Gizmondo
GPRS | |
Best-selling game | Sticky Balls |
---|
The Gizmondo is a
Before its launch, the Gizmondo had high expectations by some journalists due to its extensive feature set, and it was aimed to compete against
The Gizmondo was further overshadowed when Swedish press revealed criminal pasts of several executives, causing their resignations including Tiger Telematics CEO Carl Freer. Director of Gizmondo Europe Stefan Eriksson was involved in a Swedish criminal organisation, the "Uppsalamaffian" (the Uppsala mafia).[9] By February 2006, the company was forced into bankruptcy after amassing US$300 million (£160 million) debt, and the Gizmondo stopped production.[10] Weeks thereafter Eriksson crashed a rare Ferrari Enzo driving at 260 km/h (162 mph) in California,[11] and was later jailed and subsequently deported for driving under the influence in connection with the crash and other criminal offenses.
History
The Gizmondo device was originally called Gametraq. Tiger Telematics first published on their website in October 2003 about the device being developed.[12] This came in response to Nokia's N-Gage. During December that year, Gizmondo made its debut as a concept product at the Las Vegas CES in January 2004,[13] and later appeared at the German CeBIT show in March 2004.[14] The company and the console were renamed Gizmondo around April 2004.[15]
British Formula One driver
The Gizmondo's problems were compounded by the involvement of Eriksson in Swedish organized crime, and later for crashing a Ferrari Enzo in Malibu, California, which was apparently owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland. He pleaded guilty to numerous criminal charges which led him to 2 years in jail.[17][18]
In 2007, GameTrailers named it "the worst console of all time."[19]
Widescreen Gizmondo
Tiger Telematics announced a new Gizmondo model for release in Q2 2006. It was intended to have a larger, 4" widescreen screen and upgrades like
Release
United Kingdom
Gizmondo was released in the
The SMS service of the Gizmondo enabled people to send messages by pre-pay Vodafone accounts bundled in with the device.
The Gizmondo sold 1000 units within an hour of launch. In April, a month after the initial release, a variant of the console with GPS-assisted "Smart Adds" advertising enabled was released with an
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. "Smart Adds" were never enabled for the Swedish market, even though the technology "was there".
United States
In the
Games
The Gizmondo launched in the United Kingdom with only one game,
Certain games were claimed to be capable of using "augmented reality", most notably the unreleased game
Fan site Gizmondo Central reviewed all games, and Trailblazer and SSX 3 had the best score. Sticky Balls and FIFA Football 2005 were second-best.[27]
Smart Adds
The "Smart Adds" system was intended as a way for advertisers to subsidize part of the
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
- Display: 72 mm (2.8 inch) TFT screen
- Resolution: 320 × 240 pixels
- CPU: MHz
- Graphics: Nvidia GoForce 3D 4500
- Graphics RAM: 1.2 MB 128-bit SRAM
- Graphics Performance: 1,000,000 polygons per second
- RAM: 64 MB 16-bit SDRAM
- ROM: 64 MB
- Sound: Built-in speaker
- Communication: Bluetooth class 2 for multiplayer gaming, GSM tri-band
- Ports: SDflash card reader
- Power: Removable battery
- Temperature Range: 32–130 °F (0–54 °C)
- OS: Windows CE
- Multimedia: Windows Media Player 9
- JPEG camera
- Removable SIM card
- GPS tracking application
- GPRS mapping application
- GPRSClass 10
- SMS
- MMS receive and send
- WAP 2.0
- ring tones
- Flight mode
Successor
Former Gizmondo director Carl Freer announced to a Swedish newspaper in November 2007 his intentions for a new Gizmondo, and said there were already 35 games in place, a manufacturing base in Shenzhen, China, and that he hoped the handheld would retail at US$99.[31][32][33][34]
The original planned launch date was May 2008,
However, since then the Media Power website went offline. Co-founder Mikael Ljungman was later arrested, extradited to
In popular culture
A reference to the Gizmondo is made in the British movie Goal!, when a meeting takes place in a Gizmondo store.
References
- ^ Snow, Blake (2007-07-30). "The 10 Worst-Selling Handhelds of All Time". GamePro.com. Archived from the original on 2007-10-12. Retrieved 2008-01-17.
- ^ "Gizmondo gadget hits the shelves". BBC News Online. 2005-03-19. Archived from the original on 2008-02-15. Retrieved 2007-11-23.
- ^ "Gizmondo Launch Brings London's West End to a Standstill - Press Release". Archived from the original on 2016-08-20. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
- ^ "CEBIT 2005: Gizmondo out this week - Hardware - News". HEXUS.net. 2005-03-16. Archived from the original on 2012-08-01. Retrieved 2013-01-14.
- ^ a b "Gizmondo price drop - Hardware - News". HEXUS.net. 2005-04-12. Archived from the original on 2013-11-04. Retrieved 2013-01-14.
- ^ "Tiger Doesn't Want You to Buy the Gizmondo! - Defunct Games". Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
- ^ Smith, Tony (5 August 2005). "Gizmondo US launch 'put back to October'". The Register. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
- ^ Snow, Blake (2011-06-07). "The 10 Worst Selling Handhelds Of All Time". Archived from the original on 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2013-01-14.
