Gph: The Wiz - Official Announcement

[Eso Rimmer]

GPH expect the order for the Wiz placed on the 5th of September, minimum 100-200pcs, they have not even sent us a prototype. This is painful, that's a lot of money and I'm just trying to get some facts from people who have the prototypes.

To tell you the truth, I don't think they like you very much anymore. :lol:

One day they will send a ninja to assasinate him


Actually ninjas are from Japan and Koreans historically hate Japan (you know JAP were little bit expansive in past...) so I don't think GPH will send ninja.

 

[DynaMight]

GPH expect the order for the Wiz placed on the 5th of September, minimum 100-200pcs, they have not even sent us a prototype. This is painful, that's a lot of money and I'm just trying to get some facts from people who have the prototypes.

To tell you the truth, I don't think they like you very much anymore. :lol:

One day they will send a ninja to assasinate him


Actually ninjas are from Japan and Koreans historically hate Japan (you know JAP were little bit expansive in past...) so I don't think GPH will send ninja.


Wrong, Korean Ninjas are so stealth only a few people have ever lived to tell the tale. I am one of five, ever. h34r:

 

[klikklak]

Agreed with Craigx

GPH still trying to feed us with "gph's greatest ideas", and they really dont listening to customers. Would they even care? I think they trying to follow the JXD 301 path [ changing slightly customer target ], instead of follow community needs. It is really dead end for them, this time, 'coz pandora will be a really strong rival in open source handheld ground. I really hate to say, but GPH started this time a "handheld war in quiet gp2x ground"-*. And like on all wars , theres a winners and losers.

*- even many devs stated that they will buy only one handheld, and that will be enaugh to favor one and only HandHled.



You might be right. But tbh wiz has potential, nice small form factor, dpad and oled screen. It sounds good to me. It would be sad to see gph change their customer target. However knowing a bit about the korean market at the moment would clarify this strategic part of it all. For example, some years ago koreans forbade foreign electronics, so the local need for electronics was higher. This isn't anymore the case, or atleast my mum bought a casio camera from there and Casio's japanese. I also read (some thread here) that the market for handheld gaming was growing in korea. All I can say about that, is that I saw one korean action flick with young people using PSP's all the time for internet access. So maybe it's popular over there. Well, that's a big maybe. Another thing is the fast internet they have. They do pirate, even over there. So maybe there's need for emulation from their market as well.

 

[ingrin]

All I can say about that, is that I saw one korean action flick with young people using PSP's all the time for internet access. So maybe it's popular over there. Well, that's a big maybe. Another thing is the fast internet they have. They do pirate, even over there. So maybe there's need for emulation from their market as well.

I'm not sure I understand your point with this bit...
1) The Wiz has no wifi capabilities
2) The Wiz is focused on Homebrew, not emulation based on the control scheme...
I personally think the Wiz is fine for what it is, just not what I'm looking for personally since it lacks Wifi and (maybe) the muscle to play some more recent ported games.

 

[sam fisher]

Actually I'm contracted to be their distributor, and I'm happy to do it, but I won't stay quiet on things I think are wrong either, there is no way I'm going in to this like a Zombie, but at the same time I will support the system 100% once we are shipping them, GPH know this and have done since the GP32.

I with Craigix on this one, if GPH had the ability to send out prototpyes to game dev's they could of sent some out to thier main distributors.

What would be the use? Everyone with a prototype has already given GPH feedback on the dual pad layout.

This is great news! And while I'm unaware of ruckages achievements he's achieved guru status, so I suppose he knows something/has the board (yeah, too lazy to read the thread again, I'm pretty sure he said that he has one). This only leaves the problem of pressing many buttons at the same time by accident, but meh, that doesn't sound that bad.

Indeed Ruckage does possess a prototype.

 

[Pickle]

Actually I'm contracted to be their distributor, and I'm happy to do it, but I won't stay quiet on things I think are wrong either, there is no way I'm going in to this like a Zombie, but at the same time I will support the system 100% once we are shipping them, GPH know this and have done since the GP32.

I with Craigix on this one, if GPH had the ability to send out prototpyes to game dev's they could of sent some out to thier main distributors.

What would be the use? Everyone with a prototype has already given GPH feedback on the dual pad layout.

I meant it in a way that it would be in GPH best interest to send a prototype to the people actually selling thier product so they have a clue what they are selling. I didnt mean it in terms of giving GPH feedback on the design. Although getting a prototype may have effected Craig's decision to sell them at all, but my comment is assuming that he will. Its probally too late to change the design anyways.

 

[klikklak]

All I can say about that, is that I saw one korean action flick with young people using PSP's all the time for internet access. So maybe it's popular over there. Well, that's a big maybe. Another thing is the fast internet they have. They do pirate, even over there. So maybe there's need for emulation from their market as well.

I'm not sure I understand your point with this bit...
1) The Wiz has no wifi capabilities
2) The Wiz is focused on Homebrew, not emulation based on the control scheme...
I personally think the Wiz is fine for what it is, just not what I'm looking for personally since it lacks Wifi and (maybe) the muscle to play some more recent ported games.


