Which will be the best emulation handheld?

[Antiriad]

First up we have the Zodiac 2 which is available already: 128MB Ram, 200Mhz ARM9 SPU, 480 x 320 Screen, Palm OS


Then the Gametrac which arrives this summer: Unconfirmed Specs: 8MB Ram, 400Mhz ARM9 CPU, 320 x 240 Screen, Windows CE OS


Then the two industry heavyweights forthcoming contributions next year:

The Sony PSP: Rumoured Specs: 8MB Ram, 333Mhz CPU, 480 x 272 screen, Sony OS


And the Nintendo DS: Rumoured Specs: 4MB Ram, 67 and 33Mhz CPU, 256 x 193 screen, Nintendo OS


Finally, the Sharp Zaurus which makes its way here before the previous two: 64MB Ram, 400 MHz Intel CPU, 240 x 320 screen, Linux OS

[Adeptus]

Originally posted by Antiriad
Finally, the Sharp Zaurus which makes its way here before the previous two: 64MB Ram, 400 MHz Intel CPU, 240 x 320 screen, Linux OS

I thought this had 640x480 screen?

[Amiga1992]

For emulation? Obviously the Zaurus is the ONLY one in that list with full potential. It already is king, just ask fromwithin

For interesting gaming, only the Nintendo DS

[Antiriad]

Got the specs here for the Sharp Zaurus.

Still if FromWithin could confirm them.

[manicx]

The Zaurus SL-C760 and SL-C860 have a 640*480 resolution. Previous Zauruses like SL-5500 had screen res of 240*320. Both 760 and 860 can sync down to 240*320 for compatibility with older software....

As for my answer, Akira covered me in full...

[ant512]

That Gametrac thing looks quite good. It'd be fairly easy to develop for if it runs WinCE. Maybe we'll see some DreamCast-Gametrac ports?

[Enverex]

The Nintendo DS specs look utter shite from that, I would be suprised if it did anything. I think it will be reworked and have those specs replaced.

[Amiga1992]

Originally posted by ant512
That Gametrac thing looks quite good. It'd be fairly easy to develop for if it runs WinCE. Maybe we'll see some DreamCast-Gametrac ports?

Come on, that thing can't be as fast as a dc,can it?

As for Nintendo DS specs. Here are the specs sent to developers:

Main Processor ARM946E-S
Subprocessor: ARM7TDMI

Memory
Main Memory: 4 Mbyte
ARM9/ARM7 for use together - 32kB (16kb*2)
ARM7 specialty use interior work RAM: 64kB
VRAM: 656kB

LCD
Screen size (dimensions)
RGB (6,6,6)

2D graphic Engine (A,B)
Background: 4 screens max.
Objects: 128 max.

3D graphic engine

Polygons: 120K/s
Pixels: 30M/s

Sound: 16ch (max 8ch of PSG
Microphone Input

Wireless communication: IEEE802.11 base protocol

Input devices
Touch panel
crosskey, A, B, R, L, Start, Select (X, Y to be determined?)

Power
Sleep Mode
"WakeUp" alarm clock within game with 3 functions

clicky here for picture of thsi sheet. in japanese

[FromWithin]

Originally posted by Antiriad
Got the specs here for the Sharp Zaurus.

Still if FromWithin could confirm them.

A few errors on that spec:

The internal RAM is non-volatile.

The OS is Linux, the graphic interface it Qtopia.

The screen is definitely 640x480.

There is a jog-wheel on the side for portrait mode.

WiFi hardware is not built-in, but software support for WiFi cards is.

[ant512]

Originally posted by Akira
Come on, that thing can't be as fast as a dc,can it?[/url]

The DC had a 200MHz RISC Hitachi CPU, a PowerVR GPU, 16MB of RAM and Windows CE. The Gametrac has only half the memory, but I'd imagine its GPU is much faster (kettles have more advanced displays than the DC these days) and (going by MHz, which doesn't actually mean anything) a more powerful CPU. It has half the screen resolution, too, so there's less work for the graphics card to do.

[Adeptus]

One of the initial games on the GameTrac:

Stuntcar Extreme is a fast-paced arcade-style driving game, similar to the original Stunt Car Racer.

Sounds good... we'll see if it lives up to expectations...

[manicx]

Originally posted by ant512
That Gametrac thing looks quite good. It'd be fairly easy to develop for if it runs WinCE. Maybe we'll see some DreamCast-Gametrac ports?

But there's a potential risk here. Why somebody develop for it and not for ordinary PPCs? How this will diferentiate to PPCs? Whatever it happens, Nintendo will rule the market. They have a strong name in the handhelds' market.

[Dastardly]

@manicx

I dont think Nintendo will dominate the handheld market for much longer now that Sony has taken an interest. Their domination hasnt received a challenge like this before.

[manicx]

Well, the same was said about Sega Gamegear that failed in Sega-favoured markets like the one in the USA. It was better than GB but it failed. Same was said about XBox and PS2. They said M$ will destroy Sony yet XBox sales have been disappointing. It's very difficult to beat companies that built a strong name in specific markets expecially in these days. Sony and game consoles will be associated to Playstation.

[Dastardly]

Who said all those things? I never heard them! Xbox destroying Sony? That was never gonna happen, but I think theyve made more of a dent in the market than I gave them credit for.

You say its very difficult to beat companies that have built up a strong name in specific markets....well the word 'playstation' these days is used by a lot of people as a word for games machine so it wont be dificult for them to move into the handheld scene. Playstation is the strongest gaming brand there is by a long way and with there marketing power Nintendo will eventually be pushed aside.

[manicx]

The arguments about Sega Vs Nintendo and Sony Vs M$ were all over the place. It's not about hardware but knowing where to go. Sony has no previous experience with handhelds whereas Nintendo is the master of the game with nearly a 20 year experience...

[Dastardly]

Sony was new to consoles until it released its Playstation and look what happened. If the amount of time these companies had been in the game was the most important factor then Nintendo would still be ahead in this area too.

What it comes down to is games are big business these days and the big boys want in on the action. Sadly the days of the 'smaller' companies leading the industry are numbered.

We may have to agree to disagree

[Amiga1992]

Originally posted by Dastardly
@manicx

I dont think Nintendo will dominate the handheld market for much longer now that Sony has taken an interest. Their domination hasnt received a challenge like this before.

People DID say Microsoft would crush Sony.

And what challenge is Sony? What BIG NAME do they have in the handheld market?

When I take out any handheld console I have (and I have MANY), people ask me "what kind of Gameboy is that?" or "Is that the new gameboy?". The name is installed with the public and if this is a handheld Nintendo better put the name "Gameboy" in it or they'll be in as much shit as when they made the virtualboy (the "boy" part confused everyone into thinking it was a portable)

[Dastardly]

I didnt ever hear anyone say M$ would crush Sony and I even went as far myself as to say it would flop, so Im surprised its done what it has. Maybe I just didnt listen to the clueless ppl who were saying it.

I didnt say Sony had a big name in the handheld market but they are the biggest name in gaming.

Sony eventually taking over the handheld crown is as obvious to me as the NGage's inevitable bombing.

Like I said before, well have to agree to disagree but time will tell.

[Amiga1992]

Originally posted by Dastardly
I didnt say Sony had a big name in the handheld market but they are the biggest name in gaming.

Yes we'll have to agree to disagree, because this has to be a joke! How many years has Nintendo iun the gaming business? And how many does Sony have? Playstation's success is because of the game licenses Sony has thoughtfully granbbed, nothing else. Nintendo are INTO the game business, they develop games themselves. I find them far more respectable in the end.