R Gampark Holding Serious About The Gp2x


Hobo

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Hi all i would just like to ask u guys r GPH into their new handheld. All these bugs and issues with the handheld rose the minute it hit the Korean streets. I don't know whats happening with their company but i don't think it is good releasing a handheld with problems like these. :(
 
Hi all i would just like to ask u guys r GPH into their new handheld. All these bugs and issues with the handheld rose the minute it hit the Korean streets. I don't know whats happening with their company but i don't think it is good releasing a handheld with problems like these. :(

Hobo...

Most of the issues are firmware issues. The firmware was rushed so that the product would meet the Nov. 11th street date. This was because the 500 of us that ordered were promised the units on Nov. 4th. We should see most of these problems disappear with updated firmware.

The big problem for me is the poor battery life. On a normal pair of AA I get maybe 45 minutes of video. Sometimes not even that. I have purchased a pack of 4 Sanyo NiMH rechargeables rated between 2300 and 2500 mAh. I will see if these improve the situation.
 
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Not one of the reported "issues" would stop me from buying a GP2X. And they will all be fixed shortly. It's just the firmware. My wife bought a $3,000 Canon digital camera this year which was released with terrible firmware which crashed the camera randomly and wiped certain CF cards (which is a DISASTER for a professional photographer). One update later, it's perfect.

The GP2X problems are *nothing* compared to most devices. Boy there are some drama queens around.

The GP2X was really designed for people who like to futz around with gadgets, people who don't run away screaming when tapped on the shoulder by the Linux penguin. I guess it's just not right for those who want everything spoon-fed.
 
The big problem for me is the poor battery life. On a normal pair of AA I get maybe 45 minutes of video. Sometimes not even that. I have purchased a pack of 4 Sanyo NiMH rechargeables rated between 2300 and 2500 mAh. I will see if these improve the situation.

All companies always lie about battery life. Eg ipod, PSP etc
Why!!! :angry: :angry: :(
 
fomit said:
The big problem for me is the poor battery life. On a normal pair of AA I get maybe 45 minutes of video. Sometimes not even that. I have purchased a pack of 4 Sanyo NiMH rechargeables rated between 2300 and 2500 mAh. I will see if these improve the situation.

That's also a firmware issue. The machine is running at maximum 2 x 200mhz constantly. Once fixed, it will probably only run at 1 x ~100mhz

And yes, good batteries should help a lot as well. Expect 6-8 hours once the above issue has been resolved.
 
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I wont say they are lieing, of course if you use cheapass batetrys that may have only about 700mah they dont last as long as 2500/2700mah batterys.
Lets say gp2x draws 400ma (gp32 draws 300, seems realistic),
700mah = 1,75 hours / 105 minutes (currently the low end rechargeables)
1700mah = 4,25hours / 255 minutes
2100 mah = 5,25 hours / 315 minutes
2500 mah = 6,25 hours / 375 minutes (currently the common highend)
2700 mah = 6,75 hours / 405 minutes (highest i did see in the wild)
2850 mah = 7,125 hours / 427,5 minutes (gp2x's figures are based on this)
evrything of course +- a few minutes depending on battery quality and so on.

Gues you see where the difference comes from.


Errors by me may be possible :)
 
im korean pre-order.
i have pair of sanyo rechargeble 2500mah and it lasts 6 hours.
if not, strip off battery interface's white coating by using knife, sandpaper or something.
http://www.gp2x.co.kr/data_commu/ymiee324_051112165430.jpeg
http://www.gp2x.co.kr/data_commu/ymiee324_05111216550.jpeg
i think this coating works as a resistance to some people's.

i think a few korean's complaints are only useless futile.
problems are only small firmware bugs.
they are noobs and don't understand gp32/gp2x scene, you know. ;)
don't care, they are just miserable noobs ;)
 
prodo said:
im korean pre-order.
i have pair of sanyo rechargeble 2500mah and it lasts 6 hours.

Thanks for confirming that, podo.

So there you go. Nothing to worry about. And ED/Craigix say this will be improved EVEN FURTHER with the next firmware.
 
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That's the spirit!

Firmware bugs? Hell, does anyone remember the GP32 v1.0 firmware?
That surely has been a big bug.
If everybody would've abandoned the GP32 by then, it wouldn't exist.

The gp2x hardware works, the firmware can easily be upgraded, and the bugs are not serious (they are not destroying any hardware or so).

And, we shouldn't forget, that there may be some none-GPH firmwares out there, knowing the GP32-scene :)

I'd say support the system whatever bugs it may have. If we won't, that may be the last homebrew system ever released.

