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Gizmondo

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Gizmondo
File:Gizmondo (logo).jpg
File:Gizmondoblack.jpg
ManufacturerTiger Telematics
TypeHandheld game console
GenerationSeventh generation era
Lifespan19 March, 2005
MediaSD, MMC
Online servicesGPRS

The Gizmondo is a handheld gaming console with GPRS and GPS technology, manufactured by Tiger Telematics. The Gizmondo includes a GPS module for in-car navigation which can also be used to track player movement in real-time for multiplayer games. The Gizmondo also contains a VGA camera mounted on the rear of the device. It can send SMS/MMS messages, voice calls and email and can play MP3/WAV/MIDI music, WMV/MPEG4 videos and a variety of 2D/3D games.

It is now also possible to run homemade applications and games, thanks to the work of "Otaku". The patch can be found at http://www.takingthingsapart.org/

Releases

Gizmondo was released in the United Kingdom on 19 March, 2005, initially priced at £229. However, the price of the unit has since fallen to £130 if the user agrees to be sent a maximum of three 10 to 30 second advertisements per day through the Gizmondo Smart Ads service.(Smart Ads is not operational thanks to the Bankruptcy) These adverts was intended to include offers at the end of them, for example coupons, or free music downloads and would only appear when the user returned back to the main menu and not interupt any game or media playing. The device was released in several mainland Europe countries in Q1 2006, while it has now been launched on October 22, 2005 in North America. A catalog of over 90 games are in production for the Gizmondo with more added monthly, and it was predicted that at least 30 new games should have been released by early 2006.

The games line up was hoped to include; The Great Escape, Age of Empires, Tron 2.0, Conflict Vietnam, Colors (Worlds first GPS game) as well as many others. The games portfolio was belived to be increased through Tiger's recent purchase of Warthog and publishing deals made with SCi, Electronic Arts, UbiSoft and other major publishers.

The Gizmondo is currently no longer available from the Gizmondo flagship store on London's Regent Street, also not via Gizmondo's online shop, but other highstreet and online retailers (such as Argos, Dixons, Currys, John Lewis among others may still have a few units going at bargain prices)

Functionality and specifications

File:Gizmondo Jenson.jpg
Jenson Button helps promote the Gizmondo in 2004

The Gizmondo can play games, music tracks and movies, take and store digital photos and be used like a mobile phone to send text, multimedia and e-mail messages, voice calls will be coming via a bluetooth headset due out in the fall. Tiger have recently begun demonstrating augmented reality-based games using the Gizmondo's digital camera.

The phone service to enable people to send messages is being provided by pre-pay Vodafone accounts bundled in with the device. It can also access the Global Positioning System for use as a navigation aid. There are also plans to support a variety of location-based services, for example. GPRS and Bluetooth wireless connections are intended to provide multiplayer gaming.

Gizmondo is powered by a 400 MHz ARM9 processor and has a 2.8 inch 320x240 pixels TFT screen and an NVIDIA 128 bit GeForce 3D 4500 GPU featuring a programmable pixel shader, hardware transform engine and 1280KB of embedded memory. The GPU was added relatively late in the system's design, causing some delays for launch titles and the system, as they were redesigned.

The system's appearance and ergonomics were created by industrial designer Rick Dickinson, who worked in a similar role on various Sinclair products such as the ZX Spectrum.

Tiger Telematics planned to release a widescreen Gizmondo. It was intended to have upgrades like wi-fi and TV-OUT support. Critics said that people would wait for the widescreen Gizmondo when it came out instead of getting the regular one.

Competition

The Gizmondo competes for marketshare with handheld consoles by Nintendo (the DS and Game Boy Advance) and Sony (the PlayStation Portable).

Controversy

Shortly after Gizmondo was released in America, a newspaper printed a story linking Gizmondo Europe Executive Officer, Stefan Eriksson from Sweden, with the Uppsala Mafia. In light of these findings Eriksson resigned and at least two other resignations were reported in connection with this case. One of those resignations came from Carl Freer, the Chairman of the board and a director, who co-owned along with Eriksson Northern Lights Software Limited. Northern Lights was paid a large sum of money to create Chicane and Colors, two Gizmondo games that were actually developed by Gizmondo Europe itself. Freer paid the money back to Gizmondo in order to stop an investigation into the matter. The Gizmondo company itself denied knowing anything about Eriksson mafia ties.

Bankruptcy

On January 23, 2006, the UK based arm, Gizmondo Europe (GE) decided to enter into administration. However, on February 1st, a SEC filing reveals that Gizmondo parent company Tiger Telematics has managed to obtain a $5 million lending agreement with Laffitte Partners. [1]

On February 21, 2006, Stefan Eriksson, the former Gizmondo executive who stepped down amidst allegations of his involvement in the Uppsala Mafia Swedish organized crime ring, lost control of a million dollar Ferrari Enzo sports car which he illegally drove on the road in California, car was claimed by Bank of Scotland during the bankruptcy of the Gizmondo. The car careered off an embankment on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu and hit a pole at about 162MPH, which split the car in half. Mr. Eriksson claimed a German man named Deitrich was behind the wheel, but a search for the driver came up empty.[2] [3] The embattled Gizmondo hand held gaming device hemorrhaged hundreds millions of dollars last year before filing for bankruptcy: between January and September of 2005 Tiger Telematics lost £140m (about $244 million).

See also

External links

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