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[Vapourstreak]

Should I get a GP2X?  It sounds good from this GP2X review, but I don't know anyone who owns it.  Also, I converted the worldwide price from the UK Gp2X Store and compared it with the US and Canada Gp2X Store and it had a very big price difference for the pack.  Can someone convert it again or something because I don't believe the difference in the price.

P.S. Can anyone link me to other reviews of the GP2X?

[PharaohsVizier]

I can't imagine this being very very good, might as well get a PSP for all those features.  Only thing I really like about it is the TV output and supporting videos, but I have other players that can do that already.

[kyus]

Personally would buy a psp instead. Much better for emus.

The uk price is over 240 dollars. the us and canadian one is only 200. a currency converter would've told you that!

Only major advantage this has over psp is its ability to play divx and it's mame emu. everything else kinda blows in comparison.

[Vapourstreak]

PSP has dead pixels tho.

P.S. Can you buy the GP2X in stores (not online)?

[DeVS]

Dead pixles? My PSP doesn't have dead pixels. Dead pixels are an lcd problem which both the PSP AND the GP2X have. You have the same chance of getting a dead pixel on a PSP as you do on a GP2X.

[Vapourstreak]

Rly? I read somewhere that the GP2X can't get dead pixels because its a different type of screen or something...

[PharaohsVizier]

That isn't true.  The DS Lite could have dead pixels too...

[sonicwind]

yea every product has a chance of having a defect when your cranking out that many units, it just happens.

[Vapourstreak]

o.

[Perseid]

1) Any LCD device can develop dead pixels. Apparently a good number of early PSPs had an unusually high amount of dead pixels. That said I have a launch Japanese PSP that still has no dead pixels.

2) The GP2X is slightly slower at its highest clock setting than the PSP is at its highest clock setting. The difference is, though, that the GP2X is based on Linux which means it is much easier to code for and to port to because the APIs programmers will be using are not some reverse-engineer best-guess hacked toolkit. You can see this in the quality of the emulators. Amiga emulation is better. MAME is better. Every emulator I tried was better or as good as PSP emulation, except PS1.

3) The screen is square, whereas the PSP is widescreen. Wide is good for movies and PSP games but not for emulators. Your options are to stretch the screen which is unacceptable for me or to leave it square which leaves a large chunk of the PSP screen unused. If you're playing emulators at the correct aspect ratio the GP2X screen will end up being 'bigger'.

4) The GP2X is the only device I have that can play videos with no conversion or transcoding. Just throw the file on the SD card and play it.

5) I got my GP2X used from eBay. It took a while to find one at a price I was willing to pay(I was not willing to pay full price for one). You won't find one in an American store.

So...do I recommend it? It does what it says it does and it is fun to be able to make your own software with no restrictions, but if you're not going to try programming it I'd say no if you already have a hacked PSP. Yes, the Gp2X overall does homebrew/emulation better, but not enough to warrant an additional purchase.

[Vapourstreak]

Thanks.  Any others?

[Altor]

I own neither, and if I was going to buy a second handheld I'm not sure which one I'd get.

The PSP requires a modchip or... look I have no idea at all.  I just know it's nowhere near as simple as "hacking" a DS, where you just stick in a cartridge and you're set for life.  The GP2X on the other hand is designed to be hacked.

The PSP is more powerful, but not all of that power can be utilized because homebrew can't take full advantage of it, whereas all the resources of the GP2X are at any developer's disposal.

The PSP's wide screen is certainly a boon for movies... but there's the catch.  You can watch 2 movies and then the battery's dead.  The PSP's battery life is comically bad.  You can probably buy better ones if you know where to look, but that'll cost you a bit and probably void the warranty and a dozen other bad things.  How's the GP2X's battery life?  On a handheld, battery life is more important than virtually anything else, IMO.  I'd take an original gameboy with a modern lithium 100-hour battery to a PSP with a 4-hour battery.

As for graphics, one of the least important things, PSP blows everything away.  But we're used to that.  The GP2X certainly will have better graphics than the DS.

Sony, regardless of their total lack of business sense lately, will be around for a long time.  I don't know how much longer they'll support the PSP, given its constantly-decreasing sales performance, but probably longer than the GP2X will be supported or available for purchase.  Sony has a shred of reputation left to defend, where as GamePark can close its doors and open a new company somewhere else and have the same level of customer confidence - basically zero.

The PSP most likely has better warranty/support than the GP2X since GamePark isn't as big of a company.  However, Sony isn't known for their customer service, and sometimes the smaller company will have better service because they have to value each and every customer.  However their customer service (if any) will probably be in broken english.

The GP2X will most certainly never have a commercial-quality AAA title made for it, while the PSP has a few and will probably have many more.  However, if all you want is a pure emulation/homebrew device, the GP2X is your best choice.

The PSP has a beautiful screen, but it is easily damaged - however you can protect it.  The GP2X... are there even any accessories for it, like screen protectors, carrying cases, etc?  The GP2X user base is likely too small for accessory makers to hope to make any profit.

Does the GP2X have local wireless play?  Does it even matter, considering that you'll never find another person within 100 miles that has one?  Does it have online play?

The PSP requires videos to be encoded to a specific format before they can be played.  The GP2X can handle many formats, but I wonder how often you'll get new formats or unusual formats that it just can't play, or can't play properly?  How frustrating is it to try to watch a movie only to find that only audio or only video is working?   Or that they don't sync properly?  Getting videos to work properly on a PC can be a challenge, how much harder it would be for a handheld.

The GP2X undoubtedly has *better* homebrew, but is there the same quantity of it?  I hear that it's linux-based, so that should reduce the effort required to get software to run on it, but there are millions of PSP owners and probably only thousands of GP2X owners.  Assume that only 0.1% of the PSP owners know how to develop software, and only 10% of the GP2X owners know how to develop software, and the PSP still wins.  Are 10% of GP2X owners developers?  Doubtful.  And it's not so rewarding to develop software when few people will ever use it.

A tossup, really.  You know you can get a PSP working with homebrew EVENTUALLY, come hell or high water.  You can probably get better batteries for it.  It has a better screen and tons of accessories.  Lots of homebrew.  The GP2X depends on independent developers to make it useful, while the PSP is useful as a standalone device.  The GP2X would be an interesting experiment though, and you'd be the only person who owns one among all your friends, so if it's any good, they'll be real envious!  As one of the first pure open-source handheld devices, there are surely lots of very interesting things made for it, and lots of cool stuff it can do.

Seriously I'm not sure which one I'd buy.  I think... the deciding factor would just be plain old battery life.  And if battery life was roughly equal, I'd go with the GP2X just to spite Sony.

[Altor]

On reading that posted review, my opinion shifts 100% to GP2X over PSP.  Heck... I want one now...

[Vapourstreak]

Lol.  Same thing happened to me.  Wanted a PSP, read the review, wanted a GP2X

[Altor]

Well.... Hm.  Hmm...

A terrible shame there's no battery pack available for it.  I hate AA's.  I always lose them.  I rather... eh... well I just don't like them very much and usually throw them away any time I see them...

Hmm... I guess I could probably afford to buy one in a few months.  I'm not really in a rush though, I'm happy with my DS.  I'm not really in a rush though, I'm happy with my DS.  I'm not really in a rush though, I'm happy with my DS.  I'm not really in a rush though, I'm happy with my DS.............