GCW Zero Handheld, pricing announced

[RupeeClock]

Is it just me or does he shell look really cheap, poor quality. You'd think 150 clams could buy something a little nicer

The pictures you see might reflect an earlier point of development, all of the YouTube videos are usually prototype models and nothing more.
The final models are supposed to be pretty nice compared to these prototypes, but if they really are up to standards has yet to be seen.

Damn if it can play SNES and PSX pretty much flawlessly I want it, but I just can't drop $150 bucks on something like that, knowing that Im not much into gaming so I would use it for about a month or so and then stop. But I would love to play me some portable Legend of Gaia or Symphony Of The Night.

So far, it seems to be entirely capable of brilliant SNES emulation, and has all the specs needed to play PSX too.
The PSX is surprisingly not that tough to emulate, as proven by PCSXreARMed on the OpenPandora (600MHz or 1GHz) and the GP2X Caanoo (533MHz overclocked to 800MHz). I've personally played Symphony of the Night on my Caanoo a couple of times and it works absolutely fine.

Personally I can see myself using a GCW Zero for a very long time, if the d-pad is what I want it to be, and it can emulate all the SNES games I want it to.

 

[chartube12]

I play PS1 games on my android phone with wifi and GPS on and my battery typically lasts 20 hours before it needs a charge. Not an android issue. Check what you're running in the background, the amount of widgets, and if you go into the battery information it'll show you what's using the most power so you can try to fix it.

I have had this issue on every android phone and tablet I have owned. What's killing the battery is the screen according to the info it provides. Nothing else. I don't even run widgets, they are stupid and a waste of power. Screen's on lowest brightness and it always dies 5-6 hours in. Android just sucks at detecting the battery properly. You guys must be using those batteries which require oversized back plates. or you guys are trolling. I have never seen anyone claim their battery last over 10 with even light usage.

Anyway, because of the battery thing, I'll never buy an android device of emulation.

 

[mechagouki]

Yeah I am actually buying one of these, if not me, I told my boyfriend to buy one for my birthday. I looks amazing and it plays Yoshi's Island.

ahem...

 

[Anacobra]

I have had this issue on every android phone and tablet I have owned. What's killing the battery is the screen according to the info it provides. Nothing else. I don't even run widgets, they are stupid and a waste of power. Screen's on lowest brightness and it always dies 5-6 hours in. Android just sucks at detecting the battery properly. You guys must be using those batteries which require oversized back plates. or you guys are trolling. I have never seen anyone claim their battery last over 10 with even light usage.

Anyway, because of the battery thing, I'll never buy an android device of emulation.

"Trolling" is a word that's being thrown around all too often and people are using incorrectly.

Anyway; my phone is this: http://shop.windmobile.ca/ProductCatalog/Handsets/HandsetDetails.aspx?id=Huawei+Ascend+P1 Not one of the more powerful android phones, but it's considered one of the thinnest if not the thinnest on the market right now.

 

[The Catboy]

ahem...

Played it, beat it, still prefer the SNES version.
You're not talking to just any Yoshi fan, you are talking to THE Yoshi fanboy.

 

[JulietStMoon]

I have had this issue on every android phone and tablet I have owned. What's killing the battery is the screen according to the info it provides. Nothing else. I don't even run widgets, they are stupid and a waste of power. Screen's on lowest brightness and it always dies 5-6 hours in. Android just sucks at detecting the battery properly. You guys must be using those batteries which require oversized back plates. or you guys are trolling. I have never seen anyone claim their battery last over 10 with even light usage.

Anyway, because of the battery thing, I'll never buy an android device of emulation.

I'm definitely using the original battery and keep everything on. With moderate usage, it usually lasts from 5am (when I get up for work) until at least 6 or 7 pm. with light usage, I can get it to last overnight and still have a good 30% or so left.

No need to accuse people of trolling or leaving out important details (like oversized batteries) just because they have a different experience than you.

 

[RupeeClock]

ahem...

The GBA port is a neutered experience, it has a smaller display area, lack of effects like the famous "Touch Fuzzy, Get Dizzy" level, and more than likely worse sound quality as was the case with SNES to GBA ports.
I believe the GBA port featured bonus content though, like some new levels.

 

[The Milkman]

Played it, beat it, still prefer the SNES version.
You're not talking to just any Yoshi fan, you are talking to THE Yoshi fanboy.

Is there a difference between the to versions other then controls? I mean, its not like Super Mario World where they added Luigi.

 

[Hop2089]

I can't wait to get mine, good PCE CD support is unheard of on a handheld and I like to play some Lords of Thunder and Cotton.

 

[JulietStMoon]

The GBA port is a neutered experience, it has a smaller display area, lack of effects like the famous "Touch Fuzzy, Get Dizzy" level, and more than likely worse sound quality as was the case with SNES to GBA ports.
I believe the GBA port featured bonus content though, like some new levels.

I wouldn't go so far as to call it neutered. It's the same exact game, just with some resolution and sounds downgrades as a result of the hardware limitations of the GBA. And considering the extras it has, I would almost consider it the definitive version, unless you hate the new sound effects and the lower resolution bothers you that much.

The same can be said about Nintendo's other SNES to GBA ports... Except for Donkey Kong Country. Seriously, the graphics are absolutely crippled without that special chip the SNES version has.

Is there a difference between the to versions other then controls? I mean, its not like Super Mario World where they added Luigi.

Ditto of what I said to rupeeclock.

 

[The Catboy]

Is there a difference between the to versions other then controls? I mean, its not like Super Mario World where they added Luigi.

