer on the iPod, as is quickly accessing/organising your content. It was a while before I discovered some of the functions, like hitting Left-A to turn off the screen & lock the keys. Now, there's no turning back. I love it.

The '2X also has a number of alternative media players to the default ones. I'm currently happy with the default music player, but I'm using MP2X for videos. It seems less fussy and more consistent. The best thing about video on the '2X is being able to dump Divx straight on there, no dual library crap.

Then there's everything else it offers. Homebrew, emulation, and this great community.

A word of advice though, the volume control on the GP2X is annoying. Perhaps get some headphones with an inline volume control.



(Footnote: I do miss using my iPod, and I get a little sad when I see it sitting neglected on the shelf. But then I remember all the times it hurt me, and I say nuh-uh sista, I don' need yo' flack, I'm an independent woman* now).

* I am not a woman.

 

[grahf]

Ive been using my gp2x lately as my main mp3 player. I never did before, since I had a 20GB 4th gen ipod. Finally after 3-4 years my ipods hard drive went bad. I started using the 2x in the interum, and have since decided not to bother fixing the ipod. Ill just grab a bigger SD in the future instead.

 

[Yrx]

It works fairly well, but there are some annoying issues with stereo output, and sometimes a faint hissing. If you're ONLY thinking about audio and video playback, I would tell you to go with a cheap Cowon or Samusung player.

On the other hand, the 2X more than makes up for it with all the gaming possibilities. And with Zelda Classic just waiting for optimization, that's going to be expanded even more. It's a fun little system.

 

[Nova]

GP2x's are ok for music playback, if you like utter basic features. It's of course worthy to note that if a GP2x took a trip into the wall, care of said bully, the wall would come out the clear winner.

 

[DawnOfTheRent]

Well, I have a GP2X with big batteries that rarely go dead.. so it does get used as a PMP a lot, and it really works great.

If you're going for just audio playback, I'd recommend looking into Rockbox. It won't allow you to play any of your DRMed audio but some people have found ways to exercise the demons... Of course, I've never owned any DRMed audio so I don't know how well any of this stuff works, but I'm a huge fan of rockbox. I've used it on a Sansa e200 and c200, and never had any problems.

 

[skeezix]

One thing to note (read the first half of threead only) ..

Pick up a used mp3 player, and a gp2x.

Older iPods are damned cheap, but you can buy new sandisk mp3 players cheap too.

No need to get the latest ipodtouch as a player.. mp3 players have been around for a decade now .. get a 2 year old one

jeff

 

[grahf]

On the same note: if you decide to just go with a plain mp3 player, you can get a REALLY tiny SD card based one.

With the price of SD cards dropping so rapidly, an SD based player might be the best bet for the future. Upgradability kicks ass.

 

[AzraelUK]

I don't own any DRM'd audio. I'd rather cut off my own arm.

Holy emulation, batman! Zelda classic? Awesome!

I'm so getting a GP2x. Being under 16 (but that's all going to change tomorrow tralalala) I don't have a job and so it's going to be hard to muster up the ~£100 for an F200, but from what I've heard, it's worth it.

Thanks, guys. You win the internet.

 

[icurafu]

Zelda Classic? Is that playable now?

 

[Yrx]

Zelda Classic? Is that playable now?

It still needs a lot of work, but it runs (albeit slowly).

 

[paulobecker]

On the same note: if you decide to just go with a plain mp3 player, you can get a REALLY tiny SD card based one.

With the price of SD cards dropping so rapidly, an SD based player might be the best bet for the future. Upgradability kicks ass.

As long as it supports SDHC. I don't think there are too many that do just yet.

 

[DBH]

gp2x + ommpc2x + big SD card = great mp3 player

Well it suits my needs