gizmondo
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Gizmondo CEO: rumors of mafia connection were 'manipulation'
The Gizmondo story was already insane enough on its own – the out-of-nowhere launch, the lavish spending on events and a retail location, Momma Can I Mow the Lawn. An in-depth article at Eurogamer adds even more insane details than we knew.For example, Gizmondo had plans for a widescreen followup – which CEO Carl Freer reportedly showed off at meetings about the launch of the original system. The company even pitched an Xbox-branded version (above). "We were featured on the Windows CE Exhibition Tour for quite some time, even after the company went down," Gizmondo CEO Carl Freer told Eurogamer. "I think the mock-up was probably from one of the presentations with them, about how we could bridge the gap between the Xbox and the mobility. But no, there wasn't any agreement for us to do an Xbox device."By far the most famous aspect of the Gizmondo story was executive Stefan Eriksson, who became infamous after he crashed a $1 million Ferrari and blamed a driver who was nowhere to be found. Afterward, it was revealed that he had been convicted of receiving stolen goods. Freer claims that reports of Eriksson's connections to the Swedish mafia were overblown. "I don't think Sweden has a mafia," he said. "That terminology has been somewhat over-used. I knew about his criminal past, but when he started working for us he was not a wanted man. He'd served his time and paid his dues."Furthermore, an article in Sweden's Aftonbladet newspaper about Eriksson's criminal past was "fabricated from an agenda," Freer said. "I'm talking about the power of share manipulators who have influence over what the media writes. When a lot of money is at stake, you start attracting people who are not interested in the longevity of the company but the performance of the stock. That's the dark side of running a company."
Found Footage: Jon Stewart scolds Apple over the Gizmodo stolen iPhone fracas
Leave it to Jon Stewart to put things into perspective. In this segment from The Daily Show, Jon satirically cops to being an Apple user since the 80s and takes Apple to task for stealing the evil empire crown from Microsoft in their handling of the Gizmodo lost iPhone incident. After Giz gave back the iPhone, the cops busted down its editor, Jason Chen's door. "Don't they know there's an app for that?" Say what you will, I think Jon nailed it. Watch the full clip after the break. [via iPhone Savior]
Gizmondo man goes back to jail, does not pass go (again), does not collect $200 (again)
After serving three years in the US prison system for, among a litany of other things, totally disrespecting a $1 million Ferrari Enzo, Gizmondo's ex-CEO Stefan Eriksson is heading right back to jail. Last Friday, the District Court of Uppsala, Sweden sentenced Eriksson to one and a half years in prison for allegedly "making illegal threats, attempted blackmail, and robbery," though given his past offenses (being a head of the Swedish mafia, for instance), we're surprised the rap sheet is so light.After being released from American prisons in early 2008, Eriksson ran into legal trouble again upon re-entering Sweden. Talking to The Local, his lawyer's initial response to the verdict was, "This is unacceptable, but we must sit down and discuss how we should proceed." We're tentatively suggesting, "Get Eriksson away from cars, money, and other people," but that's just us.[Via Eurogamer]
Former Gizmondo exec Stefan Eriksson gets 1.5 year sentence, movie might now have ending
Will this be the final chapter in the infamous and incredibly entertaining tale of former Gizmondo head Bo Stefan "Fiery Ferrari Crasher" Eriksson? Doubtful, but with any luck it'll serve as a decent thread to wrap up that optioned movie on his life. An Uppsala, Sweden District Court has sentenced the man to 1.5 years in prison for his most recent round of escapades, which include illegal threats, attempted blackmail, and robbery. Assuming he starts jail fairly soon, mark your calendars and place your bets, we're expecting a whole new slew of comical misdeeds to hit the news feeds by March 2011 -- and no, we still don't think a new Gizmondo will be out by then. [Thanks, piraya]
Two guys want to make a Gizmondo movie
Remember Bo Stefan Eriksson, the Gizmondo bigshot that wrecked that sweet Ferrari Enzo and then went to jail? His life hasn't been too great lately, but apparently his trials and tribulations are interesting enough for a Hollywood movie. We guess driving drunk and running a company into the ground makes for entertaining cinema ...But, we digress. The men who want to turn this sad tale into a sad tale starring more beautiful people for the silver screen are writer-director Craig Zobel and producer Beau Flynn. These two have optioned Wired's "Gizmondo's Spectacular Crack-up," which was written by Randall Sullivan and chronicles the events that led up to that infamous crash. Flynn's production company Contrafilm will handle most of the heavy lifting. When you think about it, though, is this really movie theater entertainment? Wouldn't this be a good cautionary tale for an after school special or that Intervention show?[Via Engadget]Read - Film gets optioned Read - The original Wired article
Ferrari splitting ex-Gizmondo exec Stefan Eriksson's tale optioned for a movie
At last, former Gizmondo head honcho Bo Stefan Eriksson's story is finally going to be told on film -- or rather, the one told in Wired will be. Writer-director Craig Zobel and producer Beau Flynn have optioned the rights to create a movie based on the publication's October 2006 article "Gizmondo's Spectacular Crack-up" by Randall Sullivan, which chronicles the build up to his infamous car crash. Flynn's production company Contrafilm will be backing the project, and should the movie actually make it to theaters and be successful, we suspect there'll be plenty of material for a sequel. [Via Gizmodo] Read - Film optioned Read - Original Wired article
Former Gizmondo chief Stefan Eriksson lands back in jail, in Sweden
While there's been no shortage of fresh Gizmondo rumors over the past year or so, we haven't heard much of anything about former bigwig Stefan Eriksson, who's known as much for a little car crash as he is for the company he helped bring into infamy. That looks to have changed in a big way this week, however, as Herr Eriksson has now landed back in jail in Sweden, where he's facing a whole slew of new, very serious charges, including extortion, aggravated assault, grand theft, embezzlement, and a firearms violation. No word on a new trial date or anything just yet, but it looks like Eriksson won't be resting easy anytime soon, as a district judge has granted a request to keep him in jail pending an investigation.[Thanks, JC]
Gizmondo misses its 2008 resurrection
We didn't expect the biggest news of 2008 to hit so late in the year. Folks, we've got some bad, bad news for you: the Gizmondo is not making its 2008 rebirth as originally planned. We'll give you time to let that sink in. The culprit, according to co-founder Carl Freer (you know, the one who isn't a felon), is the global economy. To be sure, GIzmondo still lives and is expected to come in two mobile OS variants,Windows CE and Android, and as such the device will still be usable as a phone. Although not officially priced, it will not come out for the onetime-announced $99. Said Freer, "The simple reason [is] that it costs more to by from OEM's than if you have a large manufacturer who can build everything from scratch." Fear not, true believers, the Gizmondo will rise again ... someday.[Via Engadget]
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.
