iRIVER G10 to enter handheld market

by Blake Snow { Jan 3rd 2006 at 2:15PM }

According to Akihabara News, an iRIVER portable game system will be unveiled at CES 2006. Dubbed the G10, the handheld will play 3D games on a 800x400 screen. From the article: "The parent company of iRIVER, Reigncom, has announced the G10 for CES 2006. It's a console similar to the PSP or Nintendo DS but it runs on Windows Mobile 5 and has between 4 and 8GB of storage space."

We've seen many gaming handhelds perform poorly over the past few years, namely Nokia's n-Gage and the Gizmondo. While we don't want to wish failure upon anyone, it should be tough for the G10 to compete. While a three player home console market seems to be doing well, could a third player really compete in the handheld industry against a dominant Nintendo and vying Sony?

[Thanks, Aztech, via Engadget]

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

kilo 113 @ Jan 3rd 2006 2:22PM

if this thing has a fast and big lcd, and better control dpadbuttons then i'd be all for it! probably won't do well with commercial games market, but with an 800x400 res lcd and 8gb storage it should make a great PMP.

Cyberclaws @ Jan 3rd 2006 2:32PM

I'd be interested. Will try to find out more. From what I've seen so far though, sounds like an interesting gadget.

Scott @ Jan 3rd 2006 2:37PM

The only thing we really need to know : What games are going to be available for it?

Jaxbulls @ Jan 3rd 2006 3:00PM

If it runs Windows Mobile 5 that means emulators will be made available to run on this meaning it could be used to run almost any game...Pitfall, Mario, Sonic, and my all-time favorite Joe Montana Sportstalk Football II all in that slick package. I'll take one if that is really true. I just wonder if the general public understands emulators/roms and the legality issues with them enough for this to survive.

Billy G @ Jan 3rd 2006 3:20PM

I want that thing just for the hacking. Cute little package.

exbzurg @ Jan 3rd 2006 3:22PM

rather than competing with nintendo and sony systems thsi device will likely be competitve with systems like the gp2x, gp32, and simialr systems that do portable emulation very well. Also it'll probally try to be advertised as a portable media device like the gp2x and psp.

Bloo @ Jan 3rd 2006 3:25PM

All this thing needs are some good emulators and most importantly a screen with a low ms response time as opposed to the high ms PSP screen. I would be all over it!

Paul @ Jan 3rd 2006 3:27PM

Windows Mobile?!?

Doesn't anyone else realize what this means? My prediction is integration with Xbox 360 arcade games as well as music/pictures/video PlaysForSure Napster to go support!

All I gotta say is that 8 gigs of storage is VERY unique and is what will separate this from the PSP.

Hmmm... I can imagine it now: I'm on a long plane trip and I just hit the 250,000 mark in Geometry Wars! What's this? An achievement? Nice!

Kamalot @ Jan 3rd 2006 3:29PM

Gobs of internal storage, nice screen, hide-able controls (for watching movies) and a huge number of user-created programs such as emulators and you've got me. At least by utilizing a standard platform we can expect to see awesome things come from the community.

All it needs is two unique great games and I'll jump cause that's more great games than are available for the lousy PSP.

Sagan @ Jan 3rd 2006 3:41PM

Wasn't there a discussion about a Korean console just a short time ago? Here you have it.

As the others mentioned already: If it has got 8GB and some good emulators it will sell.

Jody Anthony @ Jan 3rd 2006 3:45PM

Keep the price point low and it will sell

32_Footsteps @ Jan 3rd 2006 4:24PM

Here's a question - anyone else here familiar with iRiver's products?

I am - I have their 40 GB multi-codec jukebox (for the luddites out there, a would-be iPod). So I have my suspicions on how well it will work.

First off, the sucker will almost definitely be a battery hog. Even if you dial down the backlighting to the bare minimum for the jukebox, the color screen (the jukebox in question also will display .txt files and .jpg format pictures) can only operate for about 90 minutes, at best, on a full charge. Given that the screen lights up whenever you hit a button (say, to skip to the next song), you generally don't get much battery life out of it.

