- Gizmondo
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Not to be confused with Gizmodo, the technology blog.
Gizmondo 
The Gizmondo handheld game consoleManufacturer Tiger Telematics Generation Seventh generation era Release date 19 March 2005 Discontinued February, 2006 Units sold Fewer than 30,000 (as of 30 July 2007)[1] Media SD, MMC CPU ARM9 S3C2440 processor at 400 MHz Online services GPRS Best-selling game Sticky Balls The Gizmondo is a handheld gaming console which was released by Tiger Telematics in March 2005.[2] The electronics design was undertaken by Plextek Limited[3] and the industrial design by Rick Dickinson.
With fewer than 25,000 units sold, the Gizmondo was named by GamePro as the worst selling handheld console in history.[4] By February 2006, the company discontinued the device and was forced into bankruptcy.[5] In 2008, founder and CEO Carl Freer announced that he had reached an agreement with the liquidators, and planned to re-launch Gizmondo[6][7][8] as Gizmondo 2.[9]
Gizmondo was overshadowed by the involvement of one of its executives, Stefan Eriksson, in organized crime.[10][11] It was never released in Japan or Australia.
Contents
Release
United Kingdom
Gizmondo was released in the United Kingdom on 19 March 2005, initially priced at £229.[12] Units enabled with "Smart Adds" had a reduced RRP of £129.[13] The Gizmondo was available from the Gizmondo flagship store on London's Regent Street, via Gizmondo's online shop, and other high-street and online retailers such as Argos, Dixons, Currys, John Lewis, although it was never clear how many units were actually introduced into those retail channels.
Sweden
Gizmondo was launched in Sweden in the late Summer of 2005, with both "Smart Adds" and normal units available. Rather than opening flagship stores, the manufacturer relied on established retailers such as Webhallen. Fewer than 100 units were sold in Sweden. "Smart Adds" were never enabled for the Swedish market, even though the technology "was there".
United States
In the United States, the Gizmondo launched on October 22, 2005. Retail price was $400 for a unit without "Smart Adds", or $229 for a "Smart Adds" enabled device.[14] It was available only through Gizmondo’s website or at one of several kiosks located in shopping malls. However, only 8 of the planned 14 games were ever released in the U.S., along with no CoPilot GPS software, though the software was sold on the British site for a week or two. There was little to no advertising, and some of their advertising was even put in magazines of Nintendo Power (Nintendo's official magazine). Plans to distribute the handheld through other retailers never materialized.
Games
Main article: List of Gizmondo gamesThe Gizmondo launched with a line-up of fourteen titles, including a port of EA's FIFA Football 2005 and SSX 3, and SCi's Richard Burns Rally. A further 30 titles were known to have been in development for the system, but all were canceled before their release due to Tiger Telematics' bankruptcy.
Gizmondo Main Menu Screen
Smart Adds
The "Smart Adds" system was intended as a way for consumers to subsidize part of the cost of the unit. The apparent misspelling of the name was intentional and a trademark and company name were registered in the UK as "Smart Adds", though even Tiger Telematics occasionally slipped up and referred to it as Smart Ads in their publicity material.[15] A "Smart Adds"-enabled Gizmondo cost less (£129/$229), but would display advertisements on the Gizmondo's screen at random intervals when the user entered the Home screen on the device. These advertisements would be downloaded via the device's GPRS data connection,[16] and would be targeted based on data inputted to the device. A maximum of three ads would be shown per day. Some ads would include special offers in the form of vouchers or barcodes, and some would utilize the device's GPS system to direct users to the nearest store carrying the advertised product.[17] ' However, the "Smart Adds" service was never activated, and users who paid the reduced price for a "Smart Adds"-enabled device did not receive any advertisements through their device.[citation needed]
Technical specifications
An example of a Gizmondo game cover- Display: 72 mm (2.8 inch) TFT screen
- Resolution: 320 pixels × 240 pixels
- CPU: Samsung ARM9 processor running at 400 MHz
- Graphics: nVidia GoForce 3D 4500 128-bit 3D Graphics accelerator, maximum of 65,536 colors
- RAM: 64 MB
- Sound: Built-in speaker
- Communication: Bluetooth class 2 for multiplayer gaming, GSM tri-band
- Ports: Stereo headset socket, Mini-USB client, SD flash card reader
- Power: Removable battery
- Temperature Range: 32°F to 130°F (0°C to 55°C)
- Multimedia: MPEG 4 video playback, ability to play back MP3, WAV and MIDI files via Windows Media Player 9
- JPEG camera
- Removable SIM card
- GPS tracking application
- GPRS mapping application
- GPRS Class 10
- SMS
- MMS receive and send
- WAP 2.0
- Polyphonic ring tones
- Flight mode
Gizmondo widescreen
Tiger Telematics planned to release a widescreen Gizmondo in 2006. It was intended to have a larger screen and upgrades like Wi-Fi and TV-out support. The widescreen Gizmondo was announced just a few weeks before the U.S. launch of the Gizmondo, possibly prompting some potential customers to not buy the Gizmondo, and instead wait for the improved model, in an example of the Osborne effect.[18]
Successor
Former Gizmondo director Carl Freer announced in early 2008 his intention to relaunch the Gizmondo console as the Gizmondo 2.
