Only $15 above the minimum backer amount to get an early system? Not bad at all.

 

"for gamers, by gamers" jeez that was terrible, you only get one chance at a first impression and they blew it, I'll just get that one android game tablet thing

 

That's my cue to exit. It won't happen again.

 

Its an updated Dingo.

But still, specs for the price seem like no one is getting any decent bang for the buck. You know why a Nexus 7 is $200 and not $100 or less? The screen. Screens can take up a substantial chunk of the price when it comes to high-tier ARM devices. LED and AMOLED are not cheap. In comparison, LCD, backlit or not, is extremely cheap. So it begs the question why is this fucker worth $150 apparently? I don't think the CPU is ARM, and the GPU isn't terrible, but you can get an "android computer" with 1.5Ghz quad core, Mali-400MP GPU (Same as the Note II) 2GB DDR3 ram, Wifi, Bluetooth 4.0, for under $90, new, and that's still with the company making them turning a profit. So where exactly is your $150 going in this CGW Zero? I can't conceive that poor hardware, poor screens, no bluetooth, and only 512 of ram is worth $150 just because of some physical buttons? Please.... The only company that should get away with selling under-powered crap is Nintendo, and thats only because they make their underpowered crap sleek, and provide great support with quality games...

Just what the hell kind of homebrew "support" do "gamers" expect out of the Zero? Homebrewers suck. Out of all the years of NDS, all they managed to do is put out one good media app and a few emulators.

The Zero is just an overpriced updated Dingo that no one's going to play due to lack of proper software support. People are going to get bored way too fast, especially if they already own a NDS, 3DS, Android device, or PSP.

 

You seriously have no idea, what-so-ever, you are talking about. At all.

The GCW Zero's hardware is far from being poor, it has been specifically chosen to take on certain tasks rather than be yet another Android device.
Yes, you are right this can be considered an updated Dingoo. Or rather, it is a community-driven OpenDingux powered device that is properly open-sourced, hence allowing the developers to get things running as best as feasibly possible compared to closed-source Chinese handhelds or android devices.
The GCW Zero may only have a 1GHz MIPS processor (a worthy competitor to ARM), but it'll be able to make excellent use of it because they can design software to work specifically for this hardware. Compared to previous handhelds of similar design this is the most powerful hardware available actually.
The LCD screen isn't poor either, a 320x240 LCD display was chosen for being cost-effective and suitable to retro gaming tasks, as well as being readily compliant with existing OpenDingux software.
The lack of bluetooth is easily addressed with the miniUSB port, but what do you actually need it for exactly? What do you aim to do with it that can't be done with a miniUSB port or Wireless B/G/N?

The homebrew scene on handhelds like the Dingoo and GP2X systems have put out plenty of good fun games, the GCW Zero even comes pre-loaded with a good selection that I look forward to trying. Although this also encompasses homebrew emulators, and with the support software support that already exists they are actually running better than you may expect, FAR better.
I don't know where you got the impression that this thing has a lack of software support, because that is far from true at all.

 

I've heard good things in general about the d-pad and button quality myself, but I wanna see an actual review as well.
This Dingoo A320 user loved the look and feel of the GCW Zero though.


That has been my major concern with the system too though, I've had many an "Open handheld" before and they've often let me down with either the shoulder buttons or directional input, the GCW Zero seems to have resolved that though.
And yeah that 1GHz MIPS processor, along with all the software/firmware optimisation and taking advantage of the hardware could allow for great PSX emulation and possibly N64 emulation too.

 

I would like to add that the smaller LCDs are increasing in price nearly every other week. The reason is less and less devices are using them right now. Yeah 2-3 years ago the screen would've been cheaper. However back than the rest of the components were more expensive, if they were available. So overall the price isn't too bad. It is actually right around where I expected to be. Hopefully willgoo or some site similar picks these up in bulk so they can get them cheaper and pass that on as free ship to buyers.