Pre-Orders Have Begun for the new GP2X.
How would you like to own a Linux based handheld game/media system, with an open source SDK, dual ARM CPU cores, 64MB RAM + 64MB NAND, an SNES control layout, TV-Out and a 3.5" backlit color screen - all for less than $200 USD????
_____________________________________
FAQ/SPECS:
Product Name: GPX2-F100
General
CPU: Dual cores, ARM940T @ 200Mhz + ARM920T @ 200Mhz
Dimension 143.6mm* 82.9mm*34mm
RAM 64Mb
Storage SD Card
Connection Type 2.0 high speed
O/S Linux
Power supply 2AA
Display 3.5" TFT LCD
Resolution 320*240(QVGA)
Video
Video file MPEG, MPEG4, Dvix 3.11,4x,5x, XVID, WMV Playback,
Audio file MP3,OGG,WMA
Resolution MAX 720*480
Frame Rate Max 30 fps
Bit Rate Video Max: 1178 Kbps
Audio Max: 384Kbps
Caption SMI
Audio
No. Channels Stereo(L+R)
Frequency Rate 20Hz~20KHz
File WMA,OGG,MP3
Bit rate sampling 16bit/8~48KHz
Equalizer Normal, Classic, Rock, Jazz, Pop
Additional Function
e-book, game, electronic dictionary
Image Viwer
JPG, BMP, PCX, GIF
Continuous playback time
Video Approx. 8 hours
Audio Approx. 14hours
GP2X console (With 64M Internal Storage)
USB Cable for PC connection (With 2.0 Support)
Preloaded Linux with Media player (MP3, Divx, WMA etc.)
CD with Games, Utilities, MP3 player, Movie player
2 * AA batteries
SDK - Make your own games!
Case Colors: The GP2X will ONLY be available in black at first. There may be other colors in the future but it's not guaranteed. This is what the unit will probably look like when it's released:
Emulators: There are emulators in the works and being planned for many systems. Some may be available at GP2X's launch, others afterwards. There are no exact details at this moment. But expect good things.
Games: aside from homebrew games, there are some plans for commercial games. There are no exact details at this moment.
Backwards Compatability: currently the GP2x is NOT backwards compatable with GP32. There is talk of creating a way to run GP32 programs, but for now it's only talk and may never really happen. However, the GP2X is expected to have a very exciting homebrew & emu scene of its own.
Screen: 3.5" backlit LCD. 320x240 resolution. NOT a touchscreen. If you want a PDA, get a PocketPC, Palm or Zodiac device.
TV-Output: Yes, the GP2X will be able to plug right into any television using a special tv-out cable which will be sold seperately. It is said to output S-Video. GPH tells me that no extra power is needed to use the tv-out cable, the GP2X's batteries are enough. The cable will ready when the GP2X is released, but the price is not determined yet.
Controls: 12 way DIGITAL (it's NOT analog) thumb stick, 4 main action buttons in diamond pattern, 2 shoulder buttons, Start, Select and 2 volume buttons.
I/O Ports: Headphones, USB (not powered), EXT, DC Power (possibly SDIO in the future) *note* it may be possible to use self-powered USB peripherals with GP2X, i.e. USB hubs & harddrives etc.
USB Peripherals: Since the GP2X's USB host is not powered, to use any peripherals they need to supply their own power. Some examples of peripherals that might work with the GP2X someday are the Apacer Steno Hard Drives and the Cyberpower USB Hubs. Such peripherals operate on their own battery power, so all we need is software to allow the GP2X to interface properly with them. These are NOT guaranteed to work with the GP2X, so don't run out an buy them just yet. But they represent good examples of what might work well with the GP2X in the near future.
Pictured: Left is Apacer Steno CD311 80GB, Right is Cyberpower 420MP Hub
Media: GP2X uses Secure Digital cards AKA SD. These are relatively cheap, and come in very large capacities (up to 2GB and 4GB now). SD cards are also very popular, and can be used with many PDA's, cameras and other electronics. There is also some internal storage space on the 64MB NAND memory, but it's unknown how much will be available to the user for storage. MMC cards should also work with the GP2X, but SD's are faster and come in larger capacities.
Pictured: Yep, that's what an SD card looks like.
Multiplayer & Networking: The GP2X has no form of built-in wireless, nor are there any announced plans for a multiplayer cable of some kind yet. But it's certainly a possibility. It may also be possible to use SDIO WiFi cards in the future, but right now it's all speculative.
