[Prophet]

Last Updated: 9/30/05 (latest updates in blue)

GP2X BASIC FAQ

The GP2X is a Linux based handheld game console and media player, designed & manufactured by the South Korean based company, GamePark Holdings (GPH for short). GPH is comprised of the same design team that created the venerable GP32 handheld console, which became popular amongst homebrew and emulation circles around the world.

Link: GamePark Holdings GP2X Official Site

This is not to be confused with the GamePark XGP, which is planned as a 3D oriented commercial based games handheld console similar to the PSP. XGP is expected to come out sometime in 2006. Some (rather ugly IMO) prototypes were recently shown. See here for comparisons between XGP and GP2X: http://www.gp32x.com/gpx2xgp.php

Adding to the confusion, GamePark and GamePark Holdings are two different companies. Basically the original GamePark split up, due to differences in philosophy. The people left at GamePark want to create something to compete with Sony and Nintendo, and are NOT interested in emus or homebrew. The people at GamePark Holdings wanted to make a new system specifically aimed at the GP32 audience, with full support for open development of emus and homebrew. That is how the GP2X came to be.

Release Date: 2005, Late October - Early November. There is no exact day/time.

Specifications: extracted from http://www.gpx2.com/...roduct_spec.asp and updated with some more recent information:

Quote

Product Name: GP2X-F100

General
CPU: Dual cores, ARM940T @ 200Mhz + ARM920T @ 200Mhz
Dimension 143.6mm* 82.9mm*34mm
Mass (w/o batteries): 161g/5.68oz (GP32 NLU: 163g/5.74oz)
RAM 64Mb
Storage SD Card
Connection Type 2.0 high speed
O/S Linux
Power supply 2AA
Display 3.5" TFT LCD
Resolution 320*240(QVGA)

Video
Video Codec support: MPEG 1, 2, 3, 4, DivX 3.11, 4.x, 5.x and higher, XviD, WMV (7, 8, 9 Series by 'After Support')
Format support: AVI, MPG, MPEG
Audio Formats: MP3, OGG, WMA (by 'After Support')
Resolution MAX 720*480
Frame Rate Max 30 fps
Bit Rate Video Max: 2500Kbps, Audio Max: 384Kbps
Caption SMI

Audio
No. Channels Stereo(L+R)
Frequency Rate 20Hz~20KHz
File WMA,OGG,MP3
Bit rate sampling 16bit/8~48KHz
Equalizer Normal, Classic, Rock, Jazz, Pop

Additional Function
e-book, game, e-Dictionary (planned for later release)

Image Viwer
Image Formats: JPG, BMP, PCX, GIF, PNG

Continuous playback time
Battery Life (2 x 2850mAh AA): 6 hours video, 10 hours audio

Price: under $200 - each store will have their own prices and deals.

Stores:

http://www.gp2x.co.uk - official UK distributor (same as http://www.gbax.com)
http://www.gp32z.com - official USA distributor
http://shop.gp2x.de - official German distributor

More here: http://www.gpx2.com/...unho=14&part=00

What's In The Box: According to gp2x.co.uk the GP2X comes with the following in the box:

Quote

GP2X console (With 64M Internal Storage)
USB Cable for PC connection (With 2.0 Support)
Preloaded Linux with Media player (MP3, Divx, WMA etc.)
CD with Games, Utilities, MP3 player, Movie player
2 * AA batteries
SDK - Make your own games!

And according to more recent information from GPH the box might include:

1) GP2X system
2) Screen protector
3) Wrist strap
4) Carry bag
5) Microfibre cloth wipe
6) Instruction manual

Case Colors: The GP2X will ONLY be available in black at first. There may be other colors in the future but it's not guaranteed. This is what the unit will probably look like when it's released:



Emulators: There are emulators in the works and being planned for many systems. Some may be available at GP2X's launch, others afterwards. See here for a list of some projects currently underway.

Games: aside from homebrew games, there are some plans for commercial games. See here for a list of some projects currently underway.

Backwards Compatability: currently the GP2x is NOT backwards compatable with GP32. There is talk of creating a way to run GP32 programs, but for now it's only talk and may never really happen. However, the GP2X is expected to have a very exciting homebrew & emu scene of its own.

