The Future of Handheld Innovation

[wraggster]

Shipping in a few days from GP2X Stores Worldwide (http://www.gp2xstore.com/idevaffiliate/idevaffiliate.php?id=101)comes what must be considered the Future of Handheld Innovation.

Gamepark have finally released to the Public the Gp2x Commercial Interface Board Cradle it was previously known as the Breakout Board and was for developers only.

The Cradle is a revolution to the handheld gaming community. This device is only for the GP2X (http://gp2x-emulation.dcemu.co.uk/) but it shows the world what can be done. First heres some pictures:

GP2X Sitting in the Cradle

http://gp2x-emulation.dcemu.co.uk/063cradle.jpg

USB Joypad Connected to the Cradle

http://gp2x-emulation.dcemu.co.uk/56cradle.jpg

USB Mouse and Keyboard Connected to the Cradle

http://gp2x-emulation.dcemu.co.uk/57cradle.jpg

SideView of the Cradle

http://gp2x-emulation.dcemu.co.uk/55cradle.jpg

The amazing thing about the Cradle is that USB Devices like a Mouse, Keyboard and Joysticks can be connected to it and possibly even Hard Drives giving you a system like no other. The Cradle also has a TV Out/Monitor Out so connecting up to Televisions and Monitors to play Emulators and Games and many applications is a breeze.

Heres the full tech Specs:


The commercial interface board plugs into the EXT port of the GP2X and turns it into a full computer with 4xUSB ports, RS232, Audio and Video out & Jtag.

Description

-EXT port : Connects to GP2X EXT Port.

-RS232 Port : RS232 port for developers. Monitors operating status of GP2X.

-DC 5V/3A Adaptor Jack : Connects to Adaptor of regulated voltage of DC5V

-L-Sound Jack( RCA Jack ) : Left Audio-out port to TV or Monitor

-R-Sound Jack( RCA Jack ) : Right Audio-out port to TV or Monitor

-S-Video Connector : Video-out connector to TV or Monitor

-JTAG Port : JTAG port for developer. Recovers booting file.

-USB Host x 4 port : Connects to USB compatible devices like game controller, HDD, keyboard etc

-USB HOST operation lamp : If USB host port operates normally, relevant lamp will be lighted.

DIGG THIS

http://digg.com/gaming_news/The_Future_of_Handheld_Innovation

An awesome product not just for emulation and homebrew fans but for any gaming fans. Could this be done on the PSP or indeed the Nintendo DS ?

[Emeriastone]

This would be absolutely incredible for the DS and PSP.

[Ci5tm Konfliqt]

i agree, this is the way forward for handheld(ish) gaming i think

[Micky_c_dog]

please dont flame me for this but what is the gp2x

and yeah that would be great for psp but then id be carryin round a big keyboard so i could chat msn style to my buddies lol

[SiDCrAzY]

please dont flame me for this but what is the gp2x



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gp2x

Should explain things fairly well :)

Or:http://gpnewbie.com/

Just in case you still have a few more questions.

Nobody should flame you, its not as commonly known as other handhelds such as the DS or the PSP, but its still a great handheld :)

[hadrian]

Would be great for PSP, would love to play it on my telly with a better controller (PSP one is horrible) also would be good for the DS but only for emulation and GBA purposes.

I think a handheld with this would be the future of gaming if they can make them as powerful as a home console but at about the same price.

[SpooForBrains]

Great that they finally released this. I have to say, if I didn't have a PSP, I'd own a GP2X.

However, could this be done with the PSP or DS? No. The GP2X was designed with this in mind from the get-go. It's basically a portable low-end PC running Linux, that happens to be in a game cohnsole form factor. It has USB host functionality. It has an MMU. It was designed for versatility.

The PSP and the DS in their current iteration can't do these things. They weren't made that way.

Oh, and the idea of a games console that's also a computer with standard computer peripherals is hardly new. Anyone heard of the Famicom? "Family Computer"? Historically there has been no demand for PC like performance from a console. That's why there haven't been any so far, and that's why there won't be any for some time, GP2X aside (and lets be honest, while a wonderful little device, the GP2X is still very much a niche product).

