History of video games/Platforms/Gizmondo

Development
The Gizmondo was initially conceived as a GPS tracking device for parents to keep track of their family, and evolved into a games console from that concept as a way of getting family members to actually carry the device.

Launch
On launch in March 2005 the Gizmondo cost 129 pounds with advertisements on the console, or 229 pounds without advertisements. The console was marketed as providing a high end mobile gaming experience.

A number of extravagant in person events were used to promote the console. Celebrities including Pharrell Williams, Sting, and Busta Rhymes were brought in to promote the console on launch day. At one 2005 convention in London Gizmondo used flashy and extravagant displays to attempt to attract attention.

An improved Gizmondo with a wide screen had been announced in September 2005 for a Q2 2006 release date but was never released. When this announcement was made, the original Gizmondo had yet to release in North America, leading to many speculating that buyers there would simply wait for the better model and that current owners would feel disappointed about their purchase of console hardware which would be considered obsolete just a year after launch.

Legacy
Less than 25,000 Gizmondos were sold and was discontinued when Tiger Telematics went bankrupt in 2006.

The media spectacle of a Gizmondo executive Ferrari speeding through LA and tales of ties to a Swedish Mafia is something commonly associated with the end of the console.

The Gizmondo rubber finish is notoriously for aging poorly, and now tends to melt or fall off when held.

Compute
The Gizmondo is powered by a Samsung S3C2440 ARM 9 architecture processor clocked at 400 megahertz.

The system has 128 megabytes of RAM.

The Gizmondo uses a NVIDIA GoForce 3D 4500 GPU.

The Gizmondo runs Windows CE 4.2 as its real time operating system. The widescreen Gizmondo would have ran Windows CE 5.0

Hardware
The system has a 64 megabyte ROM.

The Gizmondo uses a 2.8" color screen with a resolution of 240 by 320 pixels.

The system has a built in VGA resolution (640 by 480 pixels) camera.

Radios include Bluetooth, GPS, and GPRS.

The battery capacity is 1100 mAh and lasts for about 3 hours of use.

EU release Only

 * Fathammer Classics Pack
 * FIFA Soccer 2005
 * Hockey Rage 2005
 * Pocket Ping Pong 2005
 * Interstellar Flames 2
 * SSX 3

EU and North America releases

 * Classic Compendium
 * Classic Compendium 2
 * Gizmondo Motocross 2005
 * Point of Destruction
 * Richard Burns Rally
 * Sticky Balls
 * Toy Golf
 * Trailblazer

Wikipedia has a more complete list of Gizmondo games, including unreleased titles.

External Resources

 * Video Game Kraken - Gizmondo page.