GP2X handheld lets penguins run amok

ENTHUSIASTS REJOICE. The world's best underdog handheld is back is and it's better than ever. The people who brought us the GP32 handheld have recently released its successor, the GP2X and while it's certainly not everyone's cup of tea it does appear to have strong geek appeal.

Let us first look at the specs. The GP2X gets its name from the 240MHz dual core CPU which incidentally can be overclocked in the software. Onboard is 64MB of RAM and another 64MB of NAND memory, which is where the OS and other pre-installed files live. There is a 3.5-inch 320 x 240 backlit LCD with custom graphics hardware and TV out. The GP2X supports SD cards for the bulk of its storage. All the ports have rubber covers to keep them out of harm's way while not in use.

The front of the device is dominated by the screen and the control set up consists of four face buttons, a digital joystick, two shoulder buttons as well as start, select and volume buttons.

Along the top is the headphone socket and the SD Card slot. On the left hand side is the power slider switch and the right hand side sports the mini-USB port and the adaptor power socket. Along the bottom you can access the Ext port, a custom port for connecting things like the TV-out cable.

The GP2X runs on AA batteries, which can provide around four to 10 hours of life, or you can connect a 3V power adaptor, neither of which is included with the unit. It should be noted that the duration very much depends on what batteries you are using and what you are doing, the ten hour mark is only really obtainable if you're listening to music with the screen turned off. I would recommend rechargeable batteries to anyone, but at least you know that if you run out of power you can pop into any shop and pick up a fresh pair of double AAs. I strongly suggest not being smart and asking your sister if you can borrow hers, it's likely to hurt.

The biggest attraction for the GP series has to be its open source nature. It runs on Linux and absolutely every aspect of the software is available to the end user, meaning there are countless applications out there of varying levels of stability and usefulness. There are even several home brew versions of the firmware floating around.

As gaming kit there are only a handful of games out there for the GP2X itself, but there are countless emulators around for you to play all your retro favourites. You can play games from systems like Amstrad, Atari 2600, Commodore 64, Amiga, Game Boy Advance, Sega Game Gear, MAME, Neo-Geo, SNES, PC Engine, Sega Mega Drive, MS-DOS and ZX Spectrum to name but a few. There is even an emulator for old Playstation games in development. A personal favourite here is the SCUMM emulator that allows users to play old Sierra adventure games.

Other well known titles Quake, Doom, Doom 2 and Duke Nukem have also been ported across to the GP2X and although the ports are available for download you'll need to a few files, mainly the maps, from your official and legally owned copy from home.

As with all emulation there is the small matter of the legality of the ROMs, but that is the onus of the owner and a lot of the older games have been made free by the publishers or fall under the banner of 'abandonware'.

Okay, so the theory lesson is over, we know what's inside it and what it's capable of, but what is like to actually use the thing.

First and foremost it must be said that the GP2X is comfortable to use, the controls are well placed so your fingers don't lock up after several hours of gameplay. Unfortunately the volume control is quite strange, I think it's controlled by each application meaning that the volume can jump unexpectedly when you fire up a new program, and if that program doesn't support volume you are stuck with whatever setting it's set to, which can be very loud indeed. Also this means that the volume setting is not remembered when you switch the device off and on again.

The screen is a nice size and is very clear, but once again there are a few small things that bug me. The viewing angle is very small so have to be looking at the screen dead on which can be irritating if you're watching a movie. The other is the very shiny cover over the screen picks up marks very easily, give it ten minutes and you'll have more fingerprints on the screen than an episode of CSI.

The sound is one factor that truly blew me away, although I listen to a lot of music I'm not an audiophile by any stretch of the imagination, but even I noticed the high quality of the sound, particularly if you have connected a decent pair of headphones.

Given its flexibility and supporting a wide range of video and audio formats the GP2X truly earns the title 'Portable Entertainment Player'. It can play MP3, WMA and OGG music files as well as play movies encoded in DivX, Xvid and AVI formats. It can display GIF, JPEG and PNG files and it also has an eBook reader for viewing text files.

The use of SD cards is a great feature as they are one of the cheapest and most widely available forms of digital media around. You can grab a 2 GB card for around £25 and you can pick up 4 GB card around £50 if you look around a little.

Conclusion
This is certainly not for everyone, it's a ballsy little system that will require some effort and some reading on your behalf, but if you want something flexible and are willing to put in the effort then the GP2X is money well spent. Fans of retro gaming will love the GP2X and with its wide range of supported formats, even if you are just in the market for a music and movie player you may want to consider one.

The GP2X is available directly from the website for £125. µ

L'INQ
GP2X