Worth It To Invest In A Caanoo?

[zeldarocks]

I was wondering, at this juncture, would it be worth it to invest in a Caanoo or similar device; that is, in terms if available software and overall stability and compatibility? The obvious choice would be a Pandora in terms of an Open Source platform, but given the hefty price tag, as well as the various delays, I would think that a Caanoo might be right up my ally at this point in time... Overall, I am looking for a platform boasting a high-quality build, stable OS/firmware, a decently supported scene in terms of software available, and a reasonable cost:capability ratio. What are your recommendations?

 

[Darkknight512]

I was wondering, at this juncture, would it be worth it to invest in a Caanoo or similar device; that is, in terms if available software and overall stability and compatibility? The obvious choice would be a Pandora in terms of an Open Source platform, but given the hefty price tag, as well as the various delays, I would think that a Caanoo might be right up my ally at this point in time... Overall, I am looking for a platform boasting a high-quality build, stable OS/firmware, a decently supported scene in terms of software available, and a reasonable cost:capability ratio. What are your recommendations?

I'll talk about the Wiz because that is what I have. There is quite a large library of software, pretty much any console from PS1 and back. A few notable games that run natively would be OpenTTD (Transport Tycoon Deluxe), Abuse, Doom, OpenTyrian, a few good puzzle games. I have nothing to complain about for build quality, the unit is solid and quite hard to scratch, especially the screen which is a pane of glass, the unit is also quite light, noticeably lighter then the PSP 1001. The OS is stable, a few emulator crashes here and there but mostly in PCSX4ALL but it is currently on beta 2 so I would not worry about that (I'm currently on disk 3 of FF7 and I have encountered about 5 - 10 crashes)... In other emulators I have only crashed the system about 5 times in about a year of owning it. You can get a Wiz for $100 on Thinkgeek still so I see the Wiz as the best open handheld on the budget. The Wiz has been out for a long time so emulation is pretty much there except Playstation 1 because that is pretty recent. Really the only new stuff coming out at this point are new native games and slight improvements to the old emulators.

I don't think Win2x is available for Caanoo yet but it is my favorite interface for the Wiz so far.

To make your decision more informed just take a glance through http://dl.openhandhelds.org/ and see what programs, games or emulators that really stand out.

The Caanoo has pretty much the same internal hardware, just double the ram (which in most cases is useless) but GPH managed to break direct software compatibility and things have to be recompiled for it.

I hope that helped, I got into gaming at around when the PS2 was the new thing but I was mainly a PC gamer so I'm using the wiz to catch up on all the games I missed.

 

[traylorpark]

It really depend on what exactly you want out of the unit.
If you want a console that you can contribute to ... almost like a hobby project, an Open source console is just for you!

Regarding the OS for Caanoo ... its ranked at about ... meh. There is a lot of areas where it REALLY needs to improve. Thankfully, the community is gradually picking up the slack and providing alternatives in some areas.

This is a hobby community ... and the projects are all hobby projects. So don't expect rapid development. Its a slow burn to a large library of stuff.

Good stuff is coming, I'm sure of that.

 

[SolarLune]

I agree with traylorpark - while the Caanoo doesn't have the largest archive of games and applications, if you wanted the largest archive, you'd go back to the GP2X, as that had a huge archive. The Caanoo archive's gotten pretty big in the few months that its been out (only since September, right?). I would personally say that if you have a Wiz, then there's not really a pressing need to get a Caanoo. However, given the Caanoo's better range of features, I would recommend getting it over the Wiz.

 

[redlemon]

I have the caanoo and for what it's I'm very happy with it. I love the form factor of it and it does everything I want it to.
If you don't mind the smaller size you should probably go for a wiz. One thing to keep in mind though is that there have been reports of pocketsnes not working on the thinkgeek wiz's for whatever reason so keep that in mind.

 

[jph_iterationGAMES]

I am happy with my Caanoo,. Some stuff I have been playing on it; MAME runs well, I am mostly interested in the older classics and most play perfectly. Also, I have basicly ALL Genesis games, sweet. NeoGeo! PCengine is surprisingly good fun,. I never had that system, so playing through all the old roms is interesting, lots pinball and shooters. I have like all 2600, 7800, and ColecoVision games and as a game designer I like to scouer old roms for insperation,. and these realy old systems are great for overlooked machanics,. and it is just fun to play some of the old classics. I remember when it was US$60.00 for a single 2600 cart! (yeah I am that old) Now you can get all of them in a zip that would fit on a floppy disk,. lol. oh, GBA emu is also working reasonably well.

