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The GPD XD Handheld Android Console
- Thread starter Grampa Simpson
- Start date
bestpersonevar
Member
----
minor effort
Banned
Nope. At the moment the only thing that seems to run Dolphin for Android at a semi-playable speed, and even that looks pretty rough from the videos I've seen. From what I understand Dolphin has moved on from 32-bit development so I wouldn't expect things to change much for most current devices.
minor effort
Banned
I wish it were smaller, personally. I never understood making portable game systems bigger and bigger until they lose their portability.
Then again, I'm the type of person who considers the GB Micro and PSP Go their favorite handhelds.
DrROBschiz
Member
I use an Xperia Play as my android emulator device. I got that for $40.
This looks pretty good though.
Why was this the ONLY gaming flip phone ever made
Soooo salty about it
minor effort
Banned
I use an Xperia Play as my android emulator device. I got that for $40.
This looks pretty good though.
I loved this. I still have mine, but the flex cable on it is so damaged that the screen is barely functional anymore, and I never got around to attempting to replace it. But I loved the size of it.
Of course, the device is pretty aged now considering how fast smartphone development moves, but I'd instantly buy an updated one with better build quality.
outunderthestars
Banned
I'm still shocked that one of the big Android makers (Samsung, Motolora, HTC) has not made a portable Android gaming device. Not saying it would do huge numbers, but there is a small but profitable market out there.
Though I did see Nvidia confirm on facebook today that there is something happening with the Shield Portable in the future.
OverdriveOtaku
Member
The Shield Portable 2 will be an 8-button arcade fighting pad with a 10" tablet for a screen. And foldable fight stick. Maybe.
shinshoryuken
Member
I have a Shield Portable and I just bought this. I hope the buttons feel better than what I got on the Shield.
The trade-in value on Amazon is higher than what I paid for the device at Gamestop so that's where it's going.
Anyone have tips for Reicast? Most of the games I've tried from the downloaded emulator either crashed or did not work. Same for the Saturn emulator.
Which one you think is better, the Shield portable or gpd xd?
squeakywheel
Member
I honestly hope the GPD XD will be better. I still have an original DS, a 3DS XL, an n3DS and n3DS XL and I'm very used to their form factor and button style. I don't mind the shield portable other than it being noisy, heavy and a non pocket friendly. I ordered on Singles Day last week and still hasn't shipped. I guess I shouldn't complain for $120USD shipped for the 16GB model.
I'm just hoping it arrives before Xmas (China shipping is notoriously slow).
shinshoryuken
Member
Thanks for the feedback.
Would getting a Shield be worth it if I can get it for cheap?
squeakywheel
Member
I suggest trying out the shield portable first if you can. It was the only game in town 2 years ago when it comes to having a full controller integration but blutooth controllers aren't bad now. The fan noise when gming annoyed me so I barely used mine. I think of it as a heavy 360 controller with a 5 inch phone screen.
PC game steaming and the geforce now subscription is also another plus if you're into pc gaming on the go. I'm a console guy so those aren't pluses for me since I tried a few titles and I thought it was kind of clunky. YMMV of course.
PC game steaming and the geforce now subscription is also another plus if you're into pc gaming on the go. I'm a console guy so those aren't pluses for me since I tried a few titles and I thought it was kind of clunky. YMMV of course.
So wow, despite only shipping on Wednesday, my XD just arrived first thing today (Monday). This was with free shipping too, so consider my mind blown.
Haven't had time to fire it up yet, but a cursory glance shows it to be in perfect condition physically. Will take it to work with me and report back with some more thoughts later.
Haven't had time to fire it up yet, but a cursory glance shows it to be in perfect condition physically. Will take it to work with me and report back with some more thoughts later.
OverdriveOtaku
Member
Where did you order it from and what region are you in?
Post some pics of it if you can, never hurts to have more user images of the device.
OverdriveOtaku
Member
Thanks for the quick pic. I like seeing more images since everyone has said it doesn't feel cheap like some of the JXD units others have mentioned. And with Black Friday around the corner I'm still juggling my budget around, seeing when I can get this for myself.
Based on the few minutes I've actually handled the thing, it feels pretty nice. Good amount of weight to it, nothing seems to rattle and the shell feels solid and well-finished.
Will aim to get some more photos up later today.
Valkyri von Thanatos
Member
Has anyone emulated any of their DS games on this? It seems the lack of a bottom screen means that the horizontal placement of the emulated screens would be the best way to go without making the screens super small and illegible. But still, some games just can't work like that, like Sonic Rush which uses the tall display space all the time to show upper and lower parts of the levels. So does a vertical placement of the emulated screens look alright, or is it just super tiny?
$120? Where did you buy it?
squeakywheel
Member
Aliexpress during singles day on Thursday. Not sure about the shop though so it's a risk.
