Operating System Poll, And Os Info From Gamepark

[rei_yano]

I dont think touch screen is really on thier list of possibilities. they have never mentioned it. though it would rock...

@JaqMs
as far as widescreen I dont know. the fact is this is going to attract emulation and it isnt gonna take advantage of the whole screen.. which I feel sucks. and I know web browsing sounds interesting on the unit and all but we are just getting farther from the point here. it plays games. its a gaming unit. I mean I think it would just blow my expectations through the roof if they threw in a 640 x 480 screen. that would do it for me but overall 320 x 240 is what I think would be best.

lithium ion batteries... hmmm. I still see the issue of what happens in 15 years or so and gamepark is either dead or no longer supporting the unit. how do we replace our batteries at that point? pretty brick? I would hope to use the thing for a very long time....

 

[Vimacs]

i think a 5xx*240 4,X" screen would be the best solution, than you can play games in the native res and its still the same size as on gp2x while you can still use the widescreen for videos/surfing.

 

[rei_yano]

i think a 5xx*240 4,X" screen would be the best solution, than you can play games in the native res and its still the same size as on gp2x while you can still use the widescreen for videos/surfing.

that would be cool I think. thats a good solution for keeping a widescreen.

 

[JaqMs]

I dont think touch screen is really on thier list of possibilities. they have never mentioned it. though it would rock...

@JaqMs
as far as widescreen I dont know. the fact is this is going to attract emulation and it isnt gonna take advantage of the whole screen.. which I feel sucks. and I know web browsing sounds interesting on the unit and all but we are just getting farther from the point here. it plays games. its a gaming unit. I mean I think it would just blow my expectations through the roof if they threw in a 640 x 480 screen. that would do it for me but overall 320 x 240 is what I think would be best.

lithium ion batteries... hmmm. I still see the issue of what happens in 15 years or so and gamepark is either dead or no longer supporting the unit. how do we replace our batteries at that point? pretty brick? I would hope to use the thing for a very long time....

What's wrong with emulators not taking up the whole screen? It's not like everyone out there is looking for a *PERFECT* emulation environment (well, lots of people here are).

And about the li-ion batteries. I seriously doubt that in the future there won't be some obsurd universal li-ion battery "reviver". And anyway, unless you are less than 10 years old right now, won't you have too much of a life in 15 years instead of using an old handheld to play even older games?

 

[rei_yano]

What's wrong with emulators not taking up the whole screen? It's not like everyone out there is looking for a *PERFECT* emulation environment (well, lots of people here are).

And about the li-ion batteries. I seriously doubt that in the future there won't be some obsurd universal li-ion battery "reviver". And anyway, unless you are less than 10 years old right now, won't you have too much of a life in 15 years instead of using an old handheld to play even older games?

well I think that the general consensus isnt exactly for the widescreen but yeah you are right though. theyll manage. I know the whole argument "well you wont be playing this forever you know" and yeah Im sure there will be something better but I dont know. I get nostalgic =P (Id still pull out my old gameboy if I knew where it was...)

 

[Epicenter]

Li-Ion batteries can die a lot faster than that. They can degrade to hold nearly no power after several years. While it's not a nightmare scenario for me as I can replace mine with some research and I can always plug it in if in 10 years should I just feel nostalgic ..

The big concern for emulation compatibility, JaqMs, is because emulators are what drew the GP2X and the GP32 such a big crowd. If the XGP gets a big reception from the sites like Engadget, Digg, places like those-- it'll be mostly because of emulation capability. It seems the whole reason you want them to stick with 480x272 is because it'll force people to write widescreen applications just for it, forcing out emulators which you've said you hate the community around. That's not really the right approach.

Now, GP intends for the XGP and XGPmini to fill different 'niche markets'. I get the feeling they will be released at different times (though this may not be the case should they share an SoC as they were originally intended to.) However, with the same core hardware, the community will want to run the same software across the platform. So a different screen resolution for the machines doesn't make a whole lot of sense, it just confuses things.

As a developer, this personally affects me; I would not want to play Stargazer much on a Mini because of the tiny display ruining the graphics detail for me-- not everyone shares my opinion but it would bother me a lot. Also, I have big hands. A Mini would not be comfortable for me, and my pockets are big enough to accomodate a device the size of the proposed XGP design. With a 320x240 display, it'd fit perfectly ported from the GP2X and enhanced-- to adapt it to 480x272 there'd be LOTS of work to do, practically every piece of graphics in the game would need to be redrawn or reworked. Or we'd have to letterbox the game with some sort of Super Game Boy-like border.

