GP2X, me too.

[Reaperman@home]

well, gp2x's here, I thought I'd give my first impressions.

Externally it's smaller than expected--almost the exact size and weight of the original GBA but shaped more squarely. Its control buttons are rather small with a short throw and are clustered closely together--think of the nintendo DS. My thumb (even with my little girl hands) nearly covers up all four of them. It will take me some getting used to. The control stick, which is the subject for most of the gp2x forum complaints, is a shallow convex design with minimal grip. It's an 8-way, rather than a 4-way, which causes some issues in programs that aren't really written to take this into account. The screen is a large and beautiful 320x240 but the actual system resolution is 720x480 (for the TV-out). It's a nearly perfect resolution and aspect ratio for emulation. Because of this large screen, the stick and buttons are placed very close to the edge. While this isn't uncomfortable, it does take some getting used to. The speakers are a true wonder--there are actually two of them, and they actually work. They're the type commonly found in those cell phones with mp3 ringers so they'd function in loud places where normally portable users would rely on headphones (like inside aircraft). The gp2x's plastic construction is fair, with two milk-juggy faceplates separated by a riser of fine ABS plastic. You also get the 'privilege' of placing your own screen protector, giving you a real sense of 'ownership' of the dust particles trapped under it

Inside are two, extremely capable, 200mhz processors. These are actually rated at 266, and will most will overclock to around 275-299mhz with the proper simple application. I've also seen them scale as low as 166. However, the screen with the current firmware (1.01), has a scan line issue which moves at different rates depending on the system clock. There are applications which ease this, and the problem is expected to be fixed in the next firmware. The processors are very power hungry, which wouldn't be a real problem except that THE SYSTEM BECOMES HIGHLY UNSTABLE AS BATTERY VOLTAGE DROPS. Alkaline batteries are good for about 45 minutes before it goes crazy, but nimh rechargables which don't drop voltage nearly as badly, do fine for quite a few hours. Also remember, this is a linux PC, your xbox takes 20 seconds to boot up, and so does this system. Keep in mind that the main launch for this system is in January and we all bought this system fully knowing the firmware quirks.

Built in applications (movie, music, text, pic viewer) function flawlessly and are very user-friendly. The movie player especially, functions like a champ taking nearly every type of video I could throw at it. 20-minute episodes ranging from a high quality 220MB, all the way down to a super-compressed 20-30MB functioned as they should. Proprietary formats are out for now (mov, asf, etc) but the majority of mpgs/avis are fine. Picture viewer doesn't seem to zoom or preview, but it shouldn't be difficult to write a replacement.

As far as homebrew, there is no 'scene' has ever moved more rapidly. Every day, it seems like something new is coming out, and thanks to the pure power of this system they're all generally playable, however user niceties are lacking, and most programs/games/emulators need some hefty optimizing. Voluntary programming standards also have not yet been agreed upon.
As far as polished and complete products, the sega genesis emu (drmdx) is the real 'killer app' for the system, which isn't exactly music to the ears of the owners of all the other homebrew handhelds with tons of polished emulators. However gp2x is blessed with a community merged together out of both the gp32 and zodiac communities, so while the user base is only ~8000 people, numerous high-quality games are on the way. I'll probably compile and test my own 'hello world' tonight--but don't count on much from me, most of my programming has been in accounting software.

As far as the future of GP2X, firmware fixes are due in the next couple weeks. The battery light will finally do something, and the TV-out will be 'deactivatable' to save battery life. (200ma draw) The screen *will* look better. For non-firmware fixes, the SDK will become user-friendly, bluetooth upgrade is on the way and sdio wifi is being looked at.

Lastly, I'm far from a sony fanboy (obviously) but as it stands right now, the psp seems to have far more polished homebrew software (due to userbase), and a screen with roughly twice the number of pixels as the 2x. though thanks to the aspect ratio, not all of them are especially usable. Anyway, I've got to get back to playing with this thing.

[GamingRev]

Shanagins! Im calling Shannagins on you!

"and a screen with roughly twice the number of pixels as the 2x"[/quote]

[Reaperman@home]

psp screen resolution: 480x272 = 130,560 pixels
gp2x screen resolution: 320x240 = 76,800 pixels

so the PSP screen does have roughly twice the number of pixels on it as the 2x has. (1.7 times actually) Now, the gp2x 'max video resolution' is 720x480 (345,600 pixels) but this is not displayed on the unit's built-in screen, and most likely will become useful with the TV-out. I'm hoping to build a docking station at some point.

[Triton]

yep, the gp2x is a fantastic little machine, the screen is SO good it really is

[Turbo Tax 1.0]

you lucky guy they sent me an email on the 19th saying they shipped mine i hope it gets here before Christmas or at least around that time

[Triton]

should be to you before the 23rd i think

[Reaperman@home]

it's never a good xmas when the gifts are still in the mail.

but anyway, I really don't want to give the impression that the screen is no good on the 2x--it is actually quite beautiful, but has some issues that I've seen are generally fixable from within the firmware. The refresh rate feels higher than the PSPs (likely thanks in part to that limited resolution) so ghosting will never be the issue that it is on that system. Also that 20 second boot time will probably be reduced when a slimmer, user-created OS replaces the onboard linux. I hear there's one pretty deep into the works.

I'm also quite pleased with the gb/gbc and commodore 64 emulation--but these both have some user-friendliness issues to work through. Word on the street is that we're days away from a mame with somewhat playable system16, cps1, and mvs.

[MaDnEsS]

Shanagins! Im calling Shannagins on you!

"and a screen with roughly twice the number of pixels as the 2x"

[/quote]

clasic south park nice

[Turbo Tax 1.0]

i thought shananigans was from super troopers, what ever

[MaDnEsS]

i just watched super troopers last night i think its on there too though i love thaht movie

[Turbo Tax 1.0]

i just watched super troopers last night i think its on there too though i love thaht movie

agreed they are both hilarious

[MaDnEsS]

your under arest for litering and...... litering and...... litering and...... litering and...... litering and someking the reafer(i didnt spell that right)