Best of British: Gizmondo Doomed To Fail?

The Gizmondo combined media player, phone and gaming gadget went on sale in the last month for £229. The device sports an impressive spec: - It can be used to play games, music tracks and movies, it can take and store digital photos and can send SMS, MMS and emails, GPS, GPRS and Bluetooth for multi-player gaming.

From April 22nd you'll be able to buy a Gizmondo for £100 less - a cool 44% saving. In return, for this discount, Gizmondo users will have to watch three "Smart Adds" per day.

The Smart Adds will mainly consist of video clips and small games that come with redemption codes or barcodes that are wirelessly delivered to your Gizmondo over its GPRS connection.

I'm not so sure that this option is cheaper....Ok, 44% less but who pays the data cost for downloading the ad? Even if each ad is only 100Kb (I'm guessing they'll be more but I'm being generous) then on my network (Vodafone) at £2.35/Mb these ads would cost me £257!!!

Other reasons why I think the Gizmondo is destined for failure are:

- It costs £229. Nintendo's DS handheld costs £99, and a PSP is expected to cost £129 - far less than the cost of a Gizmondo

- The DS already has a pool of fans of earlier Nintendo handhelds to draw on (87,000 DS handhelds were sold in the first two days in Europe) and the PSP is also likely to have a strong following

- Most importantly, it doesn't have a killer game for launch

I'd love to be able to 'Buy British' but I think the Gizmondo will go the way of the C5, Sedgeway etc. May be worth buying one as I bet it will be worth a bit in 10 years!

Maybe in a year I'll be proven wrong.

The author runs a blog following developments in the internet and mobile internet sectors. With over 10 years experience in strategy consulting and business development, and has seen and lived through the highs, and the lows of the industry.

Based in London, the author can be contacted on admin@connectedinternet.co.uk and his blog can be found at http://www.connectedinternet.co.uk

In The News:

pen paper and inkwell


cat break through


Sony PSP

The period of the greatest portable console has finally arrived.... Read More

Review - Sony PSP

I'm fairly certain there are folks at Nintendo feeling some... Read More

You Dont Have To Be Rich To Be A PC Gamer

There is a common misconception that you have to take... Read More

Laying Smart Dust With Smart Munitions

We believe that we need to make the Smart Munitions... Read More

UAV Swarm Reconfiguration for computer war games

The modern battlespace is changing in the real world and... Read More

The Future of Submarine Games

In the last six months, the demise of sims has... Read More

How to Write a Business Plan While Playing

BizTech 2.0 is an entrepreneur education program offering business assistance... Read More

Review: Samurai Jack -- Code of the Samurai

Fans of Genndy Tartakovsky's "Samurai Jack," which wrapped last year... Read More

The Future of Video Games

I've recently been thinking about where video games could be... Read More

Halo 2 Multiplayer Tips for Beginners and Advanced players

Here are some general tips from an advanced player for... Read More

Top 10 Dumbest Game Titles

You may not agree with the order in which they... Read More

$20 Buys a Lot of Game These Days

Watching the evolution of sports games has been like watching... Read More

Blast From The Past - Retro Games Are Hot Again

Miss the brainlessly simple and extremely addictive games from the... Read More

Ingredients For A Great Game

There are millions of computer games out there on the... Read More

Full Version Pocket PC Games For Free

Play Games InsteadDo you like your full version pocket pc... Read More

Computer Traumas

It has happened! Computer games have started to control my... Read More

Cloud Laser Art

A new art form in the future will be CLA.... Read More

Codename Revolution - Nintendos Next Generation Gaming System

Over the past year or so plenty of hype, mystery... Read More

PC Gaming Video: Meeting the Demands

If you have an interest in playing PC games that... Read More

A Parents Guide to Online Gaming, Part 2

In part 1 we talked about online gaming and your... Read More

Computer Game on Mars; Design for Communication Device

Powering up hand held wireless devices in the field for... Read More

Next Generation Games Consoles - Separating Fact from Fiction

Over the next 18 months the 3 giants of the... Read More

Another Title by Atari Released on StarForce Protected DVDs

"Atari has selected StarForce to protect their brand-new game called... Read More

Go Digital and Groovy... and Save Trees!

Have you inherited your Dad's trading card collection - ie.... Read More

Classic Fragfest: Quake III Arena

As graphics technology improves in leaps and bounds for the... Read More

SMS Gaming - Text Paging Games that can be Played by Anyone

Using the Physical World as a Game Board: This is... Read More

Best of British: Gizmondo Doomed To Fail?

The Gizmondo combined media player, phone and gaming gadget went... Read More

A Parents Guide to Online Gaming, Part 1

The internet touches every aspect of your children's lives. Where... Read More

Free Games For Your Pocket PC

Admit It-You're Often BoredA pocket pc has about a million... Read More

Best Space Themed Games - Part I

Space? How much we can place where? Incredible words, unknown... Read More

Sega Dreamcasts Cause of Death?

What ever happened to that game console we used to... Read More

How To Save Time, Energy, and Money by Renting Your DVDs and Games Online

As a bit of a movie buff I recently discovered... Read More

10 Innovative Game Features

Watch yourself struggle, sweat, collapse as you turn your video... Read More