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One of the guys in my lug picked up one of these awhile ago and its pretty sweet.. Linux powered gameboy / psp clone. Very cool... Plays his old Sega collection very well, I might add Smile

I beleive there are two commercial games for it too, and it does mp3 and pda functions in a pinch as well.
http://www.gp2x.com/

OH Santaaaaaaaa!
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sqlpython · Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2006 4:20 pm Post subject:

Yeah, they did a blip on it in this months Linux Format Mag.
Apparently introduced in 2005 but although has the Stuff has not become popular.
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fangbite · Xandrosianling Joined: 10 Jul 2005 Posts: 317

I own it. It's pretty neat. I can't wait to the end of this week when I'll finally have enough time to toy with it.

helmsdeeper · Posted: Tue Dec 19, 2006 8:29 am Post subject:

Well come on now fangbite, don't tease us too much Laughing

Give us some dirt on it!
Inquiring minds want to know.....
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fangbite · Xandrosianling Joined: 10 Jul 2005 Posts: 317

Okay, from what I have done so far.

There is plenty to do with it ranging from games to pim software to music to virtually anything. Some things require more work to get running than others.

The default programs on the GP2X are less than satisfactory. I switched out the video player (would play none of my videos), the ebook reader (word wrap was not included) and the music player only plays folders. No sort by artist, playlist etc.

For games, none came with it, but there is a host you can download to fill any tastes. Some are of course better than others. The main reason I got the GP2X was to emulate old consol games I own but the consols have long since gone screwy. There are many emulaters for the different consols to choose from with milage varying for each one. The nintendo and sega genesis I found worked perfectly (fishynes and picodrive) while the snes one (squidsnes) I had to tweak with the cpu clocking to get running adequately.

Movies played great when I switched to mp2x. They play at great frame rate (because they have a dedicated cpu to video) and the sound quality was good with headphones, though slightly lacking with the default speakers on it.

Some people have been disgruntled that the GP2X uses AA batteries instead of a rechargeable unit, but I find this to my advantage. I can play for hours without having to wait for it to charge. Speaking of battery life, I get several hours of playing with my rechargeables (2500ohm I think). You must get nihm batteries though since standard disposible barely last long enough to warrent getting them. Since a four pack of nihm batteries was 10 bucks, I couldn't complain about this.

For the size, it fits perfectly in my hands. The button setup isn't too bad and the weight is minimal even with batteries inside it.

The thing I didn't care much for was the sometimes long boot time. When I want to listen to music or play a game I want it ready in a few seconds, not up to half a minute. I find this time varies though because sometimes I'm navigating in 5 seconds, and othertimes wondering if the thing froze (no status bar on the boot screen).

While the internal memory is lacking (64mb) I like the SD/MMC card slot which more than meets my minimal needs. Also since you can get a 2 gig card for 50 bucks, getting enough for most people won't cost you much.

The interface while not really pleasant to look at, works (something I can't say for some devices out there). It's easy enough to learn and does what you need it to do. There are some other interfaces/skins being worked on, but from what I can tell, nothing that really replaces it quite yet.

All in all, this is a great toy to tinker with. If you want something that runs perfect out of the box look elsewhere. This something I wasn't happy with. The main problem lies with the video which says it supports all kinds of formats, but in reality doesn't support anything (that I had anyway). I guarantee you will spend an hour tinkering with it to get it working to your satisfaction (updating, switching programs, installing stuff).

If you have any questions that I didn't answer in this review please post it and I'll answer it if I can.

helmsdeeper · Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2006 6:32 am Post subject:

Thanks, that's a very informative review. As far as video you had that wasn't working, what type - divx/xvid, wmv etc?
I agree with you about being able to change the batteries. I own a couple dozen AA & AAA nimh Energizers, use them for almost everything I have. Much nicer than having a built-in battery pack that usually voids whatever warranty you might have if you try replacing yourself.
I also like that fact of the SD/MMC slot (64meg just don't cut it Rolling Eyes

). What is the size limit on the card it allows?
I appreciate your input fangbite!
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fangbite · Xandrosianling Joined: 10 Jul 2005 Posts: 317

helmsdeeper · Posted: Thu Dec 21, 2006 6:16 am Post subject:

Cool, thanks.
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