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[FUNDED] GCW Zero handheld emulation machine Kickstarter

cutterjohn

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EDITED 1/15/13 standard version RAM upgraded to 512MB
EDIT2 1/18/13 missed internal storage update to 16GB

Not really a game, but I ordered(5/21/12) the SE version from these guys(512MB RAM/16 32GB internal storage) but they've decided to go kickstarter if anyone's interested in emulation and open source games/engines in a handheld device form factor. The 1st 40 of the 150 SE variants are currently shipping out(some people have theirs already) and the balance(110) are currently awaiting clearance by customs.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gcw/gcw-zero-open-source-gaming-handheld
http://www.gcw-zero.com/

NOTE: the regular(non SE or all the rest that ever will be made) have 256 512MB RAM and 8 16GB internal storage.
1GHz Ingenics JZ4770 (MIPS based SoC) running "opendingux" linux 3.x based distro, originally based on opendingux for the Dingoo A320.

Vivante GC860 GPU (opengles 2.0 compliant driver not enabled yet in current opendingux builds, 2D is running via framebuffer)

Mini USB (OTG functionality being worked on)

Mini HDMI

802.11 b/g/n

accelerometer

...and I'm pretty sure that it has FM radio receiver functionality but again that has yet to be worked on ATM

There's a forum at dingoonity for it now with more information, videos, etc.
http://boards.dingoonity.org/gcw-zero/

It's doing pretty well with your standard emulators, SNES, gameboy, gameboy color, gameboy advance, genesis, DOSBOX, etc. along with Quake, Duke Nuke'em, etc. There is also a demo of multiplayer quake buried in the megathread, not sure if a link was ever setup in the video/review thread. PSX is currently a work in progress, but I expect it to be pretty good given what the Ingenics JZ4432(333MHz MIPS, no GPU) in the Dingo A320 was capable of.
 

Astral Rag

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This could be great but why use such a slow CPU and so little ram, even my phone is ( much ) faster.

Curious to see how this turns out.
 

cutterjohn

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This could be great but why use such a slow CPU and so little ram, even my phone is ( much ) faster.

Curious to see how this turns out.
SoC? Probably because it made it "easy" to port opendingux from the A320, and I'd suspect a good working relationship with Ingenics(which they probably wouldn't get from AMLOGIC, Alwinner, etc.) plus cost of SoC.

RAM : they say that 256MB is more than enough for the emulators/games that are running, and the videos seem to hold that out. You have to remember that it's a VERY stripped down type of linux distro, no X11 + window manager + desktop environment + associated memory hogs, or piggy Android. While I don't have my SE yet, the A320 had only 32MB of RAM and the emulators worked fairly well on it, so given that a standard zero has 8X the RAM and 3X "faster" CPU PLUS and actual GPU it SHOULD do very well.

But really you should go to the dingoonity forum and ask there. Justin(project originator), and many of the opendingux developers post on there and should be able to give you the straight-from-the-horse's-mouth answers v. my general speculation based upon project info to date since last May.
 

cutterjohn

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Apparently standard versions will also get 512MB RAM now, still 8GB internal storage while SEs will now have 32GB.

BTW: INTERNAL "storage" is a uSD card, so if you're not terrified of taking apart your toy, you can put a 64GB uSD SXDC in there... (it's been done by the developer's/testers.)
 
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The only problem with it is the screen resolution which is about 320x240 which is only suitable for games from 1992 backwards
if i saved some moar dollars i could get an android tablet which does dos games fine
 

tuluse

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"MIPS" lol.

Might as well just buy a used PSP then at least you have a decent screen.
 

cutterjohn

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This has a significantly faster processor and MUCH more RAM than a PSP.

320x240: Yeah. A bunch of us pushed for a higher res screen but they couldn't find one in the right price range. A drawback of low volume and having to depend on China. (1st 40 SEs were SUPPOSED to be 512MB but those funny guys in China made them 256MB... WOW! Was I evar suprised to hear that one...)

I'd rather have paid $250+ and had it made here... it's mostly automated except for case assembly...
 

tuluse

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Extra CPU and RAM you can't do anything with. A PSP can already play PS1 games, which this system can't due because of 320x240.
 