Any way you look at it, it'd be strange .. I'd like to avoid illogical design decisions like the GP2X is full of at the outset, rather than encourage them based on making the machine 'unique' with no real logical reasoning behind the choice.

And about the li-ion batteries. I seriously doubt that in the future there won't be some obsurd universal li-ion battery "reviver".

I don't see any 'reviver' for NiCd, NiMH or Lead Acid batteries that no longer hold a charge. This is because there is more modern battery technology now, and no one really cares about 'fixing' old batteries. Why would they care in a decade about LiIons?

 

[JaqMs]

Wait, it sounds like you're saying emulators will not work on a widescreen display. It will be for people that are not hard-wired to wanting the *perfect* emulation experience. And for the third time, I like emulators but I don't like the people that idolize them.

You guys have to learn how to get used to different things. I think the nostlagia from the emulators made it hard for you guys to accept changes.

 

[Epicenter]

Emulation by its very nature is never perfect, not even close. It's just an imitation, albeit a good one in many cases. That doesn't mean you should play the games with a display that isn't suited for them. Honestly, what it boils down to for me is, if the XGP series delivers a quality product of higher design and physical quality, whichever chipset they choose, it probably replaces my GP2X for most uses. I'd like it to be able to do everything my '2x does well-- and that includes play emulators without horrible letterboxing or stretching.

 

[rei_yano]

Wait, it sounds like you're saying emulators will not work on a widescreen display. It will be for people that are not hard-wired to wanting the *perfect* emulation experience. And for the third time, I like emulators but I don't like the people that idolize them.

You guys have to learn how to get used to different things. I think the nostlagia from the emulators made it hard for you guys to accept changes.

:lol:
accept changes? that is a bit harsh dont you think? I like homebrew as much as the next guy but I have my reasons for buying a device like this. oh wait I get it there is only one good reason to get any of these machines and emulation is not it. these devices are about change. revolution. who plays emulators anyways??? pffft.

 

[JyCet]

...
If it were my call, I'd have it include the S3C2460 and 96MB+ of MobileDDR RAM, a 3"+ 320x240 non-touchscreen LCD, a circular D-Pad, a WiFi adapter with adjustable transmit power and a software on/off switch (for battery life reasons), at least 1 onboard USB port, headphone jack, volume and LCD backlight potentiometers. If components don't randomly fall off of it like my GP2X, that'd seal the deal for me, and I'd pay $300 for it. That SoC is very robust hardware, it'd be reasonable compared to the cost of a high-end PDA.
...

Sorry but for 300$ a touch screen is possible and another USB Host to plug what you want (external usb hdd).

Why you didnt made a poll for a touch screen ? It give lot of software possibility and more usefull with some game like RTS

 

[Epicenter]

I'm just trying to be realistic when I say 1 USB port; you could assuredly fit 2 MiniUSB ports but who wants to mess with adapters? For $300, I'm not sure what GP can get away with. I don't have an exact price for Vrender-3D or S3C2460 in the quantities they'd buy so I can't make an assertion about how much each unit will cost to build. But I can tell you this much, take a look on ebay for a 320x240 touch-screen display for a PDA. They often cost close to, or over, $100 on their own ... for something truly scary, search for a 640x480 touchscreen display. Make sure there is nothing in your mouth when you do so, or you have paper towels handy.

 

[JaqMs]

Ok, it's not like GP is going to spend $300 in making each XGP and sell them for $300. They have to make a profit to stay alive so that they can pay off other important expenses.

 

[Yono]

I'm just trying to be realistic when I say 1 USB port; you could assuredly fit 2 MiniUSB ports but who wants to mess with adapters? For $300, I'm not sure what GP can get away with. I don't have an exact price for Vrender-3D or S3C2460 in the quantities they'd buy so I can't make an assertion about how much each unit will cost to build. But I can tell you this much, take a look on ebay for a 320x240 touch-screen display for a PDA. They often cost close to, or over, $100 on their own ... for something truly scary, search for a 640x480 touchscreen display. Make sure there is nothing in your mouth when you do so, or you have paper towels handy.

I didn't get any results, what were your search terms?

 

[Epicenter]

Just look for PDA replacement LCDs.

 

[Shikaku]

I'm not going to comment on any of the incompetent arguements here, but I will say this:

If they are still deciding whether or not they should use Linux/Windows CE, I can easily guess it won't come out for a long time (6+ months).

 

[JaqMs]

I'm not going to comment on any of the incompetent arguements here, but I will say this:

If they are still deciding whether or not they should use Linux/Windows CE, I can easily guess it won't come out for a long time (6+ months).

Even better. At least then they wouldn't be rushing (unlike another company...).