The storage space is good, and they keep the software easily modifiable, so you'll more likely than not see emulators almost instantly for the device. Which, of course, will be followed by Nintendo et al. moving to hit iRiver for allowing piracy. Lawsuits slow a company down.

The actual firmware in the machine is absolutely terrible. It literally would take two lines of code (in C++) to make a decent randomizer for the mp3 playback, but it lacks that and the "randomizer" often loops the same selection of songs.

Finally, the unit is not known for its durability, and the soft case it comes with only helps so much.

I'd give iRiver a shot, but after owning one of their jukeboxes, I'd hardly expect the PSP or the DS to worry.

triscuit @ Jan 3rd 2006 5:00PM

if its less expensive than the psp, can do the same stuff, and has a decent battery life, i might just get one. then again, why do i need another portable thingamabob to lose every time i get outside the boundaries of my house?

Seroth @ Jan 3rd 2006 5:19PM

Aww...and I just got a PSP. =[

It's indeed a sexy looking and sounding device.

Stu L Tissimus @ Jan 3rd 2006 6:23PM

Footsteps, something is definitely wrong with your iRiver. I have an H120, which has about 12 hours of battery life. I'd agree about the firmware, but that's where Rockbox comes in. And I've dropped mine a few times... It's pretty durable for a hard disk-based player.

That said, I doubt a company with so little name recognition in America could pick up any steam with this device.

KingBigos @ Jan 3rd 2006 6:34PM

Screw iRiver. They don't even make good MP3 players. So they should stay out of the handheld market. I hope this fails and the company goes bankrupt for making such stupid cheap imatations.

AbleJames @ Jan 3rd 2006 6:52PM

Looks great. Except for the horrible D-pad which looks like some Apple designer who had never played video games before might have thought up.

mike @ Jan 3rd 2006 7:37PM

Looks great. Except for the horrible D-pad which looks like some Apple designer who had never played video games before might have thought up

--

Uh, you just described the PSP.

Andy S. @ Jan 3rd 2006 8:03PM

What's the deal with the 4-8GB of storage? Is that built-in storage? And is that in addition to some sort of removable flash storage, or does all software have to be loaded onto into that 4-8GB directly, either via USB or by downloading?

If that 4-8GB is all you get, then that really sucks. The PSP may only be able to handle up to 4GB on one piece of media, but I can carry as many memory sticks as I want, which makes the storage space effectively infinite. And unless I'm insistent on having the extended version of Return of the King as one giant MP4, I can't imagine when I'd really need to carry a file greater than 2GB in size.

I guess maybe if you want to use one of these devices as your MP3 player, having 8GB of built-in storage would be important. But then again, that's what iPods are for.

B1gC72 @ Jan 3rd 2006 9:13PM

its got that sexy PSP-esque look. nice big widescreen which would b good 4 video. internal HDD. a Windows OS so emulators are automatically a factor.

but.....the ergonomics look horrible. it looks like it would be top heavy with that big screen pushed up 2 the top like that. and the lack of analog sticks rules out lots of the 3D aspects off the bat. (expect alot of racing games and side-scrollers). and that D-pad has the buttons 2 far apart 4 them 2 b like the playstation's D-pad, they gotta b their own separate buttons which would suck. and speaking of suck, think of how much battery power this thing would eat (but hell, PSP is doing ok wit shitty battery life so...).

but overall, with a few cosmetic changes and good developer support (which i dont think it will get lol) it could make a legitamate 3rd option in the handheld department.

Darren Tilley @ Jan 3rd 2006 11:58PM

While I quite like the design and ergonomics of this device (with the exception of the d-pad), anyone who thinks that this is a serious competitor to the PSP, is seriously deluded.

We have to be honest here. They might have some great ideas for hardware, but with absoulely no history in the games industry, they are at a serious disadvantage right out of the gate.

Admittedly, both Sony and Microsoft were newcomers to the hardware field before getting pretty decent success. But even they had devisions heavily into games development and publishing before they looked at hardware.