Media Power CEO shows off new Android-based Gizmondo, looks just like old Gizmondo
The long-rumored resurrection of Gizmondo from the ashes of Stefan Eriksson's bisected Ferrari Enzo is near. Near, that is, if you believe Rich Jenkins, CEO of Media Power, the company behind this rebirth. Jenkins recently showed Swedish journalist Hans Sandberg a box full of pre-production gaming handhelds, all looking suspiciously like old, decidedly post-production units. According to Jenkins the changes are all internal, consisting of new graphics hardware from nVidia and an uprated battery (to be offered as a free upgrade to scorned owners of the original). Pricing is still undetermined but Android is confirmed; owners will have to choose either Google's new hotness or Microsoft's decidedly more tepid Windows CE, but can't have both -- unless they buy two. Release is still set for the end of this year via a "really cool website" hitting the intertubes next month.
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.
Wii Warm Up: The others
We usually use the Wii Warm Up to discuss and dissect Wii-related minutiae, but today we want to know more about your non-Nintendo gaming habits. Which other consoles do you own (current-gen or otherwise), which is your favorite (after the Wii, naturally), and what did you last play/are you currently playing through?
Pharrell seeks N.E.R.D.vana with Gizmondo Enzo Tee
Look Pharrell, just because you've Yin'd Stefan Eriksson's crashed Enzo onto your Tee doesn't mean your own Enzo won't get Yang'd. Dietrich is out there, somewhere.
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 updates Gizmondo's status: delayed already
Brace yourself Gizmondo fans, for it seems that not all of Carl Freer's recent prognostications about the resurrection of the ill-fated handheld are exactly coming to pass. While he apparently is still intent on bringing the handheld back from the dead, he now tells Swedish journalist Hans Sandberg that he was being "too optimistic" with the stated May 2008 launch date, and that it should now be available "by the end of 2008." That deal with Plextek to build the new device apparently is still in place, however, and Freer's "co-pilot" in this latest endeavor, Mikael Ljungman, is reportedly on his way to China this week to check out the manufacturing operations. Needless to say, we'll be keeping you posted on any future developments, or future delays.
Gizmondo refuses to stay dead
After giggling off yesterday's Gizmondo teaser site for all its "the legend is reborn" and "exciting psychic worlds" posturing, we've now discovered that the spectacularly unsuccessful gadget will get to enjoy the last laugh. The menacing, synthesized cackling you hear originates from the halls of UK electronics design firm Plextek, which has confirmed to Eurogamer that the Gizmondo is indeed coming back. Though "it will be a while" before the handheld system returns in some form, Plextek technical director Ian Murphy insists that "the product has been recovered from the liquidators and [Plextek is] bringing it back to market." Former Gizmondo exec and Ferrari killer Stefan Eriksson won't be along for the ride this time, but company founder Carl Freer is reportedly on board. He was recently quoted by a Swedish journalist as saying, "I'm going to resurrect Gizmondo." In the same interview, Freer saw the device's second coming happening as soon as May 2008.Perhaps consumer applause will be a bit more rapturous this time.Read - Carl Freer interviewRead - Engadget summaryRead - Eurogamer confirmation
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' site teases a 2008 rebirth
Gizmondo is back! Sort of, anyways. Or not. A teaser for the device's phoenix-like return has been posted online, boasting "the legend is reborn," "exciting psychic worlds" and "we will democratize gaming." Also mentioned is open source gaming ("create your own games") and Gizmondo Live Marketplace, which we're guessing for the moment means a portal for open source software. The Gizmondo originally debuted in 2005 and has a rather storied history of failure and scandal.More "information" is available at ekonominyheterna, for those who can read Swedish (there are some pretty shoddy translations out there, too). We wonder if the recently-released former Gizmondo executive Stefan Eriksson will be involved. If you liked the flash-based teaser, you can make your own here - it turns out the template only costs $66. Update: In case the aforementioned template didn't make it explicitly clear, here's more on the Gizmondo's disappointing non-return.Well, so much for the "rumor smash." The Gizmondo is coming back.[Via Engadget]
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