There are some minor differences in the game play, most people won't really notice them.
Mostly in the sound department.
Also Yoshi's Island is one of the reason I want it, my other reason. I want it plain and simple.

 

[JulietStMoon]

There are some minor differences in the game play, most people won't really notice them.
Mostly in the sound department.
Also Yoshi's Island is one of the reason I want it, my other reason. I want it plain and simple.

What are the gameplay differences? I didn't really notice any (though it's been quite some time since I've played the SNES version).

 

[The Catboy]

What are the gameplay differences? I didn't really notice any (though it's been quite some time since I've played the SNES version).

I noticed some framerate differences (the GBA being a bit slower than the SNES.) The controls on the GBA version aren't as solid as the SNES version, it's a little more squashed compared to the SNES version, the sound on GBA is weak compared the SNES version. Controlling Yoshi feels awkward actually, I found doing simple tasks on the GBA to be a little more tasking compared to the SNES version, most likely because the GBA lacks the two extra buttons the SNES has.
I felt the GBA version felt a little more watered down compared to the SNES version honestly.

 

[The Milkman]

I noticed some framerate differences (the GBA being a bit slower than the SNES.) The controls on the GBA version aren't as solid as the SNES version, it's a little more squashed compared to the SNES version, the sound on GBA is weak compared the SNES version. Controlling Yoshi feels awkward actually, I found doing simple tasks on the GBA to be a little more tasking compared to the SNES version, most likely because the GBA lacks the two extra buttons the SNES has.
I felt the GBA version felt a little more watered down compared to the SNES version honestly.

;-; but I liked the GBA version...

 

[The Catboy]

;-; but I liked the GBA version...

I've played the SNES version since I was 5, I notice every single detail of the game. I'm not saying the GBA version is bad, but it can't compared to the SNES version in my book.

 

[The Milkman]

I've played the SNES version since I was 5, I notice every single detail of the game. I'm not saying the GBA version is bad, but it can't compared to the SNES version in my book.

Cant blame ya, I'm the same way with Super Mario World (except I actually like the GBA version better but whatever )

 

[Chocolina]

Android is a battery killer. Just saying. I get barely 5 hours out of galaxy tab 2 7.0 with the screen brightness on the lowest, wifi, bluetooth and gps off.

Its not though. Its a combination of processor, battery size, how the version of android handles your processor, and above all, what you're actually doing on your tablet.

Your Galaxy Tab's processor is just-outside current and new gen processors which have made even greater strides at using even lower power handling background processes.
and Jellybean 4.2.2 is said to use up less battery than previous versions, and lastly your settings may influence your battery life. Even if you have screen brightness set to low, the screen eats up most of your battery. Disabling GPS, Sync, Sleep-Wifi, Bluetooth, Vibrations might buy you an hour or even more, but any device is going to have "poor battery" when you use your screen non-stop. My Nexus 7 can last me anywhere from 6 to 60 hours based on what I'm using it for. And playing 3D games like Survival Craft can eat up battery faster than your charger can replenish it. Thats not Android's fault, its mine.

Also even though the Galaxy Tab 2 7 isn't the most efficient thing out there, its still pretty damn good if you're complaining about 5 hours. A NDS is like 6 hours, a 3DS is like 4 hours, a Vita is like 5 hours, a Laptop with an i7 is like 3 hours, 4 out of 5 of my Bluetooth sets last 5 hours or less. What did you own to think that 5 hours isn't that great?

 

[LDAsh]

People who design these things need to learn the value of an easily swappable battery, like the DS. The whole point of having a handheld is portability, and not just 'stepping out to buy a carton of milk', but 'international flight'/'hours at airport' type stuff in mind.

I always love these people who are like "I CAN DO THIS" and "I CAN DO THAT"... then I'm like "Okay, that's cool, can I see?"... and they're like "...No, my battery flat!!!" :'(

 

[FAST6191]

People who design these things need to learn the value of an easily swappable battery, like the DS. The whole point of having a handheld is portability, and not just 'stepping out to buy a carton of milk', but 'international flight'/'hours at airport' type stuff in mind.

I always love these people who are like "I CAN DO THIS" and "I CAN DO THAT"... then I'm like "Okay, that's cool, can I see?"... and they're like "...No, my battery flat!!!" :'(

Swappable batteries made sense at one point in time but between evolving battery tech rendering a lot of the reasons for user swappable batteries pointless (batteries no longer age as much as they did and , most commercial batteries being junk in terms of power capacity or period during which they are manufactured (you then have to make and populate a market by yourself), USB chargers being ubiquitous (you mentioned airports -- they were everywhere in the ones I have been in), http://www.ladyada.net/make/mintyboost/ otherwise and so on it it is not such an issue.

 

[LDAsh]

I'm aware of such devices and even ones that can use solar energy to recharge, but there's a couple of points to be made - first of all the original complaint that people are carrying around too many different bits and pieces, well isn't that just another bit/piece, a step backward, and secondly many devices can't be used at the same time as being recharged, where as separate batteries can be recharged beforehand (overnight) and quickly swapped when needed and used straight away, if only the device (like DS or my MP3 player) allows for it. With my MP3 player, one battery can last all 12+ hours and I have multiple, combined with swappable microSDs, it's like I'm never without music to enjoy, so I couldn't ask for more, despite how old it is now. Like I say, the personal accounts I hear from others is the opposite.

Swappable batteries FTW.

It's definitely something I take notice of when considering finally buying a new handheld.