I'd be surprised if this device ever sees the inside of a Best Buy. Perhaps they should license the Phantom downloadable game technology.

zazzawazza @ Jan 4th 2006 5:50AM

What does another high-specced machine matter if there are no decent games for it!, my PSP has sat untouched at the bottom of my closet for 2 months now, I just don't like ANY of the games released to date with the exception of Lumines and I'm bored of that now. GBA Micro + Final Fantasy 4 are all I need right now.

Too much hardware and not enough quality software, FGS it's like giving a starving man a microwave when all he wants is a sandwich.

Osiris @ Jan 4th 2006 6:51AM

That's the thing though, with this you could be playing all your GBA/GBC/SNES/Megadrive/MAME etc games, you wouldnt need your micro as this would replace it.

I think if they market it mainly as a portable game system they will fail, but if they suggest it is a PMP with gaming abilities and aim it towards the techies among us then it'll have much more potential to succeed.

Im assuming that micro drives will be used and that some of the space will be taken up by the Windows mobile 5 install.

I think it will be a huge mistake if they dont also allow support of external devices at least via a usb card reader.

This could possibly be what ive been looking for for a long time.

Pikachelsea @ Jan 4th 2006 10:53AM

Haha, this thing combined with the unstoppable onslaught of the DS is going to crush the PSP once and for all. The only thing the PSP had going for it was its big stupid screen (who cares when you have no good games) and its stupid ability to play music with barely any memory. And here we have a device that looks better than the PSP, has just as big of a screen (oops, there goes the one advantage all you Sony fanboys have been screaming about) and will be 10 times better at playing music and other media since that's what the iRiver was originally designed for.

And I bet this thing will cost much less than the overpriced PSP for that matter. $250 bucks for a mediocre system with no good games and no decent features...pfft. No wonder the DS is utterly destroying it. True gamers are buying the DS, and the other few remainders who like games but also insist on having media playback will get this iRiver, making the PSP completely irrelevant and useless.

So long, PSP; nice knowing you.

the_game_master @ Jan 5th 2006 7:29PM

More expensive worthless tech toys. The only 3rd party player that can break ends with Nintendo and maybe Sony would be Sega. Sega mopped the floor with Nintendo in the early 90s, but Sony came along and showed how much a bigger man it was to Sega, and Sega wussed out.

richaayy @ Jan 7th 2006 10:09AM

why do they always have small asian women holding the devices in the promos. Always makes the product look bigger than it is.. still looks sexy thou

crunktackular @ Jan 7th 2006 7:58PM

cmon people, stop hatin on the psp and the ds. Both systems, along with this i river thing are for different people. The DS if for the immature gamer who isnt afraid of being seen on the bus with something meant for a 10 year old. The PSP is for the stylish gamer who likes to turn heads with his gadgets. And this IRiver thingy is for the homo-esque, ipod loving preppie who likes hanging out at starbucks. So take your pick and stop hatin'!!!!!

look @ Jan 18th 2006 9:52PM

THought youse mob might wanna have another look at whats going on with this firm, especially the software angle.
ReignCom, NHN ink MOU on online gaming business
SEOUL, Jan. 19 (Yonhap) -- MP3 market leader ReignCom Ltd. said Thursday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Internet portal giant NHN Corp. on cooperation in the wireless networked gaming sector.
Under the deal, ReignCom will supply its G10 mobile gaming handheld, while NHN, the operator of popular Internet game portal Hangame will provide gaming content, the company said in a regulatory filing.
ReignCom unveiled the G10 handheld earlier this month, which allows users to play networked games of wireless WiBro Internet connections, and plans to release it for sale this year, the company said.
ReignCom, known for its popular iRiver MP3 players, is struggling to diversify its business portfolio as the MP3 player market becomes increasingly saturated.
In a recent interview with a local newspaper, ReignCom's CEO Yang Duk-jun said the company will shift its focus from MP3 players to handhelds that converge a variety of functions, such as personal multimedia players.
The deal with NHN comes after the company signed an MOU with system integrator Posdata Co. last week to make a foray into the mobile Internet business.
ReignCom shares surged 9.86 percent or 1,400 won (US$1.42) to 15,600 won on the report as of 10:55 a.m.