CarlFreer
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Surprise! No new Gizmondo for 2008
A mere two-plus months since we were let in on plans for a Gizmondo app store, our favorite (well, second favorite) character in this epic tale of doomed handheld game systems and fiery car wrecks is back with yet another chapter, this one in the form of a Socratic dialog between Carl Freer and journalist Hans Sandberg. Apparently, the global economic downturn has made otherwise cautious investors even more cautious, prompting Freer & Co. to comb the streets of Shenzhen's Special Economic Zone in search of a new manufacturer -- a move which further complicated things by necessitating a major hardware redesign. The goal? Nothing less than a truly renegade, "truly wireless pocket PC, one that also happens to have a gaming engine," with current plans calling for both a Windows CE and an Android version. The present status of this tragic farce? No new Gizmondos for 2008, we're afraid. But we're guessing that you weren't really holding your breath anyways.
Carl Freer dishes out new Gizmondo tidbits
It's been a little while since we've heard from the normally very talkative Carl Freer, but the chief Gizmondo booster has now finally returned with a few new tidbits of information about the gaming handheld, which we know you've all been patiently waiting for. Most interestingly, but not surprisingly, Freer made no mention of that supposed end of 2008 release date, with him instead saying that the company plans to release the handheld's full spec list by the end of October, and that they plan to have "volume availability" of the handled by the second quarter of 2009 -- in Europe, at least. In other news, he also confirmed that the device would boast an improved camera, and that they're even planning their "own version of the Apple App Store," which would seem to be a must considering that they're apparently also going to be relying exclusively on indie developers this time around.
Gizmondo taking Android for a ride?
Like a fiery car crash across the center divide, we just can't divert our attention from the antics of Gizmondo. Gizmondoforums, the self-described "home of the Gizmondo fanbase" (really, they have enough fans to create a base?) is carrying this quote from Rich Jenkins, who along with Carl Freer co-founded Media Power, the company now in charge of Gizmondo: "We are excited about the potential of Android and have been working on an Android version of the Giz...Android would be a TERRIFIC addition to the Gizmondo and enable a TON of open source development." Originally, the Gizmondo 2.0 gaming console was expected said to be WinCE 6-based and scheduled for an end of 2008 release. While this Android talk makes it all a bit more interesting, it certainly doesn't make it any more likely to happen.
Carl Freer dishes dirt on the new Gizmondo
If you were starting to get worried that the new Gizmondo device would never see the light of day, fear not! According to an interview with Carl Freer, the company is hard at work on its next handheld, which he claims will feature a number of improvements on the previous, practically perfect iteration. First up, the new system will be built atop Windows CE 6 (which Freer claims has lots of "new goodies"), utilizes a separate graphics chip, will be an open platform with a readily available SDK, and can grab content form a web portal (Gizmondo.com, likely). Most interesting of all, however, is that Freer says the old Gizmondo units will be returning to store shelves. All of this magic is said to be happening by the end of the year -- though since we're nearly half-way through it, Carl and co. have a pretty small window. This is where the "exciting psychic worlds" come into play, right?[Thanks, Trevor]
Carl Freer: "I'm going to resurrect Gizmondo" -- indeed he is
We've been in contact with Hans Sandberg, the Swedish journalist who quoted Carl Freer saying unequivocally, "I'm going to resurrect Gizmondo." This, plus yesterday's teaser, is the source of the Gizmondo mongering lighting up the Intertubes yesterday. Fortunately, all the important bits from Hans' interview are now translated from Swedish into English for some good ol' fashioned global scrutiny. As unthinkable as the proposition might sound, we bring you the highlights for your morning amusement and trepidation: Carl believes there is a still a market for Gizmondo and is "ashamed" of his failure -- he hopes the resurrection can pay back early investors Florida-based Tiger Telematics will formally own the new Gizmondo Gizmondo v2 could be up and running by May 2008 -- by Christmas 2008 we'll see "a more advanced version with widescreen" 35 titles will be available at launch, 6 are new, more on the way An "easy to use program" will allow kids to create games, save them to SD, and play them on their Gizmondo Price: $99, possibly free if Carl can work a deal with a cellular provider Unfortunately, he doesn't offer any explanation of the "exciting psychic worlds" in this interview snippet Our personal favorite has to be this, though. Carl says he has a deal in place with a Chinese company in Shenzhen which will manufacture the device "on credit" on condition that they will be the sole reseller in China. Oh, that sounds like a deal alright.Update: Plextek, the original Gizmondo device developer, have confirmed to Eurogamer that they will indeed be building the resurrected Gizmondo. Stefan Eriksson is currently not involved, Freer is. You know what this means... Gizmondo lives!
Gizmondo to rise again in 2008?
Oh cruel, cruel word... is it true? A teaser site for Gizmondo just appeared in the fetid bowels of the Internets boasting that the "legend is reborn." A cruel hoax or has Stefan Eriksson, freshly sprung from the clink, really teamed up with former accomplice Carl Freer in a bid to resurrect Gizmondo as the Swedish press claims? If true, the service is set for a Christmas 2008 launch with the promise of a "Gizmondo Live Marketplace" presumably chock-full of open source games running on a supposed $100 device. Will it really "democratize gaming?" Hardly. No worries though, we'll be too busy checking out the "exciting psychic worlds" to notice.Update: Ha, Gizmondo spared no expense with the teaser -- it's all yours for just $66 bucks over at TemplateMonster.[Thanks, Olof and Jon R.]Read -- [Warning: Swedish]Read -- Teaser site
