ecchiSKETCH

This will be the final installment of my blog covering, as Judecca put it, "Chinese Sorcery Boxes". This is by no means a comprehensive look at handheld emulation, it is merely a handheld enthusiast trying to shed some light on a few interesting devices that would otherwise remain unknown.

My first blog was on the Dingoo A320. It was originally made by Dingoo Digital in Beijing, but the upgrades to follow would be made by Dingoo Technologies in Hong Kong. Word is that after an argument following the release of the A320, Dingoo Digital split in two. Some of the original team members of Dingoo Digital began to slander the separatists, claiming their rights to the original Dingoo logo, saying the Dingoo HK logo was fake, and stating that their products could explode while charging. This is known as The Dingoo Conspiracy. Firmware was changed and the new company then released new handhelds.

Here is the first Dingoo upgrade, the Dingoo A330.



Right off the bat the most striking feature is that it looks like an obvious PSP knock-off, but isn't that the charm of any non-Japanese handheld? It has twice the RAM of the A320 (64 MB) and supports the use of a Xbox knock-off wireless controller (sold separately). It runs the same emulators as the Dingoo A320, only smoother. The only complaints are the few instances of some screen issues with the Genesis and SNES emulators, other than that it is a true successor to the Dingoo. But only a year after the A330 was released came the Dingoo A380.



Ascetically one improvement over the A330 was the movement of the speakers. The A320 had them at the bottom of the unit. This wasn't the best location for speaker placement, but the A330 had them on the back of the unit; an even worse place to put them. On the A380, they are moved back to the bottom, the lesser of two evils. Another minor improvement is the fact that it looks slightly less knock-offish (even with the Xbox buttons) and is available in three colors (the A330 was only released in black). It also has 64 MB RAM and 4 GB internal storage, just like the A330. As far as differences go it has a larger screen, G sensor, built in MAME emulator, support for two wireless controllers, and has the legendary Dingux (Dingoo version of Linux) as its native OS. While the emulators ran well on the A330, they run even better on the A380. No real unplayable-ness here, just a few issues of sound lag but nothing substantial. This is a great handheld not only for single player gaming, but for two player gaming as well. Great emphasis was put into the multiplayer function. It's a shame that if you buy one, chances are you'll be the only one that has one.

My second entry was on Game Park Holdings' GP2X Wiz, which in itself was an upgrade to the GP2X. But then that was upgraded, and we had the GP2X Caanoo (seriously, who the hell names these things).



Like the Wiz it has a touch screen, which is an improvement over that of the older device. One difference is that while the Wiz had a D-pad, the Caanoo has an analog stick similar to the Neo Geo Pocket Color. A few flaws are the use of a proprietary cable used in charging and the claim of "Wi-Fi gaming" (you need to purchase a separate USB Dongle in order for this to work). Also the Caanoo is a bit pricier than other handheld emulators. Gaming however runs well on the Caanoo, but maybe not as well as the newer Dingoos. This is up for debate. In my opinion the Caanoo facilitates creativity as there are many worthwhile homebrew games and the software is available to anyone wanting to create their own games. Games you make can even be submitted to GPH and they might even pay you if they like your work! If you tried that with any other system, especially the "brand name" ones, you'd be sued and probably end up in prison.

And finally, I was looking online last month and I stumbled across this, the Yinlips YDP18 Mini.



Released just last Fall, what makes this device special is that it runs Android as its OS. This is quite a change from the usual emulation handhelds that are usually Linux based. Specs and reviews are barely pouring in, but it is already being called the "Android Vita". Although it's still fresh, an upgrade of this system is already being talked about on handheld emulator forums. One apparent flaw is that a few steps are needed to access the Android Market, it isn't available right out of the box. Despite this, many people are waiting in anticipation.

These are exciting times concerning continental Asian handheld emulators. What's next, though? Will Android replace Linux? What new possibilities await? Well this is goodbye for this series of blogs. Whether you like, love, hate, or just accept emulation for what it is, I hoped you've enjoyed it.

Ecchi's two words: "Handheld Emulation!"