Tapwave Zodiac Now in CompUSA Stores

The Tapwave Zodiac mobile entertainment console, its accessories and games were rolled out in all 227 CompUSA stores today. The Zodiac will be placed in the mobile computing section of the CompUSA stores.

Along with the Tapwave Zodiac being available at retail, it will also be available on CompUSA's website. According to David Wenning, VP of Sales for Tapwave, "CompUSA's focus on mobile computing technologies made them a great partner to bring this exciting new Palm-Powered entertainment system to consumers across the country. Now consumers will be able to experience first hand the brilliant high-resolution display, amazing half-VGA graphics performance, rich stereo sound, and the multimedia power of the Zodiac mobile entertainment console."

"This is a new and exciting technology merging the benefits of the Palm-based PDA with an extremely well presented gaming platform that is sure to please the PDA user and avid portable gamer as well," commented Nate Mallad, buyer for CompUSA. "Gaming on a handheld device has just taken a giant leap forward, and movie watchers will love the Zodiac's ability to present full-motion video and stereo sound."

The Zodiac accessories available today at retail include the Zodiac Sport Case, Zodiac Cradle and a Zodiac Stylus 3-pack. Other accessories for the Zodiac will also be available in coming weeks. These include a Zodiac Deluxe Leather Case and the Zodiac Universal Travel Kit.

In addition to launching at retail, this year Tapwave expects to offer a total of 60 to 75 Tapwave Certified titles, such as Tiger Team: Apache vs Hind (helicopter combat game), Orbz (action arcade) and Acedior (RPG). Some of the Zodiac premiere titles for this year will include 3D Realms/MachineWorks Northwest's Duke Nukem Mobile, Activision's MTX: Mototrax and Street Hoops, Eidos' Tomb Raider and Atari's Neverwinter Nights. Activision's Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 just released in March, and id Software's DOOM II recently launched in May.

The new retail model comes with the latest Zodiac 1.1 software suite. The console is offered in two models -- the Zodiac(1) for $299 (32MB RAM) and the Zodiac(2) for $399 (128MB RAM) and is available from Tapwave.com. The units run Palm OS 5.2T and features a 3.8 inch diagonal 480 x 320 pixel screen, analog joystick navigation with integrated triggers and buttons, stereo sound and Bluetooth for multiplayer wireless gaming. It has two SD expansion slots and runs a 200mhz i.MX1 Motorola ARM9 Processor, and has a ATI Imageon W4200 graphics accelerator (with 8MB dedicated SDRAM).

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Wish Zodiac had a Good Web Browser

kpr @ 6/24/2004 3:56:04 PM #
I would seriously consider buying a Zodiac if it had a good web browser that is similar to or better than Web Pro 3.x that comes with the palmOne devices.

I really like how Web Pro's Handheld View can reformat a web page so one does not have to scroll right and left while still viewing the page in a large font. It also supports 320x480 and 480x320 screen resolutions, and has a full screen mode that hides most of the user interface elements.

RE: Wish Zodiac had a Good Web Browser
Marshall Flinkman @ 6/24/2004 4:16:03 PM #
So get one and download the browser of your choice...

RE: Wish Zodiac had a Good Web Browser
kpr @ 6/24/2004 4:30:37 PM #
Marshall Flinkman wrote:
>> So get one and download the browser of your choice...

Like which web browser???

I've heard that Web Pro 3.x "barely" works and is quite buggy on the Zodiac. It works great on a T3 and TC.

I've heard that Web Browser 2.0, which is included with the Zodiac on the CD, is horribly, horribly slow (sometimes completely stalling) and it won't squeeze-to-fit non-mobile-friendly sites.

I've also heard that Blazer 2.0 does not support the Zodiac's 480x320 screen.

So it sounds like to me that there is no good web browser for the Zodiac at this time that supports 480x320 and reformats the web pages so you do not have to keep scrolling right and left.

So far the best web browsing experience I have had on a PDA is Web Pro 3.0.1 on a T3 in landscape mode with Handheld View and Full Screen modes turned ON. I was hoping the Zodiac could do something similar or better, but so far from what I hear, it can not.

If you know something different, please enlighten us.

RE: Wish Zodiac had a Good Web Browser
Fammy @ 6/24/2004 4:52:22 PM #
It comes with version 2.0, which is somewhat lacking. I don't know if you can buy/download 3.0. I'm limited to bluetooth surfing close to my PC, so I haven't spent a lot of time with it.

-- Fammy
RE: Wish Zodiac had a Good Web Browser
ocspub @ 6/24/2004 8:14:42 PM #
> I've heard that Web Browser 2.0, which is included
> with the Zodiac on the CD, is horribly, horribly
> slow (sometimes completely stalling) and it won't
> squeeze-to-fit non-mobile-friendly sites.

That's pretty much my experience, unfortunately. Tapwave (or maybe PalmSource, since it's the official PalmOS platform brower) really need to make some improvements before I'd consider it a solid browser. And yes, there aren't any better alternatives at this time.

Oliver


Work Smarter, Play Harder. Visit http://www.tapland.com for the latest Zodiac information.

RE: Wish Zodiac had a Good Web Browser
MTM @ 6/25/2004 3:49:00 PM #
Maybe it would be worth sending an email to the Opera folks. It seems peculiar that they do not have a version for the new high performance Palm OS devices that are out now. Or are there some politics that I don't know about?

I have not had to pay attention to this area, since I live in a third world country where Zodiacs are not available, and web browsing on my current device is not worth the trouble.

Mike

Mike

—————

"Never ascribe to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity". --Richard Feynman

RE: Wish Zodiac had a Good Web Browser
ocspub @ 6/26/2004 5:08:58 PM #
> Maybe it would be worth sending an email to the
> Opera folks. It seems peculiar that they do not
> have a version for the new high performance
> Palm OS devices that are out now. Or are there
> some politics that I don't know about?

Maybe. I think they are well aware of the lack of decent browsers for most if not all PalmOS devices, and have heard the requests from the community in the past (search their forums).

Now that Nokia, one of the major platforms for their mobile browser, seems to be getting cozy with Mozilla and their Minimo project, maybe we PalmOS users will see some some good news coming out of Norway... I know I'd be willing to pay a reasonable price for a decent browser.

Oliver


Work Smarter, Play Harder. Visit http://www.tapland.com for the latest Zodiac information.

Sweet.

JonAcheson @ 6/30/2004 4:27:22 PM #
It's a shame I'm addicted to thumboards, the Zodiac is a really sweet device.

Don't like the d-pad app launcher, but the form factor and screen is nice.

Much nicer than a GBA SP, and I adore my GBA SP. Of course, the games are the deal-maker or breaker.

Jon Acheson


"All opinions posted are my own, and not those of my employers, who are appalled."

Saw it the first time

vesther @ 6/30/2004 4:38:45 PM #
Lightweight and promising, but it was meant to be a gaming machine IMO. A Pure Palm-Powered Video Gaming machine to my perspective.

A Palm-Powered Handheld is the bread and butter for many people. Without a Palm-Powered Handheld, your progress is all for naught.
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