The original planned launch date was May 2008,[19] but this was quickly pushed back to November 2008,[20] along with details of a new company, Media Power, behind the launch, headed by Carl Freer and his Swedish partner Mikael Ljungman, with development apparently proceeding according to the new schedule at least until September.[21] By December 2008, the console had still not appeared, and another announcement was made about a complete redesign as a Windows CE or Google Android powered smart phone.[22]
Since then, the Media Power website has gone offline, co-founder Mikael Ljungman has been arrested and convicted of serious fraud,[23] and nothing more has been announced about the console or smart phone.[24] The Gizmondo 2 was abandoned because Tiger Telematics went bankrupt when the Gizmondo was discontinued.
References
- ^ Blake Snow (2007-07-30). "The 10 Worst-Selling Handhelds of All Time". GamePro.com. http://www.gamepro.com/gamepro/domestic/games/features/125748.shtml. Retrieved 2008-01-17.
- ^ "Gizmondo gadget hits the shelves". BBC News Online. 2005-03-19. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4361847.stm. Retrieved 2007-11-23.
- ^ Plextek wins industry award for work on mobile entertainment device 2004-10-01, retrieved 2009-07-03
- ^ http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/125749/the-10-worst-selling-handhelds-of-all-time/ The 10 Worst Selling Handhelds Of All Time
- ^ Pocket-Lint: Gizmondo Europe goes into liquidation
- ^ "Gizmondo console revamp 'on track' for Q4 launch, claims boss". http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/05/13/gizmondo_delayed_again/.
- ^ "Carl Freer startar om Gizmondo" (in Swedish). Realtid.se. 2007-11-13. http://www.realtid.se/ArticlePages/200711/13/20071113094753_Realtid421/20071113094753_Realtid421.dbp.asp.
- ^ "English translation: Carl Freer Promises to Resurrect Gizmondo". http://sandberghans.blogspot.com/2008/01/carl-freer-starts-over-with-gizmondo.html.
- ^ Joseph Flatley (2008-12-20). "Surprise!!! No new Gizmondo for 2008". Engadget. http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/20/surprise-no-new-gizmondo-for-2008/. Retrieved 2008-12-02.
- ^ "Direktörerna har fått långa fängelsestraff" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. 2005-10-24. http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/nyheter/story/0,2789,718447,00.html. Retrieved 2007-11-23.
- ^ "Rumor: Gizmondo execs with ties to the Swedish mafia have resigned". Gamespot. 2005-10-26. http://www.gamespot.com/news/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=23885183. Retrieved 2007-11-23.
- ^ "Gizmondo gadget hits the shelves". BBC News. 2005-03-19. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4361847.stm.
- ^ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/04/13/gizmondo_smart_adds/
- ^ http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/gizmondo-portable-handheld-game-system-what-happened-to/
- ^ "how not to spell gizmondo". http://www.defunctgames.com/shows.php?id=feuds-65. Retrieved 2010-10-18.
- ^ Caie, Martin. "In-service advertising reduces price of Gizmondo". http://old.gameplanet.co.nz/mag.dyn/News/9223.html. Retrieved 01/06/2009.
- ^ Gizmondo - all about smart ads. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVc6e1mCa1c.
- ^ "Widescreen Gizmondo specs and pics". Engadget. 2005-09-17. http://www.engadget.com/2005/09/17/widescreen-gizmondo-specs-and-pics/. Retrieved 2007-11-23.
- ^ "Carl Freer:"I m going to resurrect Gizmondo" -- indeed he is". Engadget. 2008-01-24. http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/24/carl-freer-im-going-to-resurrect-gizmondo/. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
- ^ "Carl Freer: Gizmondo Arrives Late 2008". 2008-02-18. http://sandberghans.blogspot.com/2008/02/carl-freer-gizmondo-arrives-late-2008.html. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
- ^ "The Nordic Link: Gizmondo 2 Is Here - Sales start in November/December". 2008-09-10. http://sandberghans.blogspot.com/2008/09/more-to-come-gizmondo-2.html. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
- ^ "Gizmondo 2 turns into a smartphone". 2008-12-22. http://www.techradar.com/news/portable-devices/gizmondo-2-turns-into-a-smartphone-496745. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
- ^ "Bagger Points Finger At Swedish Partner". Copenhagen Post. 2009-06-10. http://www.cphpost.dk/news/crime/45916-bagger-points-finger-at-swedish-partner.html. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
- ^ http://msmobiles.com/news.php/5131.html
External links
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