• Console
• Gamepark
• Handheld

GP32

The GP32 (GamePark 32) is a hand held console built by Korean company GamePark. While it outwardly resembles a Nintendo Game Boy Advance, its features are quite different.

The console is based on a 133MHz ARM CPU, backed by 8 megabytes of RAM. Unlike similar gaming systems, which are proprietary cartridge-based, the GP32 uses rewritable SmartMedia cards, making it very appealing to amateur games developers. The console also has a USB port for connection to a PC and a serial expansion port.

There are three main commercial versions of the unit: the original GP32, with no light, the front-lit unit (FLU), modified for GamePark by Hahotech, and the back-lit unit (BLU), which is set to be released in Europe mid-Summer 2004. All commercially released units are white with grey or white buttons. There are also a number of differently-coloured promotional units, and several prototype units with wildly different designs.

Although the number of official games available for the GP32 system is limited, many open source/free software developers are working on various emulators and are porting PC games. In addition to this, a wide range of free, public-domain games are being created by amateur developers. GamePark does not ask any royalties to release games for its device, which makes it much easier for small editors or independent developers to release software.

The recent modification of Ericsson Chatboard micro-keyboards to work with the system has seen a new flourish of software development, including a port of Linux, and keyboard support being added to many emulators.

Despite the fact that the system is currently only available in Korea, a large European and American userbase is emerging, backed by imported consoles and downloadable software.

While an official European release is imminent, there are no plans to release the console commercially in America.

Specs:

Dimensions	147mm x 88mm x 34mm
Weight	163g
Display	3.5" TFT, 16 Bit Colour, 320x240 pixels
CPU	ARM920, 133MHz
RAM	8MB SDRAM
ROM	512K
Sound	44.1KHz 16 Bit Stereo Sound 4 Channel WAV mixing 16-part polyphonic MIDI Earphone port Stereo speakers
Storage	SmartMedia 8MB-128MB
Power Supply	2x AA Batteries or 3V DC Adapter

External Links
GP32x - News and community website
GBAX - UK distributor of GP32s
Lik-Sang - Worldwide distributor of GP32 (shipping from Hong Kong)
GP32emu - Another news site
GP32news - Another news site
Console Database - Info on the GamePark 32

Source | Copyright