Is it the future of portable gaming? No. Is it a cool toy? Hell, yeah.

[gamerremag]

this is cool....do you think that they will make a thing like this for for the xgp (the expensive one)?

[Is'lan]

WOOO!

And forget about the PSP and the DS; this is for the gp2x, if you want it, get a gp2x. It's really just what SpooForBrains said, it's what the gp2x was really made for.

In response to gamerremag, the XGP was being created by Gamepark, not Gamepark Holdings, and Gamepark filed for bankruptcy, so the XGP will never come out now.

[Potat4o]

This looks awesome, I hope it gets implemented somehow to the PSP.

[SpooForBrains]

WOOO!
In response to gamerremag, the XGP was being created by Gamepark, not Gamepark Holdings, and Gamepark filed for bankruptcy, so the XGP will never come out now.

Hah! Didn't know that! Oh well, guess that goes some way to deciding which faction (the 2D homebrew guys vs the 3D PSP killer guys) were in the right ...

[The King]

this seems like a good ap it would help its marketing

[Is'lan]

Why is this a different post on the gp2x forum? It divides up the responses, splits communication, yo.

[Basil Zero]

PSP Keyboard FTW

thats what i want and the camera too

[x999x]

With the power the PSP has, a docking station like this should be already on the market. You want to talk about cheap computers for kids, or cheap computers for starving students, bingo, sony's much needed and untapped market...

Maybe they could ride the whole DS feeding frenzy in Japan by naming it, pspDS aka the Playstation Portable Docking Station.

[jwilds73]

Doesn't the GPX2 have a built in scaling chip also? With the PSP the docking bay would need some sorta of scaling hardware or software because scaling the image to fit the TV distorts it if I remember right. I'd be all over this if it could turn my PSP into a home console also. It just needs to have wireless built in also so you could use a wireless controller, mouse and keyboard

[Veskgar]

This is a very cool accessory. Unfortunately, as of yet, nothing has really convinced me to get a GP2X. I just don't like the look and feel as much as I do with the PSP.

Also, I don't believe the GP2X is yet caught up with the PSP in terms of emulation capabilities.

But last I knew, Exophase was working hard to bring his incredible GBA emulator over to GP2X. It took 6 months or so for a public release of gpSP so perhaps he is close.

I'm busy putting together compatibility and performance results for games that don't work fully on gpSP so hopefully they can be addressed if a gpSP 1.0 is released.

[DarthPaul]

Oh damn this looks pretty awesome.

[Shrygue]

That looks very impressive. It would be good if there was one for the PSP.

[JKKDARK]

very interesting. I would like to get it :)

[mavsman4457]

I agree that this is the future of handhelds. It really goes to show what a handheld is truly capable of and that something can go from a handheld into a full blown entertainment system with movies, music, and games on a widescreen TV powered by something that fits in your pocket. Now that would be awesome.

[Joe88]

besides the emu's
this isnt really wanting to make myself go buy one ...

[SiDCrAzY]

But last I knew, Exophase was working hard to bring his incredible GBA emulator over to GP2X. It took 6 months or so for a public release of gpSP so perhaps he is close.



He already has :)

The GP2X 2-D emulation is alot better than the PSP's.(NES, SNES, Genesis, etc) IMO.

The PSP however, still has PSX over it and a somewhat good(although impressive) N64 emulator.

Sooo...

GP2X - for 2d emus
and
PSP - for 3d emus

Both handhelds compliment each other perfectly.

The GP2X does things the PSP can't and the PSP does things the GP2X can't :)

The perfect solution would be to have both.

[Junixx]

Auurrhhggg!!! I still wish to own a GP2X, so expensive though. I've played the PSP SNES and Genesis emulators mainly...mainly the the Genesis one, and while it a great emulator, it doesn't run at full speed...or at least it doesn't for me, had to overclocked to 333Mhz too

[SiDCrAzY]

Auurrhhggg!!! I still wish to own a GP2X, so expensive though. I've played the PSP SNES and Genesis emulators mainly...mainly the the Genesis one, and while it a great emulator, it doesn't run at full speed...or at least it doesn't for me, had to overclocked to 333Mhz too

The Genesis emu(Picodrive) on the GP2X is PERFECT.

