well i was looking around this site, thinking, wondering, and i came to a conclusion, the gp2x is my dream handheld! (with less power) BUT, then sadly i saw that the gp2x has no internet capabilities whatsoever... this made me think... is a open source handheld with no internet really worth 160 dollars? i got stuck on this question, BUT i thought hey, the community might have some things to say about that! so i ask you guys, what makes up for internet capabilities on the gp2x? i am a part of the PSP development community, i have coded for mac os x, linux, and windows, and PSP. anyways, thanks for you guys' time, and please only positive feedback!

What makes up for the lack of internet? I don't think browsing the net was the target of this system. It is an opensource homebrew and hobbiest handheld. It is what WE make it and not what some big company TELLS us it is. No firmware upgrades to lock us out , no exploits to figure out etc. The coders have said that the GP2X is real easy to code for too. Don't like the joystick cap? The community has a fix. Boot times too long? The community has made a new fast one. The amount of emulators and homebrew is the strength of this system. I have plenty of devices that can go on the net. Not having it here is not a big deal. Who knows it may have a solution for that someday too. All it takes is a member that wants to go on the net with the GP2X and it will be done.

well, i don't think that internet capabilities are important on a handheld that doesn't have many (at the moment none, in fact) commercial games for it. The gp2x is mainly to play homebrew games, emulators, and media (videos, music, etc.) and these rarely make use of any internet connection.

Also, don't you usually get handheld systems to use in place you cannot (or don't want to) bring your pc/consoles? In my experiences, places I would use my handheld game systems rarely had a wireless router nearby to tap into and therefore made the internet capabilities pointless.

I love my gp2x, but I recognize that it isn't exactly for everyone. If you're interested in emulation, homebrew, and some media, then you will probably love the gp2x. If you want commercial games, well, you should probably sell your PSP and buy a NDS (probably wait for the new "lite" version as it will have many improvements).

i'm all about the homebrew baby. as i said, i'm a developer, but the day i sell my psp for a ds is the day hell freezes over. but you guys have made valid points, now, is this the biggest gp2x site on the net?

Yes this is the biggest GP2X site on the net.

Emuholic and pain and spain are pretty big...

They also don't speak English in two of those. Well, some of the forumgoers there can speak it, but it would be rude of me to go there and expect them to.

The funny thing is, with great emunlators like DrMD, you an actually access commercial games. Sure they were not commercial games for the GP2X, but they are still very high level.

I was considering coding a 2d game for the GP2X, but why bother when you compete with potentially every game for the Megadrive/Genesis, SNES, Atari 2600->ST, maybe the Amiga, even PS1. Quite a few commercial games available under those umbrellas

As for GP2X and internet. I presume you want wireless (wired would be from your online PC anyway). It seems wireless GP2X has a few potential paths.

One SDIO Wireless card - I have no idea about SDIO.

Wireless USB - would require external power , might be larger than the GP2X itself.

Wireless Serial - serial communication via a 433MHz link, not a lot talked about in this regard but like USB it would be external and require its own power. It would also probably too slow for internet browsing but fast enough for gp2x - gp2x multiplayer.


Another topic not discussed yet would be a usb (or ext port) bridge to a PCMCIA wirless card. Maybe some fancy linux pig wiggling here could do it? I don't know but I doubt it. I also don't know if any USB <-> PCMCIA chips exist. Any suggestiosn people?

looks possible, but maybe not ideal.

usb - pcmcia adaptor

It's a very good point. There are loads of games you can play for free that are of excellent quality via the emulators. The games took months to develop many years ago, and their gameplay is often superb. What can developers bring to the table that hasn't already been done?

For me, the PSP brings widescreen fancy visuals, but the gameplay for most titles doesn't appear to be anything new. The DS at least has the touch screen, which seems to offer gameplay control innovation. They both offer wireless gameplay.

The GP2X... well... doesn't have outstanding hardware. It's good, but it's nothing extraordinary. Wireless could happen, but I don't think the market's necessarily the same as for the DS/PSP... I see wireless features as 'kids in the playground' functionality.

If you're thinking about developing a commercial game, then there are a few plus-points as far as I can see:

* whilst the user base for the gp2x is quite small, there feels (to me at least) like many people would buy a commercial game for it, if only out of curiosity.

* the visual effects achievable on the gp2x can surpass those provided in emulated games. There's a market for stylishly-executed games... look at how people love Vektar (I know I do).

did i see ps1... this ps1 emulator must run extremely slow... if not then i'm ordering my gp2x right away, because a ps1 emu is being worked on on psp, but it only runs at 6-8 fps. if the gp2x one runs faster, that would rock. also, how fast is the gba emulator? i like the gp2x community so far, not getting flamed right off the bat for being a noob and all, thanks for your cooperation.

GBA emulator is currently being worked on, although not very much. It's pretty slow right now.

The GP2PSX is byfar better than the PSP one. That is being worked on tremendously.... Pretty soon we will have a cult of GP2Xs with FF7 and the ilk *explodes

Thankyou for your words of encouragement to new developers. Much appreciated. [/sarcasm]

Seriously, the GP2X is a dream to code for. Very nice machine. SDL, Python and Fenix make it really simple to code for. There are thousands of games that you could port within an hour, it's that simple. Homebrew games for the system are always welcome, especially original ideas.

Don't be discouraged by emulators, it's great fun coding anyway!

ok, i'm hanging on the edge, i might buy one, where did you guys get it and where is the cheapest (so far i got play-asia at $169 USD) and what is nessesary for buying one (like the system, a sd card, power adapter, screen protector etc...)

buy it, its not like 169 is really that much
its just paper

That's the cheapest you'll get it from any retail store that I know of.

You'll _NEED_ at least 2500mAh Ni-MH batteries; I, as well as many others recommend either of these:
http://thomasdistributing.com/energizer-aa...e-batteries.htm
http://thomasdistributing.com/ansmann_batteries.php

And with that, of course, a battery charger:
http://thomasdistributing.com/mh-gtcharger.htm

And without a doubt, an SD card:
2GB (best deal out there): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16820211029
512MB (very affordable): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16820178042

You'll also need a cardreader. They're available basically anywhere, but I've froogled the one I own:
http://froogle.google.com/froogle_cluster?...oring=mrd&hl=en

Screen protectors aren't needed, and wallplugs are entirely optional, though if you do get one get the official one from ED (or... someone... )

ya... i think i'm gunna go for it, help out with the community a little also (to the extent of my C knowledge) oh k i got your reply now, thanks lol.

... or plastic

The thing is with the GP2X you get the community with it for free which I think is one of the best ever. I don't think you can really lose with the GP2X as far as homebrew. There are alot of exciting things going on here already and the GP2X is still in it's infancy. There is still alot of power to tap and tricks to be discovered. Go for it I think you will be glad you did

If nobody has said this yet, internet will be possible via breakout box somehow in the (near?) future, wireless? maybe.