Okay, some quick thoughts on the device after a couple of hours of mucking about.
Screen
No complaints here. Bright, sharp, colourful.
Shell
Pretty damn good. The back of the screen (i.e. the top) has a glossy finish, but mercifully that's the only part that does. We're not talking about a Vita-level production here, but it's a clean, solid, no-frills piece of work.
Sticks
These are great stuff. I've not used them a ton yet, but I'd say they're easily on-par with the Vita sticks.
D-Pad
A bit soft/mushy, but perfect servicable. Fighting game players and whatnot might take issue, but I think it'll be a-ok for most players.
Face Buttons
As with the D-pad, these are pretty soft/mushy to use. Probably the most disconcerting thing about them is that when you've pressed them as far as they'll go they're basically flush with the casing, unlike a PS3/360 controller where the buttons remain about case-level. I found them a bit weird for games that require constant holding (CTR was my test case), but they seem fine elsewhere.
Shoulder Buttons
These are pretty neat. They're actually most similar to the buttons on a mouse; they're very shallow and clicky, but they feel pretty nice to use.
Other buttons
For stuff like Start, Home, Back, Select, L3, R3, Volume, etc we've got some pretty standard, clicky buttons. Very little action, and very solid. Totally fine for what they are.
Ergonomics
Will take some getting used to for sure. How you hold the device will depend on how important shoulder buttons are to a given game; I found it quite tricky in a shoulder-button heavy game like CTR, but obviously I'm not used to the layout yet.
Sound
I'm no audiophile, but it sounds good to me. Loud, clear, etc. Headphones sound fine also.
Software
The default launcher is ugly as sin, so I switched back to the default Google launcher for now. Will be exploring other launchers over the next few days.
And a couple of pictures (can provide more on request):
I've not tried it yet, but I'm pretty sure you're going to be stuck with tiny screens no matter what you do. The screen on the XD isn't tiny, but I seriously doubt it'd be usable for DS games that use a lot of touch controls.
Screen
No complaints here. Bright, sharp, colourful.
Shell
Pretty damn good. The back of the screen (i.e. the top) has a glossy finish, but mercifully that's the only part that does. We're not talking about a Vita-level production here, but it's a clean, solid, no-frills piece of work.
Sticks
These are great stuff. I've not used them a ton yet, but I'd say they're easily on-par with the Vita sticks.
D-Pad
A bit soft/mushy, but perfect servicable. Fighting game players and whatnot might take issue, but I think it'll be a-ok for most players.
Face Buttons
As with the D-pad, these are pretty soft/mushy to use. Probably the most disconcerting thing about them is that when you've pressed them as far as they'll go they're basically flush with the casing, unlike a PS3/360 controller where the buttons remain about case-level. I found them a bit weird for games that require constant holding (CTR was my test case), but they seem fine elsewhere.
Shoulder Buttons
These are pretty neat. They're actually most similar to the buttons on a mouse; they're very shallow and clicky, but they feel pretty nice to use.
Other buttons
For stuff like Start, Home, Back, Select, L3, R3, Volume, etc we've got some pretty standard, clicky buttons. Very little action, and very solid. Totally fine for what they are.
Ergonomics
Will take some getting used to for sure. How you hold the device will depend on how important shoulder buttons are to a given game; I found it quite tricky in a shoulder-button heavy game like CTR, but obviously I'm not used to the layout yet.
Sound
I'm no audiophile, but it sounds good to me. Loud, clear, etc. Headphones sound fine also.
Software
The default launcher is ugly as sin, so I switched back to the default Google launcher for now. Will be exploring other launchers over the next few days.
And a couple of pictures (can provide more on request):
I've not tried it yet, but I'm pretty sure you're going to be stuck with tiny screens no matter what you do. The screen on the XD isn't tiny, but I seriously doubt it'd be usable for DS games that use a lot of touch controls.
outunderthestars
Banned
Any chance of anyone shooting a video of Skies of Arcadia running on it?
minor effort
Banned
Drastic gives you extensive options for customizing the size and placement of the two screens. The vast majority of DS games seem to rely on one main screen where the game primarily takes place, and a secondary screen of varying levels of importance, usually containing stats. I usually put the secondary screen off to the side on the left/right as opposed to on the top or bottom.
For those games where both screens are equally necessary at all times and need to be placed vertically, an example being Contra 4, I'd imagine the GPD XD is less than ideal. But I think for most of your DS games Drastic will do just fine.
OverdriveOtaku
Member
Nice photos and impressions! From turning it on to loading a game into the unit, how long was it before you were good to play?
Thanks!
It's pretty damn quick to start for an Android device; certainly a lot quicker than my Nexus 5 (phone) or Nexus 7 (tablet). I don't have it with me today, but I can time it out for you later tonight.
Launching games is basically as quick as your emulator is. The main ones I've tried (epsxe, reicast, mupen) are basically as fast as you can hit the buttons.