Power: The GP2X uses 2 AA batteries as its primary source of power, providing 8 - 14 hours of continuous use depending on application. Keep in mind, there are now very good and very economical rechargeable AA's, which I've personally used for several years. For some examples, see http://www.thomas-distributing.com/ansmannproducts.htm - I have never personally bought anything there, but it's a good site to learn about what's available. The GP2X can also use an AC adapter, but we have no details yet on that.
Pictured: rechargeable AA's rock!
CPU/Memory/Graphics Overview: see the specs link above for details. But basically the GP2X has dual (2) ARM CPU's, each clocked at 200Mhz, 64MB RAM and 64MB NAND flash memory. There is a graphics processor that can accelerate 2D graphics, and process various video and image formats. There is no 3D acceleration, however software based 3D is entirely possible - IMO from the specs we have I would imagine that PS1/Saturn quality 3D should be possible. Think original unaccelerated Quake. Not so bad, eh?
Operating System: GP2X is Linux based. This does NOT mean you must use Linux on your PC to interface with your GPX2. Also, since the GP2X can boot from SD cards, theoretically the GP2X could run any OS adapted for it, or even no specific OS at all (i.e. simple bootstrap to directly access hardware).
Development: At first you can use SDL to develop GP2X apps. There are also plans to create SDK's to allow devs to access the hardware more directly, hopefully to take full advantage of the dual CPU cores. There will also be an official GP2X SDK from GPH in the near future. You might also like to read about the SOC (system on chip) the GP2X is based upon: http://www.mesdigital.com/support/downfile...20f_pi_v016.pdf
DRM (digital rights management): GPH has a DRM ready for selling commercial games (probably similar to how the DRM worked for GP32 & Zodiac). This does NOT affect MP3 playback, and no you don't have to buy emulators. It's just to encourage professional game developers to consider making GP2X games because they know there is a form of piracy protection in place for the system. So this DRM is a good thing for GP2X users.
Pictured: white GP2X prototype & someone from GPH? (That is NOT Anna, I asked her.)
*Link*
*EmuBoards Thread*
Looks very promising
How would you like to own a Linux based handheld game/media system, with an open source SDK, dual ARM CPU cores, 64MB RAM + 64MB NAND, an SNES control layout, TV-Out and a 3.5" backlit color screen - all for less than $200 USD????
_____________________________________
FAQ/SPECS:
Product Name: GPX2-F100
General
CPU: Dual cores, ARM940T @ 200Mhz + ARM920T @ 200Mhz
Dimension 143.6mm* 82.9mm*34mm
RAM 64Mb
Storage SD Card
Connection Type 2.0 high speed
O/S Linux
Power supply 2AA
Display 3.5" TFT LCD
Resolution 320*240(QVGA)
Video
Video file MPEG, MPEG4, Dvix 3.11,4x,5x, XVID, WMV Playback,
Audio file MP3,OGG,WMA
Resolution MAX 720*480
Frame Rate Max 30 fps
Bit Rate Video Max: 1178 Kbps
Audio Max: 384Kbps
Caption SMI
Audio
No. Channels Stereo(L+R)
Frequency Rate 20Hz~20KHz
File WMA,OGG,MP3
Bit rate sampling 16bit/8~48KHz
Equalizer Normal, Classic, Rock, Jazz, Pop
Additional Function
e-book, game, electronic dictionary
Image Viwer
JPG, BMP, PCX, GIF
Continuous playback time
Video Approx. 8 hours
Audio Approx. 14hours
GP2X console (With 64M Internal Storage)
USB Cable for PC connection (With 2.0 Support)
Preloaded Linux with Media player (MP3, Divx, WMA etc.)
CD with Games, Utilities, MP3 player, Movie player
2 * AA batteries
SDK - Make your own games!
Case Colors: The GP2X will ONLY be available in black at first. There may be other colors in the future but it's not guaranteed. This is what the unit will probably look like when it's released:
Emulators: There are emulators in the works and being planned for many systems. Some may be available at GP2X's launch, others afterwards. There are no exact details at this moment. But expect good things.
Games: aside from homebrew games, there are some plans for commercial games. There are no exact details at this moment.