Hell, the think is worth getting just for LPTracker! if you are unto sample mashing to make music. a few years back you could easily have dropped several times it's price for a sample/sequencer device that would have been many times the size/weight and lacking any usefull display or the sampleing space!. Milkytracker is availible on GP2x and does run under Ginge,. but with no touch screen suport is sorta' useless,. I susspect it is only a matter of time befor someone recomplies this for the Caanoo,. <hint,. hint>

and all that is incidental as I got the thing to build my own games for it,. there are quite a few good original games already,. I did one using the LOVE engine (Cartisian Cardianal ZAP)., LOVE is cool but a bit limted last i looked, (have not re-tryed it since its finnal release, so should soon), and learning lua is usefull for other systems as well. I will setup a c compiler and do a straight SDL game in the not too distance future,. so I think it is most interesting as a platform for original games. well worth the price, if you are willing to hack about a bit to get what you want.

 

[Dunny]

I would think that a Caanoo might be right up my ally at this point in time...

ally
n [ˈælaɪ əˈlaɪ] pl -lies
1. a country, person, or group allied with another.

You're welcome; that little quote of yours just made my day a tad more rich in humour

D.

 

[coldfish]

You must live a pretty impoverished life.

 

[Dunny]

You must live a pretty impoverished life.

My life is enriched by these forums and those whose command of language needs improvement.

D.

 

[coldfish]

You go get 'em, Champ!

 

[zeldarocks]

The only thing inhibiting me from getting a Wiz would be the numerous reports over the years regarding the OLED screen degradation... Does that still remain an issue to this day?

 

[u9i]

We haven't had any reports of broken screens for a very long time, me thinks. They have probably sorted it out.

 

[dnlgreenwood]

I've had a Caanoo for a while, and it fits my needs almost perfectly. The emulation is very stable and enjoyable, for the most part. Some of the emulators support multi-player modes, and some interpreters and commercial games do, as well. The joystick is REALLY comfortable for me; I just love it. It plays music. Even though there isn't as much out for the Caanoo as the Wiz or GP2X, there is still more than enough to keep you busy, and lots more is on the way. You can even run some GP2X and Wiz games with Ginge. I sometimes spend whole weekends on LGPT.

If you get a Caanoo, be sure to get a Wireless dongle. I didn't and I deeply regret it. I can't even get USBNet working. Also, get a screen protector and a case (a DSi case is fine). I dropped mine on a shoulder button, so I had to open it up to fix it. If I had zipped up my case properly, that wouldn't have happened.

I'd say all the extra features and processor power of the Caanoo would make it a better choice than the Wiz. Oh, and the Caanoo has recently dropped in price at play-asia.com. I bought mine from GamerSection.ca in Montréal, QC, and it cost me $192.60 CAD, including shipping, my money order, and HST. My SD card was another $21.18 CAD.

Oh, and I was VERY close to buying a Wiz about four years ago. I don't really know for sure what made me forget to buy one, but it was probably DS Homebrew.

 

[zeldarocks]

For what its worth, should I go with the Thinkgeek Wiz now (despite the reported problems) instead of waiting for the Caanoo to grow and become wholly reliable?

 

[coldfish]

I dont know much about the Thinkgeek-Wiz's issues, is it fixable?

I have a GP2X f100 and a Caanoo, (Wiz's screen issues put me off.)
While the Caanoo has a smaller library, its still damn good value IMO.

But if there's a specific app' you want, that it doesnt have yet; you have to wait and see or DIY.

 

[zeldarocks]

I dont know much about the Thinkgeek-Wiz's issues, is it fixable?

I have a GP2X f100 and a Caanoo, (Wiz's screen issues put me off.)
While the Caanoo has a smaller library, its still damn good value IMO.

But if there's a specific app' you want, that it doesnt have yet; you have to wait and see or DIY.

I'm looking at general stability and whatnot... Not anything in particular right now... The apparent software drought worries me...

In terms of specifics, I just want compatible emulators that let me enjoy my favorite old school games, and plenty of apps to enjoy

 

[zeldarocks]

Forgive the double posting, but I wanted to get this out there...

I've been reading the various compatibility threads on the Caanoo forums and have become extremely discouraged... For instance, reports that PocketSNES does not work correctly (games like SMW have said to have color distortions), that Ginge compatibility is hit or miss, and the quality software drought in general...

 

[u9i]

I am organising a coding competition which will start very soon. Hopefully it should help the current drought in homebrew

Maybe you will participate?

 

[crow_riot]

I am organising a coding competition which will start very soon. Hopefully it should help the current drought in homebrew

Maybe you will participate?

theme? i just got my caanoo yesterday ... maybe interested.

 

[zeldarocks]

I am organising a coding competition which will start very soon. Hopefully it should help the current drought in homebrew

Maybe you will participate?

I wish I could but alas, I lack any substantial experience