Got mine yesterday from wilgoo and absolutely loving it. Only issue I had was excess glue at the GPD logo that looked nasty, but cleaned that up quickly and now pristine.
Some quick impressions (spent 1-2hrs)
Build quality, solid, good weight, no imperfections. Slight creak raising the screen, but no resistance when doing so. Very sturdy and I'd put it above the old 3DS XL in terms of build quality.
Screen, very clear, minimal/near no ghosting, input lag: felt none, but need more time. 720p with good contrast performance. Going to have to see how it handles a variety of content. No dead or stuck pixels. Touch screen, perfect.
Controls and ergonomics. DPAD is very mushy, and a bit small but it is accurate. I had no issue performing combos, specials, cancels etc in 3rd Strike. The back end, with the triggers felt a bit weird due to placement. The buttons are beside each other. I'd assume with extended play my medium sized hands would cramp up. Buttons are also a tad mushy, far less than the DPAD and the feedback in pressing them is fine. The analog sticks are a real treat and I found no dead zone issues. Small complaints here but time will tell.
As for other stuff.
Battery life appears to be the real deal. My time with WiFi, downloads going, and brightness maxed and playing PS1, MAME and Dc, only ate 11% off a full charge.
The custom launcher is really nice. Horizontal list of systems and instructions on how to add games are provided. A good albeit unnecessary selection of apps preloaded (Facebook and Skype). Good ones (A media center app, MX Player, and SuperUser to name a few)
No idea if this is across the board but it had a heavy amount of preloaded ROMs. From MAME to DC.
Gamepad mode was defaulted to Xbox 360.
Not sure why the inputs handled differently, but first game I ran was one of the pre-installed ROMs off the start screen, SF Alpha (3 I think) which appears to boot mame4all. I couldnt execute any special, HCF and HCB etc weren't working on the DPAD. Changing this to PS3 in the gamepad manager solved this. No idea why but worth noting.
Overall, extremely impressed and I recommend this to anyone looking for a handheld device for retro emulation. This is for every intents and purposes, completely geared for it.
Thank you OP and all the impressions leading me to the purchase.
Some quick impressions (spent 1-2hrs)
Build quality, solid, good weight, no imperfections. Slight creak raising the screen, but no resistance when doing so. Very sturdy and I'd put it above the old 3DS XL in terms of build quality.
Screen, very clear, minimal/near no ghosting, input lag: felt none, but need more time. 720p with good contrast performance. Going to have to see how it handles a variety of content. No dead or stuck pixels. Touch screen, perfect.
Controls and ergonomics. DPAD is very mushy, and a bit small but it is accurate. I had no issue performing combos, specials, cancels etc in 3rd Strike. The back end, with the triggers felt a bit weird due to placement. The buttons are beside each other. I'd assume with extended play my medium sized hands would cramp up. Buttons are also a tad mushy, far less than the DPAD and the feedback in pressing them is fine. The analog sticks are a real treat and I found no dead zone issues. Small complaints here but time will tell.
As for other stuff.
Battery life appears to be the real deal. My time with WiFi, downloads going, and brightness maxed and playing PS1, MAME and Dc, only ate 11% off a full charge.
The custom launcher is really nice. Horizontal list of systems and instructions on how to add games are provided. A good albeit unnecessary selection of apps preloaded (Facebook and Skype). Good ones (A media center app, MX Player, and SuperUser to name a few)
No idea if this is across the board but it had a heavy amount of preloaded ROMs. From MAME to DC.
Gamepad mode was defaulted to Xbox 360.
Not sure why the inputs handled differently, but first game I ran was one of the pre-installed ROMs off the start screen, SF Alpha (3 I think) which appears to boot mame4all. I couldnt execute any special, HCF and HCB etc weren't working on the DPAD. Changing this to PS3 in the gamepad manager solved this. No idea why but worth noting.
Overall, extremely impressed and I recommend this to anyone looking for a handheld device for retro emulation. This is for every intents and purposes, completely geared for it.
Thank you OP and all the impressions leading me to the purchase.
stone drum
Neo Member
Yes, with the pre-loaded roms, the xbox 360 gamepad settings dont do diagonals right. But if you set it to ps3 it is just fine. But i recommend just getting quality emulators and tossing out the preloaded emulators. For reicast, the dreamcast emulator, you actually have to have the gamepad settings set to 360 mode for it to work.
Also, I want to add after a few weeks of use, my d pad isn't mushy anymore. I never had a problem with it, but now it just feels a little more like a ds lite d pad if you all are familiar with it? Maybe it needed a little breaking in. My screen hinge no longer creaks either. Still no complaints at all with the d pad. I like it a lot actually
Valkyri von Thanatos
Member
Thanks for all the impressions everyone!
So it works well when the two screens don't need to be vertical? Thanks.
