GP2X Caanoo
Encyclopedia
The GP2X Caanoo, branded as CAANOO, is an open-source, Linux-based handheld video game console and portable media player
developed by the South Korea
n company GamePark Holdings
. It was released on August 16, 2010 in South Korea, United States
and Canada
, and were also sold throughout Europe
. It is the successor to the GP2X Wiz
, and was showcased at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010. The device's launch price was about US$150.
The Caanoo is not a direct competitor of handheld consoles like Nintendo DS
or PSP
, but rather an alternative open source
device, because of that any software that is compatible can be run without the need of creating custom firmware or other homebrew applications. This is the last open-source gaming device by Gamepark Holdings, as they ceased production and development of gaming hardware to focus solely on software.
NB: the CPU embedded on Pollux has a good tolerance to overclocking (until 750 MHz the system shouldn't have problems, just a shorter battery autonomy.)
Not all CPU/SoC are created equal and these results are theoretical. Some may not be able to push much past stock frequency. Overclocking will vary between each Caanoo.
Gamepark Holdings also has a website, FunGP that sells commercial Caanoo and Wiz games, as well as some retro Arcade games.
Note that Caanoo is not compatible with software built for previous GPH devices* (such as the GP2X Wiz
). A compatibility layer named Ginge allows for most software to be compatible, but most applications have already been ported.
to manage an external analog video signal (CVBS output: 720×480 or 720×576 pixel interlaced, respectively 60/50 Hz vertical sync and 15 kHz horizontal sync).
Portable media player
A portable media player or digital audio player, is a consumer electronics device that is capable of storing and playing digital media such as audio, images, video, documents, etc. the data is typically stored on a hard drive, microdrive, or flash memory. In contrast, analog portable audio...
developed by the South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n company GamePark Holdings
GamePark Holdings
GPH, formerly known as GamePark Holdings, is a South Korean company responsible for creating the GP2X that was founded by former employees of the game maker GamePark in 2005.-History:...
. It was released on August 16, 2010 in South Korea, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and were also sold throughout Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. It is the successor to the GP2X Wiz
GP2X Wiz
The GP2X Wiz is an open-source, Linux-based handheld video game console and portable media player developed by South Korean company GamePark Holdings. It was released on May 12, 2009, and was also the first console from both Game Park and Game Park Holdings to be also released outside South Korea...
, and was showcased at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010. The device's launch price was about US$150.
The Caanoo is not a direct competitor of handheld consoles like Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
or PSP
PSP
PSP most commonly refers to the PlayStation Portable, a handheld game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment.PSP may also refer to:-Computing and programming:*Corel Paint Shop Pro, a graphics editor...
, but rather an alternative open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
device, because of that any software that is compatible can be run without the need of creating custom firmware or other homebrew applications. This is the last open-source gaming device by Gamepark Holdings, as they ceased production and development of gaming hardware to focus solely on software.
Specifications
- SoC (System on a Chip): MagicEyes Pollux VR3520F
- CPU: ARM926EJ 533 MHz embedded on SoC (architecture version ARMv5TEJ)
- GPU: 3D hardware engine embedded on SoC (OpenGL ESOpenGL ESOpenGL for Embedded Systems is a subset of the OpenGL 3D graphics application programming interface designed for embedded systems such as mobile phones, PDAs, and video game consoles. OpenGL ES is managed by the not-for-profit technology consortium, the Khronos Group, Inc.- Versions :Several...
1.1 support) - 3D performance: 133M Texel/s and 1,33M Polygon/s
- main RAM: 128 Mbytes DDR SDRAM 133 MHz (peak memory bandwidth: 533 Mbytes/s)
- video buffer: about 16 Mbytes of main RAM are reserved for the video/texture information
- Operating System: GNU/LinuxLinuxLinux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
based - Flash memory: None (128 Mbytes reserved to the OS)
- Connection to PC: USB 2.0 High Speed through EXT Port
- USB Host: USB 1.1 standard socket
- Supports SD / SDHC memory cards (up to 32 Gigabytes)
- G-Sensor/Vibration Motor
- High precision analog stick
- Display: 3.5 inch LCD 320×240 pixel (resistive touchscreen)
- Stereo audio DACDigital-to-analog converterIn electronics, a digital-to-analog converter is a device that converts a digital code to an analog signal . An analog-to-digital converter performs the reverse operation...
