Gizmondo to be unveiled at January 2006 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas

This piece of news is bound to get Gizmodo.com’s heart racing and resurrect some dead gadgets (see here) . When I was browsing through Gizmodo (the mother of all gadget blogs) awhile back, I thought they were coming out with a game player called Gizmondo. The similarity in names really was a shocker until I read into the lines and knew they were not related.

Anyway, if it hits the Asian market, I”d probably get one just to try out the Bluetooth function and blast aliens away on the local Rail Transit system while commuting. I just hope its cheaper than those PSPs and Gameboys as I’m always broke.

Some specs that I love : USB OTG interface for synchronisation to a PC, support for SD / Transflash ( Transflash cards are so tiny ), Vibration mode ( stop being a pervert ) , faster Bluetooth Class 2 speed and Wireless WLAN 802.11b/g mode.

The new model Full specification includes:

– GSM voice telephony
– Handsfree speakerphone
– Voice control using voice recognition software
– LCD TFT screen 4.0″ 480 x 272 pixels
– Upgraded 3D graphics chip
– Analogue TV out
– 500MHz (min) processor
– Onboard RAM
– Onboard flash
– SD flash card reader, externally accessible
– Transflash card reader for user upgradeable flash memory
– GSM/GPRS 900/1800/1900MHz or 850/1800/1900MHz tri-band
– USB 2.0 OTG
– High sensitivity GPS receiver with assist capability
– Two analogue joysticks
– 3.5 Ah Li-Ion ’smart’ battery
– 2 mega pixel auto focus camera with LED flash
– Stereo speakers
– Bluetooth class 2
– WLAN 802.11b/g
– Wired stereo headset/mic
– Remote control pod for wired headset

Additional features:

– SMS/MMS/IM receive and send
– Email client
– Satellite Navigation
– Audio and video playback
– Vibration mode
– ‘Flight Mode’ – games operational but radio services switched off
– Approved for sale initially in USA followed by Europe
– Temperature range 0 degrees C – 55 degrees C
– Windows CE 5.0 operating system and DRM 10
– .NET compact framework 2.0
– SD card and Transflash interfaces
– USB OTG interface for synchronisation to a PC and connecting to a USB
memory device
– MP3/WMA/HE-AAC audio playback, MPEG-4/H.264/WMV video playback with
hardware acceleration
– High level 3D games
– Smart ADDs(TM)
– Downloadable screen 2D & 3D ’skins’ for personalisation/market
positioning
– Bluetooth support for telephony (Headset/Handsfree), gaming, stereo
headset (AV)

As its name entails, the Widescreen has a larger 4″ razor-sharp display. The Processor’s power and memory are increased to power a suite of new onboard applications serviced via WiFi (WLAN 802.11b/g), Bluetooth 2, and tri-band GSM technology, making it the most powerfully connected handheld entertainment device available. WiFi expands the multiplayer and interconnectivity possibilities for all Gizmondo owners.

Steve Carroll, CTO, Tiger Telematics, says: “We’re dramatically increasing the processor power to above 500MHz on this Widescreen model and significantly escalating the amount of memory. Although the 3D graphics accelerator used in the Gizmondo is the current best of breed, this next generation takes us visually into a new dimension.”

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