Price Watch: Ngage, Zodiac, Gizmondo

Price Watch: Ngage, Zodiac, Gizmondo, Jornada 680

Hey all


Been surfing around lately, looking for a new multimedia device

Preferably, I'd like to get a Tapwave zodiac1, or a gizmondo, if there cheap enough..

I've seen a few auctions of Fleabay for both of these systems, though they were outrageusly priced


Also, I've been looking at an ngage qd, but havent seen many for sale


Anyone know, or better have either one of these devices inexpensivly?


Ryan

 

I doubt you'll find the Zodiac all that cheap. Despite the fact that it "failed" as a gaming system is it still a very current and very capable PalmOS device. It runs a build of PalmOS 5.2.x with the Zodiac extensions on top. Most new devices are still at PalmOS 5.4.x. Since the Zodiac works awesomely as a Palm (with that high res screen) and has the additional bonus of the accelerated video chip (which means it's a great multimedia system) prices on the Zodiac are going to stay up there. Also don't forget that many of the Zodiacs on the market are the Zodiac 2 w/128 RAM instead of the Zodiac 1 w/32 RAM.

As for an N-Gage, it really depends on what you're looking for. If you just want to use it as a game system, the QD is good, but as a phone and media player the original has an advantage thanks to the included radio, MP3 player and tri-band phone. The QD drops all of those and is merely a dual-band. That said it still has decent RF as a phone (Nokia loves to boost the power output on its handsets for better reception -- they are the only brand of phone that constantly causes interference on speaker sets for me). Depending on the unit, expect to see around $75-$100 for an n-Gage. You're not going to see them much cheaper than that unless you're lucky because shit starter phones usually sell for $50 and like it or not, the n-Gage is still better than most shit starter phones.

Finally, there's the Gizmondo. It was cheap for a bit, but since a few enterprising hackers have cracked it open and booted WinCE proper on it interest has risen. And as interest has risen, the prices have started to go back up. It's all a cyclical thing. Personally, I'd say wait a bit and the Giz will be the first to drop in price again once the current fad of interest wanes.

Hope this helps!

-hl718

 

For about $100 shipped I can hook you up with a brand new Ngage Qd. I bought a second one because it came with some games that I didn't have. But I have no need for a second one. I haven't really messed around with Ngage at all. I only use it to play my games right now. So I don't know if it is good for anything else.

 

I actually managed to visit a local mall on the weekend, and at one on those cellphone kiosks, had 2 ngage qd left, on clearence without contract for 55, naturally i picked one up, thanks for the offer Corey

Now im off to ebay, on the hunt for a zodiac lol



Ryan

 

Have you checked out the GP2X? its a movie, game, music player. It might be right up your alley. who knows?

 

Hey


The GP2X would be a holy grail to get, but unfortunatly, its a little more than im willing to spend at the moment.

That being said. I'm actually trying to get my hands on a HP Jornada 680, its a handheld pc of sorts, like a mini laptop, perfect for school


Anyone have one out here?


Ryan

 

The Tapwave 1 will cost you almost as much as the Tapwave 2. I payed $100 for a Tapwave 2 (with power supply but without a link cable). Beware of the ones listed on ebay with a hole in the back. These, from what I've heard are probably the shells and potentially non-working internals from demo units. (http://www.tapland.com/news_arc/?id=653)
The demo units are being sold with a second unit to replace the demo unit casing. It sounds like some people are replacing the casing, and putting the non-functional internals in the demo casing.

The gizmondo is pretty expensive. I payed $160 for the one I got.

I picked up a demo NGage QD for less than $30. The phone part was non-functional, but the rest works fine. The battery is not critical, as they can be purchased easily for $6-7 on EBay.