Sony's PSP continues to rule the portable game space with sexy form factor and expanding library of 3D games and Hollywood movies, but it faces new competition. Start-up Tiger Telematics has put everything but the kitchen sink in its new Gizmondo, which features satellite tracking, a digital camera, and a gyroscope. And portable giant Nintendo has a sexy new Game Boy Micro to play all Game Boy Advance titles.
When you whip out a PSP at an airport or on a train, its sleek, ergonomic design begs for attention. The centerpiece of the handheld device, which weighs 260 grams is the large 4.3 inch, 16:9 LCD backlit screen. Every movie and game looks like a work of art on PSP, which displays 16.77 million colors on a 480 x 272 pixel high resolution screen. And that's good, trust us.
About the size on an iPod Mini (four inches wide, two inches tall, and 0.7 inch deep), the new Game Boy features a retro design and sports a brighter but smaller new 2 inch screen. Although the clamshell design of the Game Boy Advance SP is more durable, this little gadget slides into your pocket for true portability. If you're young enough not to care about eye strain, this'll do the trick.
The Swiss Army Knife of gaming gadgets, Gizmondo comes with a built-in camera, GPS technology, gyroscope and a Windows CE processor. Souped-up with a 128-bit Nvidia 3D graphics card and a 400 MHz Samsung processor, this is one powerful little gizmo. The games and movies look great on the 2.8-inch screen. And the portable ergonomic design (5.43 in x 3.23 in x 1.26 in) and light weight (5.47 ounces) makes this device comfortable to play.
Function
PSP is the first true multimedia gaming device, as it plays movies and TV shows on the Universal Media Discs and through MPEG4 video files. Video and MP3 files can be downloaded from your PC via wireless or USB cable to Memory Stick Duo Pro. Music videos are already featured on some games and custom playlists for games are on the horizon. PSP supports Wi-Fi gaming for up to 16 players for plug-and-play online gaming. Ah, finally, a reason to leave the house.
Not only does Micro look retro, it is retro. There's no Wi-Fi gaming or other online features with this device. It does play the entire library of Game Boy Advance titles and there's an adaptor that will allow the Micro to play MP3 music, something Nintendo is mulling over. The ability to plug a standard headphone jack into the device would make listening to your music a snap.
Multimedia runs through the circuitry of Gizmondo. Movies (Windows Media Player 9) and music can be downloaded wirelessly (via Bluetooth) to the 64 MB internal memory or played from an SD card. Travelers will love the triband support for messaging, which will allow you to stay connected anywhere in the world via SMS, MMS and GPRS. Beyond taking digital photos and finding your way around new places, game developers are implementing the camera and GPS into actual gameplay for completely original experiences.
Killer Apps
Burnout Legends (Electronic Arts) - Spectacular collisions at high speeds has always been the lifeblood of this thrilling racer, which includes four-player online gameplay.
SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo (Sony) - Kicking terrorist butt is the name of this game, which will sync with the PS2 SOCOM 3 game to unlock new features.
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (Rockstar Games) - Set in the world of GTA 3, this open-ended game will follow an original story and pack plenty of sex, drugs and violence on-the-go.
Donkey Kong: King of Swing (Nintendo) - Fans of Donkey Konga can now take the rhythm-based action anywhere as the big ape swings through the 2D jungle in style.
Gunstar Super Heroes (Sega) - Retro gaming gets a new look with this side-scrolling action sequel to the Sega Genesis original, which shines on Micro's new screen.
Mario Tennis (Nintendo) - Nintendo's mascot brings the addictive GameCube tennis action and mini-games to the small screen in this fun, arcade-style take on the sport.
Agaju: The Sacred Path (Gizmondo) - This 3D treasure hunt game uses the gyroscope for in-game navigation and the GPS for connecting to real-world locales and offers the first person to beat the game a real 1 million pounds cash prize.
Colors (Gizmondo) - This open-ended crime game (think GTA) allows you to use the camera to put actual faces on your in-game gangster crew and then work your way up the street food chain to own your own turf.
Chicane (Gizmondo) - This arcade take on the sport of F1 racing puts you in the driver's seat of the worlds most powerful open-cockpit cars and offers wireless gameplay for up to four players.
