Gizmondo is part of the next waving of portable gaming devices – the handheld electronic equivalent of a Swiss Army knife that does far more than simply play game . Gizmondo ’s couturier include aGPS organisation , acamera , and the ability to playMP3sand movies . tote up text messaging capability andBluetoothsupport , and you ’ve get something that could change the direction people look at portable gaming .

In this article , we ’ll watch what the Gizmondo can do , retrieve out how it stacks up against other portable gaming devices on the marketplace , and learn about the sometimes troubled company that makes the Gizmondo . We ’ll also get a sneak peek at the Gizmondos that have already been released in Europe . ­

Gizmondo Design

At its core , the Gizmondo is built for gaming . It depend a lot like a controller for aconsole biz organisation , except for the prospect screen in the center . The Gizmondo is roughly the same size as a controller , with four play buttons on the right , an eight - fashion game pad on the left , and two additional buttons at the left and correct sides of the top of the unit . Five function button placed above the screen provide menu navigation and easy accession to some of the Gizmondo ’s modes of operation . The Gizmondo is power by a 400 Mhz ARM9 C.P.U. from Samsung .

The display is a 320 x 240 pixel TFT ( thin - moving-picture show junction transistor ) CRT screen equal to of showing 60,000 colors . It ’s powered by an Nvidia GoForce 4500 3 - 500 graphics particle accelerator , the development of which delay Gizmondo ’s release in England by several months .

Gizmondo runs Windows CE ( Microsoft ’s operating organisation for mobile devices ) , which allows access to various CE - compatible applications with a web inspection and repair plan .

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Next , we ’ll check out out some of Gizmondo ’s feature .

Gizmondo Features

The Gizmondo has several features that make it more than just a gambling gadget . It include a WindowsMP3playing center which " enable substance abuser to download and enjoy their music on the move , in digital timbre through the two-channel headset socket " [ ref ] . Without headphones , you have to rely on a small build - in monospeaker . Companies can also offer audio depicted object via multi - media messaging overhaul ( MMS ) stream . A scale - down version of Windows Media Player lets users play flick in the MPEG 4 data formatting , and they can send film clip and movie trailer to other drug user with MMS .

In improver to playing euphony and motion picture , Gizmondo users can also take photo . The set up - focal - length lens for the VGA camera function is in the back of the social unit , so you’re able to catch the discipline of your photo on the screen door . exposure can then be share among other Gizmondo user or withBluetooth - enabled devices .

But how do Gizmondo drug user memory board and transfer MP3s , movies , characterization , and game onto the Gizmondo ? The whole has a very minor amount of interior memory , but it accepts Secure Digital ( SD ) bill . These cards are about the size of it of a postage mold , and a one - GiB card will cost between $ 50 and $ 100 . Two - fishgig wag are already available in Europe , and card holding up to eight lance of data point are plan .

­ The work up - inGPSis what really sets Gizmondo apart from other portable gaming twist . In addition to the basic navigation and map covering , parents can keep up with their tiddler by tracking the Gizmondo and owners can limit up a virtual fence around a geographic arena ( and get an automatonlike alert if the Gizmondo thwart the fence ) . Games that integrate the gadget ’s GPS lieu with game romp are also beget a lot of excitement . We ’ll speak about those games in more detail in the next incision .

bestow to the list of connectivity options is Gizmondo ’s Bluetooth financial backing . This allows other Bluetooth - enabled devices to share data with Gizmondo , and two or more Gizmondo users can work multi - player game together .

build - in copyright security measures feature include digital handshake and the inauspicious sounding " destruct at engagement , " which deletes certain kinds of unauthorized medium files ( it does n’t make your Gizmondo explode ) .

In the next section , we ’ll take a tone at the games that are available for Gizmondo .

Gizmondo Games

A great gaming machine is nothing without splendid game . So far , the options for Gizmondo have been svelte . All the initial launch games were release in - menage by Gizmondo . An unspecified " major title " by a United States biz newspaper publisher is plan for the North American launch .

The lineup of currently available game includes racing game like Gizmondo Motorcross 2005 , Stuntcar Extreme , Trailblazer , and Richard Burns Rally ; sport game like Hockey Rage 2005 , Pocket Ping Pong and Toy Golf ; and puzzle games like Sticky Balls and Super Drop Mania . There ’s also a remaking of the natural process classic gunpoint of Destruction . One of the openhanded release is the extreme sports game SSX3 .

FIFA Soccer 2005 is highly anticipated , as well as Chicane Racing , a street racing plot encourage by British racing headliner Jenson Button . Fans of RPGs will want to take in for Hit and Myth , while Future Tactics will fulfil scheme gamers . The Graeco-Roman side - scroll sci - fi plot Guardian has been vamp for Gizmondo as well .

Most of the plug fence in Gizmondo is about Colors , the first game to practice theGPSfunction . In Colors , player are members of a street gang fighting other gangs for control of turf . The GPS pays attending to the instrumentalist ’s material universe location , so when he or she wins dominance of turf in the biz , their crew coloration take control of that surface area in the real humanity . Players can move into other gangs ' areas and start gang war to win control of more turf . Colors will probably be a controversial biz , with its trigger-happy content and grainy urban setting .

Next , we ’ll take a feel at the Gizmondo fact and bod .

Gizmondo Statistics

Perhaps the most important statistic of all to potential Gizmondo owners is the toll ticket . At launch , the British variant cost 229 pounds – more than $ 400 . Tiger of late announce plan to provide their " Smart Ads " Gizmondo in the United States ( it ’s already usable in Britain ) . With Smart Ads the Gizmondo ’s price is almost cut down in half , but the owner has to watch three 30 - second commercials impart to the machine each 24-hour interval .

Here ’s a sum-up of the Gizmondo ’s characteristic from the official Gizmondo Web site :

How does Gizmondo compare to theNintendo DSor thePSP ? The ramp up - in GPS role is the freehanded dispute . It ’s a more various machine than the Nintendo DS , but the PSP is equal to of offering Gizmondo ’s extra subprogram in the future . Gizmondo is more expensive than both the PSP and the DS , and it suffers most when it comes to games . But it is early on in Gizmondo ’s development and more game will be usable in the next twelvemonth . The Gizmondo has a heap of potential , but for now PSP actor have a immensely greater act of options for their gambling needs .

For lots more entropy on the Gizmondo and touch on topics , check out the links in the next Sir Frederick Handley Page .

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