If we told you that you could have a portable video game device that plays movies, had 1GB of storage, supported a few Sega and Nintendo emulators, played mp3s, had an FM tuner, and transformed into a camera ... you'd most likely say I was talking about Stacy's Mom (who's got it going on) or a PSP. Nay! The poorly marketed object of my curious desire is a bizarre little contraption called the Gemei X-900
VERSION-A-OOONE-A-GEEEEEGA. More pics and bitterly disapproving remarks after the jump.
At a glance, this thing looks awful. The console resembles a cheap $15 PC joystick you've cursed while shopping Best Buy's limited selection on weekends, and you'll note the weird elliptical buttons on the right. Apparently it's not utter crap: unlike most PVPs, it has a long batter life and the video player/camera section of the body detaches from the controller grip like Mazinger Z's head which makes it extremely portable.
In terms of gaming, the joysticks aren't refined and the dual analog is utterly worthless for the old-school games it emulates. But that's fine -- Gemei isn't trying to compete at the PSP / DS level, it found a nice somewhere in-between, elbow to elbow with other alternative vaporware like
the GP2X from Korea. As they continue to pack features into the future (Niero's wish list: MAME support, DivX, WiFi) they should have no trouble capturing geek interests worldwide.
The Gemei is available in two vomitous flavors: (ugly) black-magenta and (uglier) white-yellow, which both perhaps resemble the innards of a cut open fish and is attractive overseas. I've had no luck finding an importer or pricing info, so if you spot one please post in the comments below. Check out
7 pages of photos and specifications on CNet Asia.
Contest:
12:08 PM on 10.20.2006
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