Tapwave Zodiac (formerly Helix)

[Diff-chan]

I just cannot emphasize enough how much better it is to buy this than N-Gage.

[Andy]

I'm really interested in the Zodiac. It just seems like they built it right, and did some thinking before throwing it out there. The CEO/representative in the CNet interview seemed very intelligent and practical, I don't understand why the N-Gage and *cough*Phantom*cough* have been handled so unprofessionally, while a tiny company like this really has it's act together.

Anyway, like everyone else, the price is just too high for me, but I really like the machine, and really hope it is successful on the scale that Tapwave expects, so that they continue to support it. If it's still around in a few months when I'm going to be in the market for a PDA, I'll certainly be heading in the Zodiac's direction.

[Jeremy]

IGN has a system launch article up - http://pocket.ign.com/articles/457/457937p1.html

Of note -

The company has also revealed that Sega will produce emulated Genesis packs, including games such as Golden Axe 3 and Altered Beast on the Zodiac system. Commodore 64 and Atari 2600 retro packs are also in the works.

Also, according to folks on the boards there, you can have custom soundtracks during games thanks to the mp3 playback.

Some Zodiac-related links courtesy of folks on the IGN boards:
http://www.zodiacgamer.com/
http://www.tapland.com - this one has a pic of web browsing with the Zodiac, and it looks amazing. It also has links to vids of it.

[ChaoofNee]

Wait... Golden Axe 3?
Wasn't that never released in America?

[Six]

... and no doubt people are working on, or have, emulators so you can play classic titles...

KalemSoft Nes Emu for Palm It works pretty well so far. Many of the NES games work at decent speed though the sound needs work. I use the Sony game controller and it's about as good as I could ask for when I want some River City Ransom on the go.

Looks like they're working on a GameGear emu as well...

[Jeremy]

I don't recall it ever being available in the U.S., and GameFAQs' listing for it verifies that. I'm looking at screens of it now (http://www.vgmuseum.com/pics4/golden3.html), and I must say, it looks beautiful.

[Frogacuda]

I can't spend $300 on this, but if it lasts long enough to get down to $200 I think I'm gonna have to get it. I'm totally in love with the design, and the Palm compatibility (which means emus and homebrews galore) guaruntees longevity.

[Mzo]

I've been meaning to get a PDA for my job for a while now... I can hold off for this and justify the $300 since I'll be using the PDA applications a lot.

Spiffy.

[Frogacuda]

KalemSoft Nes Emu for Palm It works pretty well so far. Many of the NES games work at decent speed though the sound needs work. I use the Sony game controller and it's about as good as I could ask for when I want some River City Ransom on the go.

Looks like they're working on a GameGear emu as well...

I really don't get why the GBA has really respectable full speed NES emulation, with compatibility to rival PC emus, good mapper support, and even good sound and yet PalmOS can't even play Mario 3 yet. Can someone shed some light on this?

[Lhadatt]

I really don't get why the GBA has really respectable full speed NES emulation, with compatibility to rival PC emus, good mapper support, and even good sound and yet PalmOS can't even play Mario 3 yet. Can someone shed some light on this?

The developer in charge of the Palm-based project doesn't have either the time, skills or assistance needed to finish the job.