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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."
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.
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]
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 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