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MIPS is the same architecture as the PSP so that is an advantage, the emulators are written in machine code so they can be translated easily to GCW-Zero
stick a big screen on it and it would be worth a buy
 

felipepepe

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$160 for a portable emulator with those shitty specs? o_O My cellphone was cheaper and it runs gameboy & snes emulation perfectly... nothing else is needed.
 

felipepepe

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That Windows Phone 7.5 "Mango" thingy... it's a great cellphone, with good camera and all, but it suffers from lack of apps... you'll get basic stuff like Whatapp and Skype, but nothing even close to android or iphone's app store.

Otherwise, I had it for a year now, and it's a great purchase.
 

cutterjohn

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cutterjohn, have you ever got you OpenPandora?
I ended up never bothering to order one and they were only at pre-order stage... I understand that people that originally pre-ordered STILL haven't gotten theirs yet unless you pay even more money.

I ended up just buying a decent notebook (MSI GT725).

Probably end up with project SHIELD too IF it ever makes it to a retail product.

tuluse PSX emulation: yes you can. That particular emu just isn't publicly available yet. Even the A320 could do PSX emulation, although not always at full speed/no frame skip plus no sound. Also IIRC most psx games used lower resolution, as IIRC even all but a very few N64 games(due to RAM limitations, e.g. IIRC Turok 2 used higher res but REQUIRED the RAM expansion pack...)

RAM : it's perfectly usable by any program. One of the opendingux developers who has a 256MB prototype unit has stated that once up and running 240MB of 256MB are available to applications -> 480MB of 512MB should be available on all production units, although once enable some of that RAM will likely have to be dedicated to the GPU.
 

Angthoron

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That Windows Phone 7.5 "Mango" thingy... it's a great cellphone, with good camera and all, but it suffers from lack of apps... you'll get basic stuff like Whatapp and Skype, but nothing even close to android or iphone's app store.

Otherwise, I had it for a year now, and it's a great purchase.
How'd you get the emulators to yours? I have a 800, would like to slap something like that in.
 

felipepepe

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How'd you get the emulators to yours? I have a 800, would like to slap something like that in.
Somehow they are oppenly available in the Windows market place; there's a Gameboy Advance and a Genesis emulators there. Also a Snes one, but sadly it only works on Windows Phone 8 atm.

They are paid, but you can get their free demo which allows for only one saved game at a time and no sound...
 

Angthoron

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How'd you get the emulators to yours? I have a 800, would like to slap something like that in.
Somehow they are oppenly available in the Windows market place; there's a Gameboy Advance and a Genesis emulators there. Also a Snes one, but sadly it only works on Windows Phone 8 atm.

They are paid, but you can get their free demo which allows for only one saved game at a time and no sound...
Perfect, thanks. I actually prefer it with no sound, hah.
 

Outlander

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Divinity: Original Sin Wasteland 2 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Anybody has any opinions on the Xperia Play? I'm getting one of those in a couple of weeks.

It has some decent specs and some haxx0r dudes are about to finish a custom Android 4.0 ICS rom for it.
 

cutterjohn

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A few people on dingoonity were recommending those for emulation IF you could get a cheap one, but it never really appealed to me personally. The controls didn't look that great, and I would've only bought a used one for emulation only.

I'd rather have something like the Zero though, and possibly project SHIELD later...
 

cutterjohn

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1 GHZ? Isn't it too weak for Dosbox?
Depends upon what you're thinking of running. Should be able to at least do 386 level I'd think, perhaps even 486...

I'm personally hoping for just enough to run Daggerfall on it. Any more and I'll be happier, less and well... In one of the videos made by one of those who received one of the 1st 40 he has dosbox running Eye of the Beholder, although he mentioned finding the controls to be tedious(emulated mouse controlled by zero buttons, the d-pad in that instance IIRC, the analog nub would be better esp if it took advantage of accelerated mouse pointer movement...)

As to emus, I'm hoping that something for psx will surface more along the line of the ARM dynamically recompiling psx emus. In theory it should be easier on the Zero as both the psx & zero are based on MIPS32 arch.
 
In My Safe Space
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I'm personally hoping for just enough to run Daggerfall on it. Any more and I'll be happier, less and well... In one of the videos made by one of those who received one of the 1st 40 he has dosbox running Eye of the Beholder, although he mentioned finding the controls to be tedious(emulated mouse controlled by zero buttons, the d-pad in that instance IIRC, the analog nub would be better esp if it took advantage of accelerated mouse pointer movement...)
Eye of Beholder is a game from 1990. It requires PC XT with 640kB ram, which is a 1986 computer.

From my experience 2,4Ghz isn't enough to run Daggerfall fluidly. For X-Com: Apocalypse too.
 

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