TIGSource Forums

So anyone seen this one?

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

It looks quite interesting. It's essentially an upgraded version of the Dingoo A320, focusing mostly on gaming and not as much on being a pocket pc, like the OpenPandora does. Aside from the screen size, the specs look really neat. Some extras, like the hdmi port also look interesting, since it allows you to connect this thing to a TV too. According to the developers, they're planning to create a platform similar to the Ubuntu Software center to distribute/sell both open source and closed sourced commercial games.

So far emulators seem to perform very well on it too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSq6i6Q9-qc

I think that $135 is a little too much for a restricted midlevel smartphone with buttons. My android smartphone can do the same plus a lot more. It may not have physical buttons, but there are also accessories to fix that.

$135 is actually quite accessible. And it's not restricted. It's exactly the opposite of that. You can literally run whatever you feel like on this thing, or even turn it into a bloody server. And emulators on android  will never run as swiftly as they do in open source handhelds.

For $15 more you can get a significantly better handheld, JXD S7300 (http://www.willgoo.com/jxd-s7300-dual-core-hd-gamepad2-dual-joystick-lr-buttons-8gb-p-306.html?referrer=CNWR_4551336411668).

Sorry, I was referring to restrictions in regards to mobile communication. I'm not saying it's too expensive for what it offers technically - I'm just saying that, if you are willing to spend 20 bucks more, you are able to get a smartphone with about the same specs.
I haven't tried emulating a ps1 or n64 on my android devices yet, but emulation worked flawlessly for any of the previous console generations. Anyway, I can't imagine that a 1ghz dual core processor and 1 gb of ram aren't capable of running a ps1 emulator smoothly.

From what I know, PS1 is no problem to emulate on Android. It was AFAIK working on HTC Desire (which is quite old, 1 core 1GHz) and similar devices. Today's devices with 1.5GHz or more and 2 or more cores should be able to handle it quite smoothly.

Plus contract. Some people also prefer separate devices for the sake of battery life. Besides there's the point of the GCW being completely open source, which means you can simply install android on one, if you feel like.


Not as flawlessly as you might think. Android has been plagued with a sound issue all these years that still hasn't been fixed. Check it out. Explanation at the video description.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzXRyFQM3Ts

And in other news, they just announced they're boosting their hardware a little. The GCW will now have 512mb ram and 16gb of storage space. Price will remain the same.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gcw/gcw-zero-open-source-gaming-handheld/posts/385990

Am I the only one underwhelmed by this device? It's quite underspecced for the price...as mentioned previously, those Android devices seem a much better proposition.

I know everyone harps on about how the device is open, but just how easy will it be to install a new OS? How easy will it be to get proper hardware accelerated drivers for the components? If it's anything like the Dingoo (I own one of the first one batch, a Wiz and a Caanoo) you'll be stuck with a sub-par dev experience...

This is just my 2c, though. Am I overlooking something?

Specs =/= performance and community. This one happens to perform wonderfully and has a great community behind it (Dingoo one). Check these. Also read my previous post. The hardware has just been upgraded.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSq6i6Q9-qc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJUKIWi2-wI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meTF82vlFxw


Just as easy as installing a new OS on your computer. Ever tried booting up a linux distro?
 

Read the kickstarter page. They already made their own drivers for it. Both the original Dingoo and the GPX family never had a real developer scene (as opposed to their hacking scene) of their own because they were poorly supported by their own developers. This a different case. It's being made by some folks of the Dingoo community and they already have some plans to create an online store / software center to buy and sell games.

I get that they've optimized the older emulators quite nicely - but the hardware is still pretty weak for that price point. What incentive is there for me to get this device rather than one of the many generic Android devices out there (that are more powerful and roughly the same price)?

Yeah, I read that they've written their own drivers, but the GPU still only has a proprietary driver and it doesn't look like they're going to roll their own one. This for me is a showstopper. What are the chances that the GPU driver will be accelerated under a different OS?

I like the fact that more people are becoming aware of the myriad devices that are at their disposal now, but I just don't see this one being any different from the Dingoo/Wiz/Caanoo/Gemei...

EDIT: Don't get me wrong, I'd love for them to prove me wrong. It's an incredible amount of fun poking at the bare metal and tinkering with the OS. I'm just skeptical is all.

I already explained before why Android doesn't perform as well as open source handhelds in terms of emulation even with superior hardware. Not only it isn't really built nor optimized for that, as most emulators also happen to be shoddy ports of linux emulators. To get complete freedom, you also have to root them.


Hardware secrets. They were probably forced to sign and NDA before making the drivers. Alternatively you can use these (https://github.com/laanwj/etna_viv). A FLOSS reverse engineering attempt at the GCW's GPU.


Well, I already mentioned they're planning a software center, and there will be direct support for developers, unlike all chinese/korean handhelds. It's also more powerful hardware wise than all of them, which makes a difference too. Besides, it just feels nice to support true open source development.


It's ok, but it also boils down to how much you care about matters of software freedom. Personally I really feel it's the right way to go, and supporting projects like this is really what makes the difference.

Oooh, thanks for the link - I didn't know someone had started a driver for the Vivante chipset!