- ^ Sullivan, Randall. "Gizmondo's Spectacular Crack-up". Wired. Archived from the original on 2016-12-27. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
- ^ "Gizmondo Europe goes into liquidation". Pocket-Lint. 2006-02-07. Retrieved 2013-01-14.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Winton, Jeffrey Fleishman and Richard (15 May 2006). "Life in Fast Lane Long Before Ferrari Crash". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2017-02-13. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
- ^ "Tiger Telematics, Inc. Announces a New Joint Venture to Develop the New Advanced Series of Gametrac Products". Tiger Telematics. 2003-09-29. Archived from the original on 2015-03-13. Retrieved 2013-01-14 – via Prnewswire.
- ^ "Xilinx, Plextek And Intrinsyc Enable CES Debut Of Gametrac - Latest Mobile Entertainment Device From Tiger Telematics". Xilinx.com. 2004-01-08. Archived from the original on 2013-01-12. Retrieved 2013-01-14.
- ^ Smith, Tony (2003-12-01). "Gametrac on The Register (uk)". Theregister.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2012-10-25. Retrieved 2013-01-14.
- ^ i4u (2004-04-12). "Portable Video Player News: New Windows CE .NET Game Console from GameTrac". Pvp4u.com. Archived from the original on 2016-01-10. Retrieved 2013-01-14.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Motorsport and Gizmondo didn't mix well – 2or4.co.uk – a motorsport blog". 2or4.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2013-05-08. Retrieved 2013-01-14.
- ^ "Direktörerna har fått långa fängelsestraff" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. 2005-10-24. Archived from the original on 2007-06-08. Retrieved 2007-11-23.
- ^ "Rumor: Gizmondo execs with ties to the Swedish mafia have resigned". GameSpot. 2005-10-26. Archived from the original on 2007-02-16. Retrieved 2007-11-23.
- ^ "Top Ten Worst Consoles". GameTrailers. May 6, 2007. Archived from the original on December 19, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
- ^ Rojas, Peter (2005-09-17). "Widescreen Gizmondo specs and pics". Engadget.com. Archived from the original on 2012-12-06. Retrieved 2013-01-14.
- ^ "Gizmondo goes widescreen - Hardware - News - HEXUS.net". 19 September 2005. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
- ^ "Widescreen Gizmondo specs and pics". Engadget. 2005-09-17. Archived from the original on 2007-12-21. Retrieved 2007-11-23.
- ^ "More woes for Gizmondo". Archived from the original on 2018-07-25. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
- ^ "Gizmondo gadget hits the shelves". BBC News. 2005-03-19. Archived from the original on 2008-12-29. Retrieved 2010-06-20.
- ^ "Gizmondo unveils 'adverts-for-consoles' scheme". The Register. Archived from the original on 2014-05-05. Retrieved 2013-11-18.
- ^ "What Happened To: The Gizmondo handheld game system". GamerTell. 2010-05-24. Archived from the original on 2010-07-27. Retrieved 2013-01-14.
- ^ "Gizmondo Central". Homepage.ntlworld.com. Archived from the original on 2013-06-23. Retrieved 2013-01-14.
- ^ "how not to spell gizmondo". Archived from the original on 2011-07-09. Retrieved 2010-10-18.
- ^ Caie, Martin (2005-04-15). "In-service advertising reduces price of Gizmondo". Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2015-08-27.
- ^ Gizmondo - all about smart ads. Archived from the original on 2015-07-08. Retrieved 2016-01-04.
- ^ Privat, Ludovic. "Gizmondo, back from ashes?". Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
- ^ "Carl Freer talar ut i Realtid.se". Archived from the original on 2016-08-27. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
- ^ "Carl Freer startar om Gizmondo" (in Swedish). Realtid.se. 2007-11-13. Archived from the original on 2009-09-01. Retrieved 2008-01-30.
- ^ "English translation: Carl Freer Promises to Resurrect Gizmondo". Archived from the original on 2008-01-27. Retrieved 2008-04-18.
- ^ "Carl Freer:"I m going to resurrect Gizmondo" -- indeed he is". Engadget. 2008-01-24. Archived from the original on 2009-02-18. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
- ^ "Carl Freer: Gizmondo Arrives Late 2008". 2008-02-18. Archived from the original on 2008-05-15. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
- ^ "The Nordic Link: Gizmondo 2 Is Here - Sales start in November/December". 2008-09-10. Archived from the original on 2009-05-28. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
- ^ "Gizmondo 2 pushed back to 2009, only delaying the inevitable". 22 December 2008. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
- ^ "Gizmondo 2 turns into a smartphone". 2008-12-22. Archived from the original on 2010-05-07. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
- ^ Flatley, Joseph (2008-12-20). "Surprise! No new Gizmondo for 2008". Engadget. Archived from the original on 2008-12-24. Retrieved 2008-12-02.
- Copenhagen Post. 2009-06-10. Archived from the originalon 2011-11-13. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
- ^ "msmobiles.com - Reflections: Gizmondo today is no more". 2010-01-31. Archived from the original on 2010-01-31. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
External links
- Gizmondo at Curlie