EDIT: censorship and added stuff

Um, yeah, my point was just describing cultural currents in korea, trying to explain their choices based on my little information. I didn't mean the 'using psp for internet access' (how idiotic would that be?) as a literal thing happening over there, it was, after all just a movie and quite obvious product placement. But a handheld console was visible, so maybe they are popular.

I was actually hoping on someone with more experience with koreans could tell some nice stories.

If emulation demands are raised both in europe and korea it might have more effect on them than just people from remote places doing it. But yeah, homebrew, it's made for it. Hmm, actually one more interesting tidbit was on a blog post some time ago. It basically stated that for free games, with purchasable items/customizations were big over there. So maybe the idea of paying for games is less important.

 

[nubie]

People should stop defending the dual Dpad, if that design was good it would be on all console controllers - it isn't because it won't work. You could not even enter the level select in sonic with it (ABC+Start) without some weird setup using the shoulder buttons.

The only way GPH will change this before launch is if we tell them it's ridiculous, and they are half listening to this, they just need the final push now.


Dual D-Pad is Teh SUCK!!

I won't buy if there is dual Dpad, make round normal buttons (or square or oval, anything but the sucky second Dpad.)

How about that for a push?

There is no pivot on those buttons so all can be pressed together.

That doesn't matter, can buttons across from each other be pressed? Combos sometimes use diagonal 2 buttons only, this is important.

 

[tridion]

If I do get either which is debatable, I'm leaning towards the Wiz for one simple reason. Regardless of what people try and tell me about GPH, Pandora is being built by a one man band. At least the Wiz has a relatively large company behind it regardless of what people think of them.

Sorry but I am not interested in buying hardware from some "indie" outfit. That will go for most Joe Public too. They are not going to buy from an un-established company when there are alternatives from established companies.

 

[gruso]

If I do get either which is debatable, I'm leaning towards the Wiz for one simple reason. Regardless of what people try and tell me about GPH, Pandora is being built by a one man band. At least the Wiz has a relatively large company behind it regardless of what people think of them.

Sorry but I am not interested in buying hardware from some "indie" outfit. That will go for most Joe Public too. They are not going to buy from an un-established company when there are alternatives from established companies.

Pandora isn't being made by one person. Can you name how many people are involved with the Wiz at GPH? I love the idea of products made by small time or "indie" outfits, and from my reading of history, that's exactly what GPH was when they split from Gamepark.

If you need some sort of corporate identity behind your purchase, I'd suggest Sony.

 

[Retroid]

Those large-rez pics look great, and the news about the flexible nature of the ABXY 'pad' is very welcome.

Frankly, ~£100 for a homebrew / emulation / AV handheld was always, always my sweetspot, and of several people I know into gadgets. Frankly mainly due to the price, Pandora was never on my purchase radar and I was a bit resigned to hacked PSPs providing my mobile fun. I'm damned relieved GPH have been working on this and I'm damned tempted to place a pre-order!

Hopefully the formats will continue to have a level of cross-platform porting going on with the GP2X obviously eventually falling by the wayside and the Pandora and Wiz can continue to benefit from a larger coding community.

 

[Sphinxter]

Could not be more disappointed, was expecting an upgraded display, something to rival a psp or at least 640x480, that even dinkier same low res shit is definitely not working for me, the F-?00 was minimal. Not feeling any love for the double d-pad either.

 

[DaveC]

- OLED screen. They look sharp, they have good viewing angles, and they wear out, fast. They are still not ready for prime time.......

Quote from Wikipedia - blue OLEDs historically have had a lifetime of around 14,000 hours (5 years at 8 hours a day)
Sounds pretty good to me.


Well yes but there is an important fact that your Wiki excerpt leaves out.

One is the fact that it isn't full strength for 5 years , then cuts out. It deteriorates over time so at 2 years it is half way to going dark etc. Every time you use it you lose brightness. It is a curve and if like most light emitting devices you lose most of the brightness in the beginning and then it levels off a bit (This is why they had "burn in" periods for plasmas of projection TVs, it "seasons" them at the beginning when they lose most of their brightness).

That would not be a huge issue though as by the time it is too dim to use we will be on to something else if it was an even thing.

The huge issue is though is this: The blue elements have a life of 14,000 hours but the red and green average around 100,000 hours. It is VERY uneven and it would actually be better if the other elements matched the 14,000 number. What will happen is that the red and green brightness will remain strong but the blue will begin to fall off relatively quick. This will cause colors to shift to the yellow fairly quickly. Don't play Pac-Man with that blue maze or you may see a ghost of that maze in every game. Emulators will be particularly brutal to this screen as many have borders. This means that you will be wearing out the center of the screen while sparing the borders. This will give even more uneven brightness. This could be why GPH is so down on emulation come to think of it.


The biggest drawback of the Wiz is the screen to me. It is way too small, and it doesn't last. They would have been much better off with a 3.5" LTPS LCD screen instead (Wiz MK2 anyone?). Even the two d-pads aren't as big of a deal to me as I could probably cut that pad into 4 pieces and get 4 buttons that way. I don't know if it could be modded with a bigger LCD screen, probably not very easily.

