Convergence technology has received a lot of criticism from consumers and the media alike. While it's now safe to assume that a cell phone is useful for more than simple, two-way communication, and that a PDA can do more than just keep track of your appointments, it's unclear where to draw the line on multifunctionality. Certain consumer electronics, like Apple's iPod, have proven that a device with a single function can be a breakout success. Conversely, units like Nokia's N-Gage serve as cautionary tales of what happens when a device tries to be too much to too many. It's no wonder, then, that the Gizmondo has been under such close scrutiny since it was announced, early this year. Boasting gaming features, a built-in camera, GPRS and Bluetooth connectivity, media playback, and even GPS technology, Tiger Telematics' new toy is going to face an uphill battle to avoid being termed the Frankenstein's monster of game decks. Even its name—essentially the equivalent of "thingamajig"--seems consciously self-deprecatory. Yet, with an impressive set of tech specs behind it, and some pretty revolutionary features, such as location-based gaming, the Gizmondo has a chance to find a niche within the handheld gaming market.

The Gizmondo could be likened to virtually any mobile device. Its 400mhz ARM9 CPU and its Windows CE functionality puts it on par with the latest iPAQs. The deck shares the N-Gage's reliance on GPRS signals for multiplayer gaming. It's got a built-in camera, just like many cell phones. The only thing that sets the Gizmondo apart from these other mobile solutions is its unapologetic focus on entertainment. The device wears its lack of conventional usefulness like a badge. As it should—any sort of real telecommunicational functionality would cement the Gizmondo's role, in the minds of gamers, as the next N-Gage.

Even Tiger Telematics itself would not claim that the Gizmondo is going to push polygons around with greater aplomb than a Nintendo DS or a Sony PSP; however, the device's recently-announced NVIDIA GoForce 4500 chipset is looking like no slouch. NVIDIA has designed the chip with the needs of mobile devices in mind, and it therefore features acceleration for all of the Gizmondo's multimedia features, not just 3D graphics. With 1280K of 128-bit VRAM and a programmable shader technology that allows six simultaneous textures to be applied to every pixel, the card should open up new technological possibilities. Perhaps most notable is the GoForce's much-touted Early Z technology, which reduces battery consumption and graphics processing loads by up to 60%, by simply identifying non-visible areas of every frame of animation and discarding them. Efficiency is paramount for any mobile device, and NVIDIA seems to have a firm grasp of this fact.

The Gizmondo's most unique feature is, undoubtedly, its GPS functionality, used to provide location information for games. Indie Studios is currently developing a GPS-reliant game, entitled City. The game was not available for a hands-on demo at the UK's recent EGN conference, but Gizmondo's website has some cursory information about the title. Apparently, the game uses the GPS signal to map out a virtual city, based on the one you might actually be inhabiting. Ostensibly, you can use your Gizmondo's digital camera and MMS messaging to interact with other players and elements of this virtual world, although it's not clear what purpose this will serve. In fact, the game's premise seems remarkably flimsy. Any skeptics out there passing off the title as vaporware are probably justified, at least at the moment.

This brings up an important point. It seems unlikely that the Gizmondo will, in time for launch, have many games specifically developed for the platform. Its Windows CE functionality opens up a large, external library to early adopters, but the fledgling console will fail to adequately differentiate itself from PocketPC solutions until it garners a healthy complement of games. At EGN, we only had a chance to play a single game, and it was one that is already available for other platforms. A version of Fathammer's Stunt Car 3D, which comes pre-installed on every Tapwave Zodiac, was running very well on a pre-release Gizmondo. NVIDIA's GoForce technology allows the Gizmondo to run the game using Fathammer's spanking new X-Forge 2 engine, which features polygon counts and lighting effects that put its predecessor, X-Forge 1, to shame. The game ran at a very respectable framerate, and was almost as easy to control with the Gizmondo's 8-way directional pad as it was with the Zodiac's diminutive analog stick.

It is as yet unclear how Gizmondo will position its self-titled handheld within the mobile space. They've made it abundantly clear that they won't be competing with Nokia's N-Gage. They're not trying to court business professionals with PocketPCs. The Gizmondo doesn't feature telephony, so it's no Treo-killer. Gizmondo almost assuredly won't try to pull market share away from the DS and PSP. So, where exactly is this niche in which the device can succeed? If location-based gaming is going to be the area in which this game deck truly makes its mark, more than one nebulous title will have to use the feature. Otherwise, the Gizmondo will become little more than an expensive, GPS-aware media player in interesting form factor.

--Avery out