Screen: 3.5" backlit LCD. 320x240 resolution. NOT a touchscreen. If you want a PDA, get a PocketPC, Palm or Zodiac device.

TV-Output: Yes, the GP2X will be able to plug right into any television using a special tv-out cable which will be sold seperately. It is said to output S-Video. GPH tells me that no extra power is needed to use the tv-out cable, the GP2X's batteries are enough. The cable will ready when the GP2X is released, and the price is expected to be under $10. Also, videos encoded at high resolutions will be displayed at their full resolution with tv-out (not scaled down to just 320x240).

Controls: 12 way DIGITAL (it's NOT analog) thumb stick, 4 main action buttons in diamond pattern, 2 shoulder buttons, Start, Select and 2 volume buttons.

I/O Ports: Headphones, USB (not powered), EXT, DC Power (possibly SDIO in the future) *note* it may be possible to use self-powered USB peripherals with GP2X, i.e. USB hubs & harddrives etc.

USB Peripherals: Since the GP2X's USB host is not powered, to use any peripherals they need to supply their own power. Some examples of peripherals that might work with the GP2X someday are the Apacer Steno Hard Drives and the Cyberpower USB Hubs. Such peripherals operate on their own battery power, so all we need is software to allow the GP2X to interface properly with them. These are NOT guaranteed to work with the GP2X, so don't run out an buy them just yet. But they represent good examples of what might work well with the GP2X in the near future.


Pictured: Left is Apacer Steno CD311 80GB, Right is Cyberpower 420MP Hub

Media: GP2X uses Secure Digital cards AKA SD. These are relatively cheap, and come in very large capacities (up to 2GB and 4GB now). SD cards are also very popular, and can be used with many PDA's, cameras and other electronics. There is also some internal storage space on the 64MB NAND memory, but it's unknown how much will be available to the user for storage. MMC cards should also work with the GP2X, but SD's are faster and come in larger capacities.


Pictured: Yep, that's what an SD card looks like.

Multiplayer & Networking: The GP2X has no form of built-in wireless, nor are there any announced plans for a multiplayer cable of some kind yet. But it's certainly a possibility. It may also be possible to use SDIO WiFi cards in the future, but right now it's all speculative.

Power: The GP2X uses 2 AA batteries as its primary source of power, providing approximately 6 - 10 hours of continuous use depending on application. Keep in mind, there are now very good and very economical rechargeable AA's, which I've personally used for several years. For some examples, see http://www.thomas-di...annproducts.htm - I have never personally bought anything there, but it's a good site to learn about what's available. The GP2X can also use an AC adapter - here is what Squidge, a well known developer with a GP2X test board says about AC: "GP2X is 3V Center negative. Exactly the same as the GP32. Power for USB host is not connected."


Pictured: rechargeable AA's rock!

CPU/Memory/Graphics/Audio Chip Overview: [color="blue"]According to doumentation the GP2X hardware "incorporates a Dual 32bit CPU Processor, Video Processor, Video Post Processor, 2D Graphic Processor, Image Signal Processor and a variety of I/O peripheral components" including an AC97 based audio chip. Each of the two ARM CPU cores is clocked at 200Mhz, and there is 64MB RAM and 64MB NAND flash memory. The graphics processor can accelerate 2D graphics, and process various video and image formats. There is no 3D acceleration, however software based 3D is entirely possible - IMO from the specs we have I would imagine that PS1/Saturn quality 3D should be possible. Think original unaccelerated Quake at very playable speeds. Not so bad, eh?

Operating System: GP2X is Linux based. This does NOT mean you must use Linux on your PC to interface with your GPX2. Also, since the GP2X can boot from SD cards, theoretically the GP2X could run any OS adapted for it, or even no specific OS at all (i.e. simple bootstrap to directly access hardware). The firmware is flashable, so your GP2X can easily be updated.



