GP32 or PDA?


Ran-Ez

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Dec 22, 2003
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I have been looking at the gp32 and am wanting to get one. There doesn't seem like alot of commercial support but that wouldn't be an issue for me. I would mostly use it for emulation and video (like tv shows for travel).

I have also taken a look at the Dell Axim X5. It is actually cheaper than the FLU and has higher specs. 300MHz / 32mb ram for $199. + more commercial support.
I believe there is both emulator and divx support for PocketPCs.

My question is: how do you think this compares to the GP32 for the uses I am interested in and, if you have experience with a PDA like this, what do you think of them?
 
the main problem with PDAs is their lack of buttons. its very hard to play beat-em-up games with a stylus :D
 
If you're looking for the functions of a full-fledge handheld but also want the power of a PDA, take a look at the Zodiac at www.tapwave.com.
 
i would go for the pocket pc, especially if you want things like a movie viewer and apps. The gp32's storage can only go up to 128MB and it is a pain to buy more. Buy a pocket pc that has either a harddrive or compact flash memory. that's my 2cents at least.
 
the main problem with PDAs is their lack of buttons

Lack of buttons?????Wtf they have removable keyboards with lots of choice aswell with each equating at 105 keys comapred to the gp32 6 buttons,The PDAS rip the shite out the gp32.
 
I would go for a poket pc. Besides, psone emulation is awesome on it! It almost has the same amount of buttons as the GP32. Just switch them when you need to use start and select :D .
 
ok, let me rephrase it. You cannot reach all the PDAs buttons at once, s you have to hold it with one hand and use the other for the buttons. Shooting games would be fun though, you could use the stylus well then.
 
If emulation is your bag then commercial support doesnt really matter as no emulators are commercial as you mentioned.

As for PDA keyboards, used one have you for games with any action ? Too small. Plus when was the last time you played any console games on a keyboard, try say Tony Hawks or any combo based beat em up on a pc with a keyboard then say a PS2 pad. The Jaguar pad has more buttons than any other console pad and everyone loves that :)

I like my GP32 and the emulation side of it is very good, but if good SNES and MD emulators surface (the current ones aint bad but need work lets be honest) then it will be an excellent machine for emulation.

I know nothing about the video side I`ll be honest :(
 
Um, there are actually fantastic commercial emus for PPCs (morphgear), sininc. Personally if I were you I would get an Asus MYPAL A620 since the price now is 300 USD and it has the best emulation, screen, and performance of any handheld.
 
Wow I had never heard of that emu, but then again I don`t use Pocket PC`s.

I`m kinda wondering how they have escaped Nintendos and other manufacturers fury lol.

I`ve never really seen any commercial emu`s before this, please forgive me.

Are those emu`s prgrammed as a commercial product or a just ports with a price tag slapped on them ?

Just wondering if anyone here has considered whether the Playstation portable will get a decent emu scene, it`s under a year away and the price point will proabbly be low to compete with the GBA ?

All this talk of emulation anyways give me a machine that can play SWOS and i`m sold lol. :)
 
the price will not be set to compete with the gba but the gba2 which is expected to be released towards late 2004/early 2005. It will not be cheap.

I dont think it has been confirmed whether or not the psp will be open source, probably not. If not there will probably be a small seen but because it uses UMD disks it will be very small. It could on the otherhand let homebrew programs be loaded off the sony memory cards it uses. That would be good.
 
Sony will never make the psp open source they would want much more control over the software released.I recon it will be more like a GBA than a GP32
 
It (the psp) could possibly have something similar to what the psx had, Net yaroze.
Not necessary open source (as far as i know) but could open the doors to such things.

Then again, What do i know. :huh:

Trooper
 
summary:confused:

If you want GAMES (& movies) buy a GP32,
If you want MOVIES & APPS (& games) buy a PDA

Here here...

I've had several PDAs, and none have been a patch on the GP32 for gaming. The Zodiac has potential, but is a nasty (risk of being flamed) palm-based thing. So there... :)
 
What makes you think that? The Z is still fairly new, give it some time first. You could've said the same for the GP32 a little while after it was released, and look at how well the emulation scene turned out. I'm just saying, don't judge the Zodiac right away as being a shit-hole for emulators as it is still a fairly new handheld, just like the GP32 once was...
 
If you want GAMES (& movies) buy a GP32,
If you want MOVIES & APPS (& games) buy a PDA

Agreed.

I own both a Dell Axim X5 @ 400mhz, and a GP32. I use my GP32 for gaming far more, despite limitations in SMC sizes, memory and processing power. Why? It's a comfort thing.

It's HORRIBLE trying to play games on a PDA, because of the way the buttons are laid out. It was clear that they wern't designed to be gaming handhelds, while the GP32 is. Though it's less powerful, I enjoy playing GP32 games and emulators far, far more than I do with my PDA.
 
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