Backwards Compatability: currently the GP2x is NOT backwards compatable with GP32. There is talk of creating a way to run GP32 programs, but for now it's only talk and may never really happen. However, the GP2X is expected to have a very exciting homebrew & emu scene of its own.
Screen: 3.5" backlit LCD. 320x240 resolution. NOT a touchscreen. If you want a PDA, get a PocketPC, Palm or Zodiac device.
TV-Output: Yes, the GP2X will be able to plug right into any television using a special tv-out cable which will be sold seperately. It is said to output S-Video. GPH tells me that no extra power is needed to use the tv-out cable, the GP2X's batteries are enough. The cable will ready when the GP2X is released, but the price is not determined yet.
Controls: 12 way DIGITAL (it's NOT analog) thumb stick, 4 main action buttons in diamond pattern, 2 shoulder buttons, Start, Select and 2 volume buttons.
I/O Ports: Headphones, USB (not powered), EXT, DC Power (possibly SDIO in the future) *note* it may be possible to use self-powered USB peripherals with GP2X, i.e. USB hubs & harddrives etc.
USB Peripherals: Since the GP2X's USB host is not powered, to use any peripherals they need to supply their own power. Some examples of peripherals that might work with the GP2X someday are the Apacer Steno Hard Drives and the Cyberpower USB Hubs. Such peripherals operate on their own battery power, so all we need is software to allow the GP2X to interface properly with them. These are NOT guaranteed to work with the GP2X, so don't run out an buy them just yet. But they represent good examples of what might work well with the GP2X in the near future.
Pictured: Left is Apacer Steno CD311 80GB, Right is Cyberpower 420MP Hub
Media: GP2X uses Secure Digital cards AKA SD. These are relatively cheap, and come in very large capacities (up to 2GB and 4GB now). SD cards are also very popular, and can be used with many PDA's, cameras and other electronics. There is also some internal storage space on the 64MB NAND memory, but it's unknown how much will be available to the user for storage. MMC cards should also work with the GP2X, but SD's are faster and come in larger capacities.
Pictured: Yep, that's what an SD card looks like.
Multiplayer & Networking: The GP2X has no form of built-in wireless, nor are there any announced plans for a multiplayer cable of some kind yet. But it's certainly a possibility. It may also be possible to use SDIO WiFi cards in the future, but right now it's all speculative.
Power: The GP2X uses 2 AA batteries as its primary source of power, providing 8 - 14 hours of continuous use depending on application. Keep in mind, there are now very good and very economical rechargeable AA's, which I've personally used for several years. For some examples, see http://www.thomas-distributing.com/ansmannproducts.htm - I have never personally bought anything there, but it's a good site to learn about what's available. The GP2X can also use an AC adapter, but we have no details yet on that.
Pictured: rechargeable AA's rock!
CPU/Memory/Graphics Overview: see the specs link above for details. But basically the GP2X has dual (2) ARM CPU's, each clocked at 200Mhz, 64MB RAM and 64MB NAND flash memory. There is a graphics processor that can accelerate 2D graphics, and process various video and image formats. There is no 3D acceleration, however software based 3D is entirely possible - IMO from the specs we have I would imagine that PS1/Saturn quality 3D should be possible. Think original unaccelerated Quake. Not so bad, eh?
Operating System: GP2X is Linux based. This does NOT mean you must use Linux on your PC to interface with your GPX2. Also, since the GP2X can boot from SD cards, theoretically the GP2X could run any OS adapted for it, or even no specific OS at all (i.e. simple bootstrap to directly access hardware).
Development: At first you can use SDL to develop GP2X apps. There are also plans to create SDK's to allow devs to access the hardware more directly, hopefully to take full advantage of the dual CPU cores. There will also be an official GP2X SDK from GPH in the near future. You might also like to read about the SOC (system on chip) the GP2X is based upon: http://www.mesdigital.com/support/downfile...20f_pi_v016.pdf
DRM (digital rights management): GPH has a DRM ready for selling commercial games (probably similar to how the DRM worked for GP32 & Zodiac). This does NOT affect MP3 playback, and no you don't have to buy emulators. It's just to encourage professional game developers to consider making GP2X games because they know there is a form of piracy protection in place for the system. So this DRM is a good thing for GP2X users.
Pictured: white GP2X prototype & someone from GPH? (That is NOT Anna, I asked her.)
*Link*
*EmuBoards Thread*
Looks very promising