So it works well when the two screens don't need to be vertical? Thanks.
minor effort
Banned
Well, technically it works fine with two screens positioned on top of each other. They're just going to be on the small side. If you can live with smallish screens it's doable.
You can also turn the whole system vertically for more vertical screen space, but it'll be awkward to hold, I'm sure.
Just tested this, going from the XD switched off to running a game in ePSXe (loading a save-state to bypass menus etc) took 32 seconds. About 20 of that was the device booting up.
Valkyri von Thanatos
Member
Anyone tried getting the hacked(?) remote play app and tested if they could play PS4 games remotely with this? I wonder if the mapping feature or the settings of the Android app can make it actually better featured than using it on Vita. It would be kind of sad for the Vita to be surpassed, but having full trigger and stick click support would be awesome.
Ooh, I didn't think of this. I'm getting one of these asap.
minor effort
Banned
Has anyone here bothered much with the firmware updates for the GPD XD? I haven't yet, personally, and from the look of it other GPD boards are littered with complaints about firmware updates having issues installing from certain SD cards.
For the most part I can't even find a changelog for these firmware updates. Am I missing anything by not updating it? Right now I'm taking an "if it ain't broke don't fix it" approach to my GPD XD. Last thing I would want is to encounter a catastrophic error when updating the firmware and brick this thing.
For the most part I can't even find a changelog for these firmware updates. Am I missing anything by not updating it? Right now I'm taking an "if it ain't broke don't fix it" approach to my GPD XD. Last thing I would want is to encounter a catastrophic error when updating the firmware and brick this thing.
Didn't even know there were any to be honest.
Mine runs pretty much perfectly right now, so like you I'd need a convincing reason to update before I dragged myself into anything as messy as that sounds.
OverdriveOtaku
Member
Pretty slick.
electristan
Member
Received mine a few days ago hand have been setting it up with emulators since.
So many settings and programs ti tinker with, i love it!
The built in emulators seem to work well but do not offer many options so have been looking around a found some good ones that let you setup the hardware buttons easily.
Im really liking it so far. abxy buttons are a little on the mushy side, but are registering what im asking them to do for the most part.
A huge upgrade from the Dingoo A320 performance and feature wise.
I upgraded to 338 when i received it with an old 4GB card and it worked perfectly, maybe lucky if others are having issues though.
So many settings and programs ti tinker with, i love it!
The built in emulators seem to work well but do not offer many options so have been looking around a found some good ones that let you setup the hardware buttons easily.
Im really liking it so far. abxy buttons are a little on the mushy side, but are registering what im asking them to do for the most part.
A huge upgrade from the Dingoo A320 performance and feature wise.
I upgraded to 338 when i received it with an old 4GB card and it worked perfectly, maybe lucky if others are having issues though.
The Real Napsta
Member
Can you add new software to this?
what do you mean? it's android and you can do whatever you want with it, including apps from the play store or downloaded apks, as far as i know
outunderthestars
Banned
I can't imagine anyone who is comfortable enough to use emulators having any issues with Android.
electristan
Member
I'd say so, the default emulators and UI is very easy. just put files in the folder they tell you and they pop up on the main screen. Tap to play.
And if you want to go deeper you can as the Play store is installed.
If you're gifting it to someone who isn't too tech savvy, I'd definitely recommend doing the setup for them (unless you think they'd prefer it totally stock). Android itself is pretty straightforward, but emulators often require a little poking around.
Received mine a few days ago hand have been setting it up with emulators since.
So many settings and programs ti tinker with, i love it!
The built in emulators seem to work well but do not offer many options so have been looking around a found some good ones that let you setup the hardware buttons easily.
Im really liking it so far. abxy buttons are a little on the mushy side, but are registering what im asking them to do for the most part.
A huge upgrade from the Dingoo A320 performance and feature wise.
I upgraded to 338 when i received it with an old 4GB card and it worked perfectly, maybe lucky if others are having issues though.
Looking good! Seems like you and I have pretty similar layout sensibilities too:
I'm using Nova Launcher, which seems really flexible in terms of custom icons, labels, etc.
Valkyri von Thanatos
Member
Is the GPD XD rooted? Considering it isn't even a "phone", it seems like it would have root access out of the box. The wallpaper you've got is pretty cool, could you provide a link?
What launcher is that, and could you give a link for that wallpaper? Is it live?
Edit:
I just checked what kind of Wi-fi specs this has, and unfortunately it apparently only goes up to 2.4ghz. It seems 5ghz is ideal for remote play with PS4, so it may not be capable of being used as a remote play device reliably. Oh well.
No probs, wallpaper HERE.
Not sure if the device is rooted, but I certainly haven't done anything like that myself.
The Real Napsta
Member
Yeah, that's what I meant. Just wondered if it was locked in that launcher mode or not.
Thanks.