Zodiac handheld bites the dust

DESPITE all the good news we reported on earlier about handhelds fuelling the videogames market in the current transition period for their bigger brothers, there's fierce competition in this market.

And that's seen a major casualty as Tapwave, and their product the Zodiac handheld, have been thrown firmly out the side door at 60mph on the motorway.

According to a statement on its web site, "Zodiac business was discontinued and service and support are no longer available as of July 25th 2005."

The Zodiac was released in the US in late 2003 and in the UK a year later in 2004 to critical acclaim and positive reviews.

However the price wars which it entered into with the much larger firms like Nokia and Nintendo over handhelds such as the Game Boy Advance seem to have finished the handheld which had been facing price drops in order to compete.

It's not clear if parent company Tapwave have survived the products collapse, though anyone seeking to claim on outstanding debts with the company are advised to get in contact with Ueker and Associates, a Californian liquidation specialist.

Ohh well, to quote Pink, "Goodbye cruel world, it's over." µ