New cheap handheld retro gaming system

Bloodwych · 13 June 2009, 10:48

What do you all think of this?

http://www.ohgizmo.com/2009/06/10/ha...-on-the-cheap/

Not bad for what it does! No worrying about hacked firmware or devices like on the PSP and DS.

alexh · 13 June 2009, 11:03

Not sure I'd recommend a Dingoo-A320. Even at $83. Reportedly under powered and fragile.

A second hand PSP would be a better investment and you could play PSP games.

Bloodwych · 13 June 2009, 11:07

It does look a little on the cheap side build wise. It's all about how well that d-pad works - it's rubbish on the PSP!

For $80 I'd probably be willing to take the risk. If I was in a certain "buy" mood.

alexh · 13 June 2009, 11:11

I dunno if I'd noticed the PSP D-pad was poor. Possibly because most emulators support the Analog stick as the D-Pad? Possibly because it doesn't bother me.

T_hairy_bootson · 13 June 2009, 11:30

I have one of these bloodwych and so far its been pretty good build wise. The d-pad on the black model is slightly higher than the white models so is even better. The d-pad on this is more like a NDS or GBA d-pad than the rubbish PSP one.

Apparently a linux dual boot OS is due for release very soon so you should see a lot of gp2x software ported over including MAME4ALL and hopefully picodrive.

The emulators that it comes with are a mixed bag so far, NeoGeo, CPS1, CPS2, NES, GBA have been not bad at all, SNES and Megadrive need some work. The divx player works really well.

lilalurl · 13 June 2009, 11:37

@THB, thanks for those details.

Could you also tell us about battery duration? Especially under 'heavy demand', i.e. games with sound at a decent level or watching videos.

T_hairy_bootson · 13 June 2009, 12:04

I haven't stressed the batteries too much but the thing seems to remain charged for weeks at normal occasional usage. I have heard reports of around 8-10 hours total. I also havent tried the overclock app yet which would reduce that time but give better performance when required.

The charger it comes with is a copy of the iphone charger with US style prongs and a usb port but the prongs dont seem to detach like on the iphone charger. so I just charge it from a powered USB hub.

The most annoying thing for me is the use of miniSD cards, but if you get a microSD card with a miniSD adapter from a Sandisk or another well known name brand you are set (the cheap adapters are reported not to work in the A320). I currently use an 8GB SDHC card which works great.

Bloodwych · 13 June 2009, 13:18

Thanks for the info THB.

Sounds like a nice little box to play around with.

Charlie · 13 June 2009, 13:20

Hmmm, seems like quite a funky little machine & the price certainly puts it into the buyable category for me...
...I'd like a home-brew console but the price of entry's been rather too high so far.
(if it comes to a choice my 'play-money' always goes on the retro-hardware)

I'll keep an eye for a bit & see how any scene / development pans out.

Thanks Bloodwych

Bloodwych · 13 June 2009, 13:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charlie

I'd like a home-brew console

My fav homebrew console is still my modded XBOX. I love hardware where you have the freedom to take control.

alexh · 13 June 2009, 15:27

The wii has the potential to steal that crown.

Bloodwych · 13 June 2009, 16:14

I'll keep my eye on the Wii alexh. I must admit, I know very little about its scene.

seuden · 13 June 2009, 16:30

I can't see the Wii ever being able to exceed the capabilities of the Xbox by much. The hardware is very similar afaik so it won't be able to emulate newer machines than the Xbox can (maybe the Saturn) and I can't ever see it being able to playback hd either. I hope I'm wrong, it'll be nice to mod my Wii in the same way I have my Xbox. If someone or a team of people manage to mod the 360 or PS3 so we can gain full control of the systems hardware then we'll definitely have something awesome on our hands.

EDIT: On topic, that handheld system looks nice. Especially for the price.

alexh · 13 June 2009, 18:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by seuden

If someone or a team of people manage to mod the 360 or PS3 so we can gain full control of the systems hardware then we'll definitely have something awesome on our hands.

They have! But the sheer lack of documentation, no leaked devkit, and difficulty of modding has meant the homebrewers have all but abandoned the 360 platform.

MazinKaesar · 14 June 2009, 19:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexh

I dunno if I'd noticed the PSP D-pad was poor. Possibly because most emulators support the Analog stick as the D-Pad? Possibly because it doesn't bother me.

The D-pad was poor only in the first FAT editions. In the other releases it is better.

Antiriad · 14 June 2009, 22:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexh

They have! But the sheer lack of documentation, no leaked devkit, and difficulty of modding has meant the homebrewers have all but abandoned the 360 platform.

Damn shame, only reason I don't own one. Just soft modded a XBox 1 the other day funnily enough

seuden · 14 June 2009, 23:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexh

They have! But the sheer lack of documentation, no leaked devkit, and difficulty of modding has meant the homebrewers have all but abandoned the 360 platform.

Have they?! I know they managed to get Linux running on specific kernels and only on the early 360's but that's as far as I thought they got.

EreWeGo · 16 June 2009, 13:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by T_hairy_bootson

The emulators that it comes with are a mixed bag so far, NeoGeo, CPS1, CPS2, NES, GBA have been not bad at all, SNES and Megadrive need some work. The divx player works really well.