 

[zektor]

I got pretty excited initially, but after seeing the DPad button replacement and reading about a screen that does not last....ehh. I'll continue my wait for the Pandora.

 

[skeezix]

FWIW, people keep referrimg to the Wiz being "homebrew focused"; you have to remember..

What he company says is irrelevent.

Its what the community does that is the focus.

ie: Its not like GPH has anything to do with what comes out on the platform, right?

And obviously they _must_ have a corporate stance that isn't all about emulation (especially when they need to differentiate against other machines, including their prior catalog. They need buyers and upgraders.)

Anyone who trots out "homebrew focus" as a point in a debate needs to back down and erase it

jeff

 

[DaveC]

FWIW, people keep referrimg to the Wiz being "homebrew focused"; you have to remember..

What he company says is irrelevent.

Its what the community does that is the focus.

ie: Its not like GPH has anything to do with what comes out on the platform, right?

And obviously they _must_ have a corporate stance that isn't all about emulation (especially when they need to differentiate against other machines, including their prior catalog. They need buyers and upgraders.)

Anyone who trots out "homebrew focus" as a point in a debate needs to back down and erase it

jeff

Well I think I may have found out the reason in my previous post. Emulators often have blank areas of the screen (borders) because of variations in screen resolution. Emulated games also tend to have static screens that have little change in motion especially the older stuff. This will cause image burn-in. Homebrew stuff is fullscreen and can be tailored to prevent burn-in (no static HUDs, scores, etc).

That could be the reason behind the "HB focus".

 

[slaanesh]

I don't get why everyone is so negative about the two "d-pads" - which aren't even d-pads!!!

The four buttons on the right hand side are not actually a d-pad - they are simply four buttons in the shape of a d-pad. Is that concept so hard to grasp?

Look at the PSP, GP2X, NDS. They all have this configuration. Just because the Wiz has non-round buttons? BIG DEAL.

Ruckage has confirmed that the buttons are not mutually exclusive. So it seems you can press them all simultaneously if you want.

Personally I think it's a nice looking device, nice size and will be perfect for pocket MAME.

 

[craigix]

The problem is they are joined together, leading to accidental presses and if they are pivoted or not is still a bit vague.

Why did GPH do this is the bigger question, why try to reinvent the wheel like this, it's odd and you can see how it is effecting the sales from the reaction of the customers.

I have decided that if it is poor quality I will have a 4 button replacement kit made and will ship it to all GBAX customers for free.

 

[christo930]

Seems decent, but like everyone else, I do have doubts on the D-pad-shaped buttons. Pressing three (or four) buttons at the same time, as well as buttons at opposite sides, might be troublesome.

2.5mm headphone jack? Seriously? :blink:

I wonder if the volume controls are still per-software-dependent and mappable. This was both a good and bad thing for the GP2X-Fx00, since it provided more usable buttons, but caused the lack of proper volume controls.

I wish it could be cheaper though; too expensive for an "upgrade", and I have no plans of selling my F200. There would be a big overlap between them, if I do ever get one.

I guess it would be a wait and see. Hope it turns out okay. :rolleyes:

EDIT: I also worry about the proprietary battery. This is why I like the use of AA batteries in my F200; easy and cheap to replace, although the battery life is on the short side.



I agree with you about the battery. They should have used a popular phone battery or some battery that will be around for a long time. You can't rebuild these batteries ether since they are not made of standard cells the way laptop batteries are. The battery isn't all that impressive either. It's only a 7.4 watt hours (3.7x2amp hours) and Lithium Palmer batteries perform VERY poorly if they are frequently deeply discharged. They can also be very dangerous if the built in circuitry fails for any reason as they are especially prone to failing with fire when over charged. Even a very minor overcharging will kill them. 2 2750 AA's will provide 6.6 watt hours, but they probably would be too big to fit in the small form factor. But the real issue is what happens when GamePark stops making the batteries? NOS is no good, because these batteries begin to deteriorate as soon as they are manufactured, not as fast as in use, but time does kill them. Despite this, (if it's possible) when using it on ac power, you should take out the battery. I keep my battery out of my laptop for the same reason. But this is what most of the people around here said they wanted.

Chris

 

[DaveC]

I don't get why everyone is so negative about the two "d-pads" - which aren't even d-pads!!!

The four buttons on the right hand side are not actually a d-pad - they are simply four buttons in the shape of a d-pad. Is that concept so hard to grasp?

Look at the PSP, GP2X, NDS. They all have this configuration. Just because the Wiz has non-round buttons? BIG DEAL.

Ruckage has confirmed that the buttons are not mutually exclusive. So it seems you can press them all simultaneously if you want.

Personally I think it's a nice looking device, nice size and will be perfect for pocket MAME.

Well the plastic pad is all one piece. This causes problems. But I guess it wouldn't be hard to mod.

The compactness is ok but the crappy tiny screen that has a poor lifetime ruins it.

Wiz is piss.

One good thing to say about the Wiz though:

It is easier to type W i z than G P 2 X or P a n d o r a