Development: At first you can use SDL to develop GP2X apps. There are also plans to create SDK's to allow devs to access the hardware more directly, hopefully to take full advantage of the dual CPU cores. There will also be an official GP2X SDK from GPH in the near future. You might also like to read about the SOC (system on chip) the GP2X is based upon: http://www.mesdigita...20f_pi_v016.pdf

DRM (digital rights management): GPH has a DRM ready for selling commercial games (probably similar to how the DRM worked for GP32 & Zodiac). This does NOT affect MP3 playback, and no you don't have to buy emulators. It's just to encourage professional game developers to consider making GP2X games because they know there is a form of piracy protection in place for the system. This information has now been 100% confirmed by both GamePark Holdings themselves, and the official UK GPH distributor. Here is a quote from Anna Hong, a GPH representative:

Quote

There have been many complaints about the DRM function with the Gp2x so let me explain exactly the purpose for the DRM.

We will only be using DRM for commercial games that we distribute through our website.

DRM will not effect anything else, it will be used the same way as the Gp32.

There is nothing to be scared of!

Pictured: white GP2X prototype & someone from GPH? (That is NOT Anna, I asked her.)

Comments? Questions? Post below...

[opiate]

Thanks for the FAQ, it looks really cool!

It would be really cool to just hook this thing up to your tv and start playing some emulators.

[Prophet]

Yes I agree. I used to do that with my Nomad (portable Genesis) and it was pretty damn cool.

[good-one todd]

*drools*

[Prophet]

Don't compare it to an N-Gage, that thing only has a single 104Mhz CPu and ~10MB RAM available to apps. Not to mention a very low res screen. It's a very poor emulation platform. The Gp2X is light years better that that.

Also, MAME is a very big word. What I mean is - different people have different ideas of what MAME means. When you think MAME, do you think 80s' and very early 90's classic arcade games? Or do you mean late 90's and early 2000's games?

The Gp32, for example, already has a very good version of MAME that runs 80s and late 80's games very well, even some 16bit based hardware (thanks to Cyclone). The Gp2X will be even better.

Using Reesy's DrMD (Genesis emu, full speed with sound on GP32) as a basis of comparison, I would expect perfect 8 bit emulators, and very good performing 16bit emulators on GP2X. And since GP2X has tons of RAM, systems like CPS2 and NeoGeo MVS are well within reach.

[Prophet]

You mean does the GP2X have to be plugged into a wall outlet to use tv-out? No, I don't believe so.

But until we get more info, I can't say anything about it 100%. But I'm 99% sure you can use the tv-out running off the GP2X's battery power. The Sega Nomad did so as a comparison, IIRC.

[elinscheid]

The nomad also had a second control port. Wouldn't it be cool if we could use a USB game pad of some sort for player number 2? If I could play 2 player games on my TV using my GPX2 I would be in gaming heaven

[TheHiVE]

Nice FAQ Prophet.
Even got me drooling now. Thanks.

[LIZARDKING]

Prophet, on Sep 19 2005, 06:11 PM, said:

Yes I agree. I used to do that with my Nomad (portable Genesis) and it was pretty damn cool.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Me too and still do...somtimes.

[Prophet]

Thanks TheHive.

Lizardking - I would still use my Nomad sometimes (still have about 40 Genesis carts) but the Tv-out port died years ago for some reason. Very annoying because that's really what I used it for mostly. I don't even have a regular Genesis anymore. Just the Nomad. But honestly, between DRMD, Gens & Kega Fusion, I don't need real hardware anymore.

[DaveC]

just a question, on Sep 21 2005, 01:22 AM, said:

hmmm. why buy this when psp do the same thing but better....
snes emu, genesis emu... + high 3d quality games
and yoyo snes is perfect speed at frameskip 1 with sound

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The PSP is great but not perfect either.

The PSP's d-pad is crap. You get blisters trying to hit those diagonals.

The screen on the PSP is not the proper aspect and stretching looks poor. If you don't stretch the resulting image is actually smaller than the image on the GP2X screen because the pixels match better on the GP2X.

The screen on the PSP has a slow response time resulting in smearing on fast scrolling images.

Sony's propriatary memory stick format is more expensive than SD.

No TV out on PSP.

Sony discourages homebrew. It is encouraged and supported on the GP2X.