I thought this looked quite promising until I read this part - is it just some SNES or Megadrive games or are the actual emulators not that good, (sound, frame-rates etc?)

Anyway, thanks for the post Bloodwych!

frikilokooo · 16 June 2009, 16:04

Out of stock

anyway thanks Bloodwych

,look forward to buy one

lilalurl · 16 June 2009, 16:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by frikilokooo

Out of stock

Don't bother with the ThinkGeek 'Pocket Retro Game Emulator' version.
It is just a rebranded Dingoo A320.
Look for that online (ebay, importers etc...) and you should find it available without trouble and cheaper.

There is probably one or more Spanish dedicated forums with good addresses to order it from (at least I have found some addresses in France by checking some French forums for more details).

13 June 2009, 10:48	#1
Bloodwych Moderator Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: I'm behind you! Posts: 3,763	New cheap handheld retro gaming system What do you all think of this? http://www.ohgizmo.com/2009/06/10/ha...-on-the-cheap/ Not bad for what it does! No worrying about hacked firmware or devices like on the PSP and DS.

13 June 2009, 11:03	#2
alexh Thalion Webshrine Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Oxford Posts: 14,411	Not sure I'd recommend a Dingoo-A320. Even at $83. Reportedly under powered and fragile. A second hand PSP would be a better investment and you could play PSP games. Last edited by alexh; 13 June 2009 at 11:09.

16 June 2009, 16:04	#19
frikilokooo Registered User Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Mallorca,Spain. Age: 44 Posts: 1,154	Out of stock anyway thanks Bloodwych,look forward to buy one

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13 June 2009, 11:07	#3
Bloodwych Moderator Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: I'm behind you! Posts: 3,763	It does look a little on the cheap side build wise. It's all about how well that d-pad works - it's rubbish on the PSP! For $80 I'd probably be willing to take the risk. If I was in a certain "buy" mood.

13 June 2009, 11:11	#4
alexh Thalion Webshrine Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Oxford Posts: 14,411	I dunno if I'd noticed the PSP D-pad was poor. Possibly because most emulators support the Analog stick as the D-Pad? Possibly because it doesn't bother me.

13 June 2009, 11:30	#5
T_hairy_bootson Workbitch 1.3 Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Melbourne, Australia Age: 47 Posts: 2,084	I have one of these bloodwych and so far its been pretty good build wise. The d-pad on the black model is slightly higher than the white models so is even better. The d-pad on this is more like a NDS or GBA d-pad than the rubbish PSP one. Apparently a linux dual boot OS is due for release very soon so you should see a lot of gp2x software ported over including MAME4ALL and hopefully picodrive. The emulators that it comes with are a mixed bag so far, NeoGeo, CPS1, CPS2, NES, GBA have been not bad at all, SNES and Megadrive need some work. The divx player works really well.

13 June 2009, 11:37	#6
lilalurl Global Moderator Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: France Posts: 3,289	@THB, thanks for those details. Could you also tell us about battery duration? Especially under 'heavy demand', i.e. games with sound at a decent level or watching videos.

13 June 2009, 12:04	#7
T_hairy_bootson Workbitch 1.3 Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Melbourne, Australia Age: 47 Posts: 2,084	I haven't stressed the batteries too much but the thing seems to remain charged for weeks at normal occasional usage. I have heard reports of around 8-10 hours total. I also havent tried the overclock app yet which would reduce that time but give better performance when required. The charger it comes with is a copy of the iphone charger with US style prongs and a usb port but the prongs dont seem to detach like on the iphone charger. so I just charge it from a powered USB hub. The most annoying thing for me is the use of miniSD cards, but if you get a microSD card with a miniSD adapter from a Sandisk or another well known name brand you are set (the cheap adapters are reported not to work in the A320). I currently use an 8GB SDHC card which works great.

13 June 2009, 13:18	#8
Bloodwych Moderator Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: I'm behind you! Posts: 3,763	Thanks for the info THB. Sounds like a nice little box to play around with.

13 June 2009, 13:20	#9
Charlie . . Mouse . . Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Nowhere Age: 55 Posts: 1,792	Hmmm, seems like quite a funky little machine & the price certainly puts it into the buyable category for me... ...I'd like a home-brew console but the price of entry's been rather too high so far. (if it comes to a choice my 'play-money' always goes on the retro-hardware) I'll keep an eye for a bit & see how any scene / development pans out. Thanks Bloodwych

13 June 2009, 15:27	#11
alexh Thalion Webshrine Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Oxford Posts: 14,411	The wii has the potential to steal that crown.

13 June 2009, 16:14	#12
Bloodwych Moderator Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: I'm behind you! Posts: 3,763	I'll keep my eye on the Wii alexh. I must admit, I know very little about its scene.

13 June 2009, 16:30	#13
seuden uber cool demi god Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Kent/England Posts: 2,073	I can't see the Wii ever being able to exceed the capabilities of the Xbox by much. The hardware is very similar afaik so it won't be able to emulate newer machines than the Xbox can (maybe the Saturn) and I can't ever see it being able to playback hd either. I hope I'm wrong, it'll be nice to mod my Wii in the same way I have my Xbox. If someone or a team of people manage to mod the 360 or PS3 so we can gain full control of the systems hardware then we'll definitely have something awesome on our hands. EDIT: On topic, that handheld system looks nice. Especially for the price.

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