I am not exaggerating, it really is perfect :)

Not to mention it also plays MegaCD/SegaCD games :D

Notaz is a great developer.

[geise69]

It's nice to see a fellow gp32xer over here in these neck of the woods. Anyways Sid is right! The GP2X has amazing Genesis/MegaDrive emulation. I have a PSP, DS, and a GP2X. My GP2X still gets most of my play time since I love 2d gaming more than 3d, Tempest and TMNT onMAME, and Mega CD support. This Bob (which has been a long time coming) is finally going to be worth the wait.

[ZeakStarwind]

holy...now THAT'S a system I wanna get so bad! I remember how I wanted to get the GP2X before I wanted the PSP, but had second thoughts to get it later and got my PSP instead. Now I know what I'm going to get whenever I get the cash. GP2X here I come.

[jwilds73]

The Genesis emu(Picodrive) on the GP2X is PERFECT.

I am not exaggerating, it really is perfect :)

Not to mention it also plays MegaCD/SegaCD games :D

Notaz is a great developer.

How good is the Mega CD emulation and how does it handle multi disc games if the emulation is 80% or better I'm sold on one for certain.

[SiDCrAzY]

How good is the Mega CD emulation and how does it handle multi disc games if the emulation is 80% or better I'm sold on one for certain.

I'm not the best person to answer this, considering I use Picodrive for MD/Genesis only.

However if you take a look at this thread:http://www.gp32x.com/board/index.php?showtopic=36234

You'll notice that most of the games people were having trouble with, were fixed by simply tinkering with the emulators settings.

Another example of how changing up the settings in the emu, fixes games that otherwise didn't work or were buggy :http://www.gp32x.com/board/index.php?showtopic=36303

I'd love to give you an answer like 70 percent of games work or 90 percent of games work, but like I mentioned, I don't have much experience with MegaCD emulation.

The GP32x.com community will be there to help you if you run into any snags running any emu though.

http://gpnewbie.com/ might answer any other questions you may have.

If you have any specific MegaCD game you're interested in I might be able to test it out for you though. :)

[benn]

Not to mention it also plays MegaCD/SegaCD games :D



sorry and this is a good thing. except Final Fight, I cannot think of another good MCD game. seriously i cant. pls help. it had some awful video story games - what was the one with the girls having a sleepover?

are they going to release a follow up to GP32x or is it dead?

[Joe88]

Auurrhhggg!!! I still wish to own a GP2X, so expensive though. I've played the PSP SNES and Genesis emulators mainly...mainly the the Genesis one, and while it a great emulator, it doesn't run at full speed...or at least it doesn't for me, had to overclocked to 333Mhz too

use DGEN
works perfect for me :D

[SiDCrAzY]

sorry and this is a good thing. except Final Fight, I cannot think of another good MCD game. seriously i cant. pls help. it had some awful video story games - what was the one with the girls having a sleepover?

are they going to release a follow up to GP32x or is it dead?

I believe the one having to do with the girls sleeping over was called Night Trap.

Whether you think the Sega CD had any good games or not is your opinion.

Lots of people have some games they very much enjoy for the system, such as: Road Avenger, Road Rash, Snatcher, Sonic CD, Silpheed, Terminator, Shining Force, Ecco the Dolphin, Jurassic Park, Lunar 1 and 2, and others.

Point I was trying to make before is that even if you're just interested in Genesis/MD games then Picodrive plays them all flawlessly.

MegaCD/SegaCD depending on the person could be the main attraction or just a nifty addition to what is already a great emu.

Well don't know what you mean by the "GP32x"?

No such handheld exists, however if you meant the GP32, then it doesn't seem like a follow up will released.

Gamepark, which is the company behind the GP32, went bankrupt according to some reports.

Gamepark Holdings, which is the company behind the GP2X, is still fine and in business. Which is obvious, seeing as they just released the Breakout Box.

[jaws365]

Beautiful!!! Been waiting since the dawn of PSPVice for something like this for PSP...