... and there's a promising looking SNES-Emulator out there, I don't care about the bugs if just the SNES runs fine :p
 
prodo said:
im korean pre-order.
i have pair of sanyo rechargeble 2500mah and it lasts 6 hours.

Thanks for confirming that, podo.

So there you go. Nothing to worry about. And ED/Craigix say this will be improved EVEN FURTHER with the next firmware.

And, if you have brand new rechargeables, give it 5 full charges/recharges. You will see the number goes up as it takes about 5 recharges before the battery settles at its best time. Also, recharging batteries while some charge's left will shorten persived battery life because unlike Li-ions, NiMHs have memory effects.
 
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Just to hammer this point into anyone else that is for some ungodly reason still unsure about the battery situation: I have a Canon digital camera that takes AAs. I put Rayovac alkalines in there, and they lasted about 20 minutes (and Rayovac usually last longer than the standard Energizer or Duracell). I put some 2000mAh (only 2000!) NiMh batteries in there after the others died, and they lasted for a little over 2 hours.

It really is that big of a difference. Also, in another post around here, they say that a Korean unit they ordered lasted 2 hours on regular Alkaline batteries! If that's the case, expect at least 6 hours on decent NiMh rechargables.
 
One thought:

The console is currently set to the max clock speed, while this means it drains more power, it also means it needs a higher voltage from the batteries to remain powered up.

Most electronic devices are notorious for turning off when batteries have loads of power left in them (just put 'empty' AAAs from a stereo into a remote for an easy example) because it supplies a voltage which the device thinks it too low (even if it's still capable of powering the device) and turns itself off to ensure it still had enough power to do the shutdown mechanism or it doesn't damage itself by running the device with insufficient power.

With rechargables the voltage lowers faster when it drains (and they have a lower voltage to begin with) which is why devices which take standard AA's etc. almost never get the battery life indicator right when using rechargables
 
One thought:

The console is currently set to the max clock speed, while this means it drains more power, it also means it needs a higher voltage from the batteries to remain powered up.

Most electronic devices are notorious for turning off when batteries have loads of power left in them (just put 'empty' AAAs from a stereo into a remote for an easy example) because it supplies a voltage which the device thinks it too low (even if it's still capable of powering the device) and turns itself off to ensure it still had enough power to do the shutdown mechanism or it doesn't damage itself by running the device with insufficient power.

With rechargables the voltage lowers faster when it drains (and they have a lower voltage to begin with) which is why devices which take standard AA's etc. almost never get the battery life indicator right when using rechargables


It is important to select the right battery technology for your use. There is no single solution for every application.

Alkaline batteries are best for slow drain applications like clocks, radios, toys etc that use smaller amounts of power for long periods. Their internal resistance makes them poor choices for high drain devices like GP32, digital camera etc. They will not use their full amount of stored energy in high drain applications.

Li-ion batteries are good for both slow drain and high drain apps. They are good for things like PDAs, MP3 players. The problem with these is that if you don't use and keep charged at all times they deteriorate. They should be stored with a charge or they will destroy themselves. Not good for something that you may use occasionally or store for long periods unused.

Ni-MH batteries are good for high drain applications and use almost all of their energy. When they go flat there is almost no power left in them, they output near full power to the end. They can also be stored flat. These are probably the best option for devices like the GP32, cameras. They tend to self-discharge faster than other types though so they are bad choices for things like clocks, PDAs, that sip power for long periods.
 
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Almost all (maybe all I don't know) of these problems are just firmware related. There should be an update coming out soon. So just relax. It's all going to work out.
 
...if not, strip off battery interface's white coating by using knife, sandpaper or something.
http://www.gp2x.co.kr/data_commu/ymiee324_051112165430.jpeg
http://www.gp2x.co.kr/data_commu/ymiee324_05111216550.jpeg
i think this coating works as a resistance to some people's.

As a side note:
In pcb manufacturing, its common for boards to have a shellac or other pcb coating applied afterwards. This coating keeps the components and terminals on the board for becoming oxidized over the years. Its also a side effect that battery terminals sometimes get partially coated. This is common, but usually it doesnt matter. After you insert and remove the batteries a bunch of times, the contacts are fine.
 
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Does anyone know why the GP2X, or the GP32 for that matter, wasn't designed to take four AA batteries, as opposed to two, in order to improve battery life? It would surely have been more convenient to have had to replace the batteries around half as often, and there's certainly plenty of extra space at the back of the GP32...

It can't be for voltage reasons becuase the required voltage could still be maintained by placing each pair of AAs into parallel. Considering the fact that GPH must have known that the GP2X would end up being more power hungry, even after the firmware fixes, I'm rather baffled that they didn't do it. Anyone know why?
 
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