GP32 KILLER

[jcbnetwork]

I was reading my brother's EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly) a Gaming Magazine here in the US and this ad caught my eye. I believe it may very well be the competitor to beat the pants off the GP32.

Its a full PDA / Portable Gaming Console

Here are some of the features:

01) 480 x 320 resolution
02) 16-bit color display (65,536 colors)
03) Motorola i.MX1 ARM9 processor
04) ATI Imageon graphics accelerator
05) FatHammer X-Forge 3D graphics engine
06) True analog controller
07) Yamaha audio component
08) Stereo speakers
09) Vibration effects
10) Built in Bluetooth wireless communications (8 player max)
11) Plays MP3s, Photos, and Videos
12) Just 6.3 ounces
13) 2 expansion slots for SDIO cards (up to 1GB)
14) Palm OS powered
15) 4 face buttons + 2 trigger buttons
16) It looks pretty cool in my opinion
17) Premiere titles from the industry’s leading publishers

There are 2 versions so far:

Zodiac 1 (32MB of Memory) for $299.99
Zodiac 2 (128MB of Memory) for $399.99

I am not so sure about the screen, but I'm assuming its backlight. And one very important thing is that since its based on the Palm OS, there are already hundreds of applications and games available for it. Not only that, but major publishers will most likely release their big titles for it.

So for the price of a FLU GP32 + a separate low end PDA you can get an all in 1 system. I have not bought a GP32 yet but now I'll just wait to see how this new system does, especially to see if they make developing software for it as easy as it is for the GP32, and by easy I mean allowing home brewn applications to run on it.

The website for this new system is: http://www.tapwave.com

Anyway, what do you guys think?

 

[unlucky]

wow i've never heard of that before *insert sarcasm* erm please great coders dont abandon the gp32 for this crazy 'zodiac' i'm not made of money i could not afford 2 remotely buy a zodiac a gp32 was even pushing it just a few more emulators + a nice 3d engine would complete the gp32

 

[Dozer]

Erm, yes we know I'm afraid. But its expensive and hopefully NOT a gp32 killer.

 

[Axeman]

Hmmm - never heard of that one before * yawn *

Blimey - I'm getting severe deja vu

 

[rcx21000]

Too expensive...

Oh, and I have never heared of this before, except for a few webpages and stuff...

 

[SephirothIce]

I doubt if this thing even touches GBA SP. I mean with that price... not too many kids are going to get it when they can get PS2, XBOX, or Gamecube for that price. I mean sure it may be better, but with the licensing and advertising and overall popularity this is not even a threat to GBA SP. Maybe if it was cheaper below 200... then it may cause troubles for nintendo.

 

[NssOne]

OK, why did somebody just come on this board and make a new thread titled
'GP32 KILLER'? And even worse, to display specs of a product that has already been addressed on this board. That is just so wrong. That's like some stranger coming up to you and saying 'My girlfriend's better than your wife!' then just showing a picture of her. I mean, its just lame and stupid.

And my 2 cents: WHO CARES WHETHER OR NOT IT DOES BETTER THAN THE GP32!!! If it does good, be happy for the company that made the product. Whether or not it's your cup of tea, it's just another handheld gaming system. If you do nothing but buy the latest and 'greatest' that's out there, then you have some serious inferiority issues.

 

[Delsabre]

NssOne is our local newbie exterminator. ignore him.

 

[NssOne]

All I'm saying here is why would somebody who is new to this board post a thread titled 'GP32 KILLER'? Honestly, why?

 

[Delsabre]

because he wanted to stir up the place so that later on when hes a global mod everybody will remember how his humble existence started out.[/a newbie's wishful thinking]

hes a newb. its what you should expect from a newb, although "GP32 KILLER" is a bit over-the-top...

 

[Gir]

hmm... maybe an n-gage killer. Actually, N-gage seems to but the gun to its own head... (damn you Nokia! Sonic Team deserved better to work with!!)

 

[Gir]

Actually, damn, after clicking the link I really want one of these. The use of SD cards is an immessurable improvement over the cards of the GP32, I actually SD cards in stuff...plus they big! It fits the need of a basic pda for scheduling and it hasen't any real hope for world conquest (damn you pocketpc 2002!) Its not a bad price for a SD movie player either and it looks alot more sleek and functional than that tomb-raider camera-video clamshell thing.
Its like the brother of game.com that stayed away from the paint chips

Why isn't the unit more widely advertised??

 

[NightStar]

This may be a N-Gage killer, and maybe even a GBA killer, but not a GP32 Killer - Why?

1) It's a lot more expensive!

2) It's a LOT more expensive!!!

and

3) User-created programs... Look at the palm programs available and find the freebies - Yup, naff all! You have to pay... Thus, I don't see the "home-grown" games being that extensive! (Yet?) The main reason why people got the GP32 was for the progamming ability of the unit.

However...

I will be getting one. I have a Clie already and use that every day, so a unit that has (basically) my Palm unit but also a games machine will be very nice indeed - Naturally, I'll have to work out the finances to see if I should bother! And the games do look good - And finally a games hand-held with an analogue stick.

And if the statements are true - Full PS1 power, then playing a "GranTurismo2" type game would be heaven!

I wonder what the "point-and-click" games would be like - I've got a Dune type game on my Clie and it's quite good, so the Zodiac should do better!

 

[Spooke]

I think I might get one...

Palm OS needs all the support it can get against Microsoft...

my next phone is going to run on Palm OS and this looks great...

I have kinda lost my enthusiasm with the GP32...

GamePark don't support the users well (I mailed them and they havent even bothered to acknowledge my mail) and the build quality on these things is poor to say the least...

I would rather pay an extra £100 for something that is well supported by the company that makes it and embraces an already huge amount of software... and is solidly built...

and yes the SD cards are much better that Smart Media...

 

[Spooke]

and it has a touch screen...

 

[Delsabre]

argh, you spammers...

if you forgot to put something in your post, theres this magic little thing called the 'Edit' button...

...on topic: i might get one, but id have to sell my GP32, so i wont be getting one...

 

[extremegamer]

Gp32 killer, you forget this is being released in the US and no handheld to date has been able to compete with Gameboy...it won't last long.

 

[Dolfhin]

NssOne is our local newbie exterminator. ignore him.

Terminator not exterminator

Anyway the zodiac sounds good i might get one in a year. It depends on the GP32 if the GP32 get some good rpg's or a good snes emulator i'll stick with my Gp32 and buy one more (for multiplayer)

 

[Zero3K]

actually...there is a developer program for it...check out http://www.tapwave.com/developers/index.asp for more info.

 

[Gir]

the price difference is negliable compared to a Gp32FLU imported, plus the Zodiac has proprietary movie playback and supports and much more advanced memory card and organizer functions. They should have included the dock for free though, thats odd...

Anyway most Americans seem to not shirk at dropping $200 for a PS2 or Xbox, and LOTs of people seem to get pdas for gaming and overall 'coolness', and the taco-phone-N-gage is so worthless for the same price... If GBA had movie playback it would definitely kill this thing, but considering the poor quality of its small-handed button layout and kiddy-only (pretty much) library, there definitely seems a hole in the market.
Hopefully the N-Gage won't steal this thing's fire too much. I'd actually be satisfied with NeoGeoPocket-level success, considering the circumstances.
I do hope the zodiac reaches Europe quickly, though, as it'd be nice to have a developer base there.
h34r: the smilie looks like a ninja i think is he supposed to be?