Could an Android Gizmondo be on the horison?

We set our moderation and staff team loose on Carl to see what they could draw out of him this time.

The following are our questions and as usual Carl’s answers are quoted below.


Do you plan to harness or upgrade the GPS in current Gizmondo’s or new Gizmondo’s i.e.: Will you approach ALK again with CoPilot, look at other companies?


Yes, we want to upgrade the GPS in the new release. We are currently looking for a GPS partner.

Will we be seeing an improved GPS chip such as the SIRF 3 found in modern GPS units?


A new GPS chip will be included into the new version of the Giz

Will the Gizmondo Servers be back? Such as the Location based, where am I, or where is my nearest, services?


We are currently building out a worldwide server farm to minimize load times for users regardless of where they are located.

What is going to happen to SmartAds? Will we see it returning to the Gizmondo?


No

Will there be additional support for audio and video files on the Gizmondo such as the widely used Divx and Xvid?


We are discussing support for Xvid but currently the audio/video formats we are planning are the ones built in to the Windows Moble Media Player which include MP3 & WMA for audio and WMV and MPEG for video. Thus far, we have not discussed support for Divx.

Will the updated Gizmondo have WIFI or 3g capabilities?


The updated Gizmondo will have WIFI. We’ve looked at 3g but the 3g boards are really expensive to add and would put the Giz outside the pricepoint we are trying to stay within. We are looking at a external USB device that could be plugged into the Giz to provide 3g capabilities.

With the change in user interface will you be using the astonishing tribe http://www.tat.se again?


Yes, we are upgrading the UI and are handling the entire redesign in house. We took a TON of feedback from Gizmondo users.

What support will you be giving to operating systems such as driver support? Last time we were stuck with using windows 98-XP will there be Mac, Linux and Windows Vista support?


The new Giz will be on Windows mobile, so there will be Vista support. Not sure yet on Mac or Linux versions yet. We are also looking at an Android version as well.

Will Gizmondo be producing its own software for purchase? Can you divulge any ideas or projects you have going?


Yes, we will be producing non-game titles. We will be happy to provide you with detail on any of our applications as they get closer to launch.


From our development community

Can you elaborate on what support you will be providing for developers and programs you will be initiating to draw them in before releasing to the public? The development guys really need specific details on this as soon as possible.


We will provide a very comprehensive SDK, free access to a new device for registered developers for testing. There will be a revenue share program for new titles as well as for Gizmondo peripherals. We are also going to launch a small venture fund for promising technologies/applications developed for the Gizmondo. We have been approached by several educational institutions who want to use the Giz for lifestyle testing, as a universal remote etc. As we said before, we are committed to developing the Giz as a platform and we want to encourage these creative ideas.

The last Gizmondo lacked any extra incentives for developers, thus its homebrew community was also diminished. Are there any extra incentives or programs for developers this time round?


There will be a chance for revenue share on any application built for the Gizmondo and sold/distributed through the website. We also have other marketing partners that have indicated they will want to partner with members in the development community.

Will developers be able to buy the Gizmondo 2.0 before the public release (Dev Unit), so that they can produce content for the community in time for the actual launch?


Yes. We will have dev units and the SDK available early in 3rd quarter.

Will there be any difference in a Developer Unit & a Normal Unit (or any other units for that matter)?


No, there won’t be a difference between the units. All units will come unlocked.

Will there be any other specific resources to help developers get started developing with the Gizmondo 2.0 (e.g. SDK, Documentation, Forums/Developer Network…)?


Yes, we will offer all of these…SDK, Documentation, Forums/Developer Network.

Prospects of Android sound interesting though it would defiantly push the Gizmondo into a future market with the boom on that platform imminent a lot of money is being invested into android and Gizmondo backing it would mean we could get our hands on a first gaming android device.

http://www.gizmondoforums.com/2008/08/06/33/