Tapwave Zodiac Portable Gaming System and PDA

When it comes to handheld consoles, today's gamer is quite a bit more sophisticated than in the past. Before, it was all a question about graphics and playability; now we're more concerned with versatility. Sure it has a backlit screen and plays plenty of titles, but what else do I get for my money? Does it play videos or music? Can I store pictures on it? How about documents and phone numbers? Can it surf the web? Gamers' needs have evolved and we're always on the lookout for hardware that can keep up with them. Luckily for us, we discerning button mashers need look no further than Tapwave's Zodiac for our grown up gaming fix.

The Zodiac is the first Personal Digital Assistant designed with gamers in mind. It still does all the tricks that your high end PDAs do, but the layout is a lot more game-friendly. With a 3.8-inch backlit color display, you can edit documents in WordSmith or bust demon skulls in DOOM in any lighting conditions. Navigation can be done either by touch screen and stylus or handy joystick (finally, no more D-pads). The Zodiac also sports other features that make other handheld manufacturers squirm, such as dual expansion slots, eight playable control buttons, 32 to 128MB of internal memory, a pair of rechargeable lithium batteries, built-in vibration feedback, Bluetooth wireless connectivity along with a solid launch library of games.

But enough reading from the box, how does it play? I can honestly say that the Tapwave Zodiac simply annihilates any other portable gaming device on the market in every conceivable way. After one session with the Zodiac's enormous, lighted high-resolution screen (480x320), I can never go back to my old GBA SP. The lighting is vibrant and perfectly even. Also worth mentioning is how much the touch screen enhances game play. And with the Yamaha audio component and stereo speakers, the sound couldn't be better. "But what about headphones?" you ask; the Zodiac also comes equipped with a standard 3.5mm jack and earbud headphones.

But everyone knows that a portable gaming system (or PDA for that matter) is more than just an awesome screen; if the controls are clunky, then the display means nothing. Luckily, the Zodiac excels here too. Sporting the first ever analog joystick on a handheld gaming device, the Zodiac steers like a dream. Maneuvering characters with the joypad is as fluid and intuitive as I'd hoped it would be. The button layout is similar to that of the old SNES controllers: four action buttons on the right with a pair of Left and Right shoulder triggers, the only deviation being the joypad with a center button rather than a traditional 8-way D-pad. The buttons are conveniently and familiarly located and comfortable to use. Along with the action buttons, the Zodiac also utilizes a function button (similar to "Select"), a home button that automatically jumps to the home screen and a power button. Worth mentioning is the function of the power button; it doesn't turn the system off, rather it initiates a sleep mode. This means that you can shut the Zodiac down mid-game and later pick up right where you left off, whereas in olden days this would reset the system and you'd lose all unsaved progress. The sleep mode uses virtually no power, so you don't have to worry that your batteries are draining away as it sits on your dresser overnight

Colors are Bright and Vibrant

The Zodiac also plays well with others. Using Bluetooth technology, you can link up wirelessly with up to seven other Zodiac users for multiplayer racing, shootouts, slugfests etc. And since Bluetooth uses radio waves, line of sight isn't an issue like it is with infrared. Another bonus with the Bluetooth technology is that it allows the Zodiac to link up with other Bluetooth enabled devices: printers for convenient printing, cameras for easy wireless photo transfer and storage, and cell phones for surfing the web.

Tapwave has also made certain that a variety of titles would be available at the time of their system's launch. Favorites, such as Duke Nukem, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4, DOOM II and Spy Hunter (the new one, not the 80s version) join a host of others along with original titles, such as Stuntcar Extreme. If you have a favorite game genre, you can be assured that it is represented in the lineup. If that isn't enough, there are always the thousands of Palm titles out there to hold you over until the 2400-plus game developers that have signed on turn in their homework.

For those of you who need to know exactly what's under the hood, the Zodiac sports a Motorola iMX1 ARM9 200MHz processor, an ATI Imageon W4200 graphics accelerator, and a Fathammer X-Forge 3D graphics engine. Basically what this means is that a developer would be hard-pressed to tax this system. The quality in terms of looks and playability tends to be comparable to later PSone or Nintendo 64 titles. Quite a step up from the SNES ports that are available now.

I think that I've made the point that the Zodiac is the apotheosis of portable gaming devices, but how is it as a PDA? Let's just say that if you write one off as a business expense, you shouldn't have to fear the tax-man's wrath. With an enhanced version of the Palm operating system at its heart, the Zodiac can assume any duties that your current Palm device can handle. The short list of functions includes the WordSmith word processor, InkStorm instant messenger, Date Book, Address Book, To Do List, Memo Pad, Alarm Clock, Calculator, PalmReader ebook reader, Photo storage, Kinoma video producer and player and MP3 Player. And just like any other Palm device, the Zodiac easily interfaces with any PC via HotSync for easy file management. Where it differs from other Palms is that the Zodiac actually has way more internal memory and dual expansion slots. The screen can also shift between landscape and portrait for those who prefer that their PDAs be held in the traditional "upright" position rather than horizontally.

Don't think for one second that Tapwave sacrificed form for function; the Zodiac also happens to be quite easy on the eyes. Sleek and shiny with curves in all the right places, the Zodiac is drop-dead sexy. It also comes standard with an attractive black leather flip-down screen protector. And since the case is constructed from polished, anodized aluminum (the same stuff that they make baseball bats out of) you can bet that it'll be around for years and years to come.

Bottom line is that if you are looking for hands-down the best portable gaming system in terms of power, playability, versatility, looks and just about everything else, then Tapwave's Zodiac is the answer to your prayers. It attempts the role of handheld gamer and personal organizer and amazingly excels at both, effortlessly making the leap from toy to tool and back again. Available in two versions, the 32MB Zodiac1 comes in Metallic Silver ($299) and the 128MB Zodiac2 in Charcoal Black ($399). Both units come pre-packaged with a USB Sync cable, power adapter, stylus, earbud headphones, wrist strap and a Palm Desktop Software CD-ROM. The Zodiac and its games can be purchased at your local CompUSA or online at www.Tapwave.com.