Hi GP Fans,

since I am kind of new to this board some things still confuse me a bit. I can't really tell what is fact and what isn't. I'd say since the release is close things should be settled by now. (PSX, Dosbox support for example?).

To the actual question. Do you think it is save to go for the first shipment of GP2X and preorder it? What if there are hardware bugs that were undiscovered until release and later versions will be fixed and the people getting one of the first GP2Xs have to suck it up?

I don't think GPH would have the funds for a huge callback.

Nevertheless I want that thing
I was reading a lot on this board and would love to play some neat Homebrew games or emulated ones on that thing (god - I love those rpgs on snes [mana, evermore, lufia ...]).
And since I love coding and linux it would be a great opportunity to see what I could do on that linux powered thing.
(A few weeks ago I was thinking about buying a bleeding edge cell phone and do some java development but those things are too expensive and are not that l33t )

regards,

dedeibel

Good question (same as I wanted to ask, btw).
I guess we'll have to wait and see. My zod 2 (costed quite a bit) was first edition and suffers a very anoying analog bug...

As far as I know, the developers working on those things are just porting now, and going to optimise further afterwards. (psx and dosbox should probably take a while)

P.S. Didn't really like evermore that much, but Lufia 1 and 2 were quite cool. Good, story.

Yeah, I am not that much worried about the software part - updating it is hopefully quite easy.
What is your bet - I guess they'll reach Version 1.75 of the Firmware

I don't have any ideas what the first gen will show, but the "view from here" looks pretty nice. I'm gonna go ahead and pre-order one, if there is a recall or something, I'll just comply and send the thing back. Maybe it will have some bugs that I can work out myself. Who knows?

firmware is being beta tested right now for another 10-11 days and then, if everything is fine, shipments should start to filter through to the retailers, starting with gp2x.co.uk

I hope they test the hardware at the same time... You know, like in those laptop or clamshell-phone factories, where they have a robotic arm to open and close the thing, and see how much it can take... Same for buttons and stick on GP2X.

The less complex a device the less likely to experience technical difficulties you are. the GP32 was mostly off the shelf stuff as is the 2X so I'd expect the same level of reliability. As far as I know there hasnt been anyone with much of a technical problem on the GP32 that wasnt caused more by there own handling of it. Software wise it's another story and I'm sure those issues will be ironed out quickly.

Though by now anyone you order from probably wont be able to get it to you til the middle of november so you probably are already destined to be on the second shipment when they get made.

With the notable exception of the BLU+, which from what I remember was a horrible move on Gamepark's behalf, but unfortunately, the only one they could make if they wanted to continue the system. If a component stops being made, you've just got to find the next best thing.

Does that mean the GP2X will have that taiwanese screen? That doesn't clear the image when it shuts off like my blu+?

That sounds like a power issue or something.

no lcd clears the image when shutted off...
and the blu+ screen is named to be actualy better than any other gp screen.

Yes it will have the exact screen. Don't worry about white bars or pixel wrap though as the GP2X was designed from day one to use this screen. This is unlike the Gp32 that was designed for the samsung screen but was retrofitted with the Taiwanese one at a later date.

Who cares if the image doesn't clear when it is shut off? It doesn't hurt anything.

Oh ok, I feel better now. I usually restart it and restart it until its completely off.

well, THAT may hurt it more likely...
wierd what idears some guys get...

Well, if I'm honest, when I first turned my GP32 off and saw the image go weird, I was a little freaked out. But it turned on again, an turned out to be normal, so there we go. Its just a little weird when you first see it.

Why does the screen do that? My sisters DS does that too.

Nobody ever had anything with a reflective lcd screen before gp32?
It does it because Lcd screens blur frames together, to enhance frame rate, or something.
1st edition unit ae usually good quality from gamepark, I have a 1st edition bllu, wityh no probs.