Another Handheld ?

[jonjandran]

News: Gametrac
November 17, 2003 11:52 PM PST
Tiger Telematics / BS


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Another handheld has entered the fray! Recently formed Tiger Telematics (no relation to Game.com makers Tiger Electronics) has announced that they will be releasing a system called the Gametrack, based on the Windows CE operating system. It will have a camera, bluetooth, 3D Mophun gaming (based on synergenix technology, a company they recently acquired), MP3, MPEG-4 video, and GPS. Oddly, there's also a feature that allows parents to track their child through the whereabouts of the device, and the GPS. Thanks to Windows for Devices for the news, and check out some really nice shots of the system there as well.

As an aside - it seems as though a company trying to break into handheld gaming shouldn't name themselves after the company with the most economically dismal handheld failure around. Perhaps they were unaware?


http://www.insertcredit.com/news/112003/gametrac.jpg

[Epicenter]

Personally, I don't want my handheld gaming system to be able to tell any hacker my whereabouts, do you? ;) Also, any system running WinCE must be painfully inefficient and slow. The Dreamcast at least only used it for VMU functions. That thing looks like garbage, and I doubt many companies will develop for it .. sounds like something Infinum Labs cooked up. ;) Watch, it uses a Pentium 2 Mobile or something like that. ;D

[RoboticParanoia]

So...this is the fourth/fifth one entering the market? Wow.

Sounds feature packed, but that may not be a good thing.

[Ed Oscuro]

You know, the Tiger tie-in would've escaped me. Very astute!

As for hackers being able to get your position via GPS...it's rather scary (but at the same time very cool) to think that the system could have its functions so intertwined and interoperability at such a level. I'm just amazed that it's got GPS...It wasn't that long ago that the Sega Teradrive with its ability for the PC hardware to send data to the Mega Drive hardware was pretty nifty stuff.

Since it's Windows I suppose you'll access everything through the Windows interface.

[Flack]

Has anyone else here messed with GPS much?

I bought a newer USB GPS unit for my laptop. It works good in the car, with the GPS on the dash. Put it in the floorboard or backseat and it drops to about half signal. If you cup your hands around it, you can make it totally lose signal.

Do these handhelds use the same gps technology? If so, I can't imagine them working in a mall, in a backpack, or even in your pocket.

[jonjandran]

Has anyone else here messed with GPS much?

I bought a newer USB GPS unit for my laptop. It works good in the car, with the GPS on the dash. Put it in the floorboard or backseat and it drops to about half signal. If you cup your hands around it, you can make it totally lose signal.

Do these handhelds use the same gps technology? If so, I can't imagine them working in a mall, in a backpack, or even in your pocket.

They won't. You have to have a clear view of several of the satellites for it to even remotely work.

[FABombjoy]

3D Mophun gaming

Our patented Mophun Technology means 'More-Fun... for you'!


...all right, WTF is Mophun anyway?

[MarioAllStar2600]

Between the PSP and GBA SPtheres no need for a new portable.

[Tom61]

http://windowsdevices.com/news/NS7698869181.html link to the article.


Also, any system running WinCE must be painfully inefficient and slow.

Not really, Windows CE.net is surprisingly well made and fast. (considering it runs on a true RISC processor)

An important note: It's made by Tiger Telematics's Gametrac Europe subsidiary. Is this going to realesed in the US or not?

[Ed Oscuro]

It's easy to forget that the Sega Dreamcast has the Windows CE logo right on the front. However, that's a whole different beast, and it certainly doesn't offer the range of features and the ability to transmit your location!

For myself, I'm not very worried about hacking but it is a possibility: Windows CE is indeed a complex piece of software and probably somewhere between Windows 3.11 and 95 in terms of lines of code, but it's not so complex that they've got many security problems with its internal software...the problems start to come up when you take into consideration that it does not support mutual authentication in wireless networks, and if you start to try dumb things like using it to connect to your real desktop (your password there will be easily found through the Registry encoded with an XOR scheme relying on "susageP"...) or if programmers get lazy, as they often do, and inject C functions like "printf" or "memcpy." Like Epicenter said, there's a damn good chance something is open somewhere along the line. With the lack of mutual authentication and the Pegasus (code name for Windows CE before release, in case you were wondering) bit, I can't blame anybody for wondering.

Same as normal Windows, really.

[l_lamb]

That thing looks like garbage, and I doubt many companies will develop for it .. sounds like something Infinum Labs cooked up. ;)

That was my first thought...looks like a portable version of the Phantom.