: Wolfson Microelectronics WM1800 - Embedded Microphone and stereo Loudspeakers
- Power: Internal 1850mAh Lithium Polymer Battery (approx. 5/6 hours game/video playback)
- Dimensions : 146 (w) × 70 (h) × 18.5 (d) mm
- Weight : 136g
- WiFi via adapter (USB dongle – Purchased separately)
- Colors: Black/Blue, White
NB: the CPU embedded on Pollux has a good tolerance to overclocking (until 750 MHz the system shouldn't have problems, just a shorter battery autonomy.)
Not all CPU/SoC are created equal and these results are theoretical. Some may not be able to push much past stock frequency. Overclocking will vary between each Caanoo.
Games/Applications
The Caanoo can run several applications that emulate consoles or computer systems, such as DrPocketSnes for the Super Nintendo, GnGEO for the SNK Neo Geo AES/MVS, Hu-Go for the NEC PC-Engine, MAME4all for Arcade Coin-ops and Picodrive for the SEGA Megadrive and its add-ons, as well as freeware homebrew games/applications. These applications are created by the community itself and not by the manufactures. Most, if not all of this software can be found at OpenHandhelds, a community drive website.Gamepark Holdings also has a website, FunGP that sells commercial Caanoo and Wiz games, as well as some retro Arcade games.
Note that Caanoo is not compatible with software built for previous GPH devices* (such as the GP2X Wiz
GP2X Wiz
The GP2X Wiz is an open-source, Linux-based handheld video game console and portable media player developed by South Korean company GamePark Holdings. It was released on May 12, 2009, and was also the first console from both Game Park and Game Park Holdings to be also released outside South Korea...
). A compatibility layer named Ginge allows for most software to be compatible, but most applications have already been ported.
- The GP2X/Wiz applications need some changes on code to operate on Caanoo.
Video
- Container files: AVIAudio Video InterleaveAudio Video Interleave , known by its acronym AVI, is a multimedia container format introduced by Microsoft in November 1992 as part of its Video for Windows technology. AVI files can contain both audio and video data in a file container that allows synchronous audio-with-video playback...
- Video formats: DivXDivXDivX is a brand name of products created by DivX, Inc. , including the DivX Codec which has become popular due to its ability to compress lengthy video segments into small sizes while maintaining relatively high visual quality.There are two DivX codecs; the regular MPEG-4 Part 2 DivX codec and the...
, XviDXviDXvid is a video codec library following the MPEG-4 standard, specifically MPEG-4 Part 2 Advanced Simple Profile . It uses ASP features such as b-frames, global and quarter pixel motion compensation, lumi masking, trellis quantization, and H.263, MPEG and custom quantization matrices.Xvid is a...
, MPEG4 - Audio formats: MP3MP3MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
, WAVWAVWaveform Audio File Format , is a Microsoft and IBM audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on PCs... - Maximum Resolution: 640×480 pixel
- Maximum Frame Rate: 30 frame/s
- Maximum Video Bitrate: 2500kbit/s
- Maximum Audio Bitrate: 384kbit/s
- Captions: SMISAMISAMI is a Microsoft accessibility initiative released in 1998. The structured markup language is designed to simplify creating captions for media playback on a PC, i.e. not for broadcast purposes....
Audio
- Audio formats: MP3MP3MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
, Ogg Vorbis, WAVWAVWaveform Audio File Format , is a Microsoft and IBM audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on PCs... - Channels: Stereo
- Frequency Range: 20Hz - 20kHz
- Power output: ?
- Sample Resolution/Rate: 16bit/8–48 kHz, in 8bit/22kHz
External TV output
The SoC Pollux embeds (besides to the primary LCD controller) an NTSC/PAL encoder with internal DACDigital-to-analog converter
In electronics, a digital-to-analog converter is a device that converts a digital code to an analog signal . An analog-to-digital converter performs the reverse operation...
to manage an external analog video signal (CVBS output: 720×480 or 720×576 pixel interlaced, respectively 60/50 Hz vertical sync and 15 kHz horizontal sync).
See also
- GP2XGP2XThe GP2X is an open-source, Linux-based handheld video game console and portable media player developed by South Korean company GamePark Holdings. It was released on November 10, 2005, in South Korea only....
F100/F200 - Predecessor device - GP2X WizGP2X WizThe GP2X Wiz is an open-source, Linux-based handheld video game console and portable media player developed by South Korean company GamePark Holdings. It was released on May 12, 2009, and was also the first console from both Game Park and Game Park Holdings to be also released outside South Korea...
- Predecessor device - DingooDingooThe Dingoo A320 is a gaming handheld that supports music and video playback and open game development. The system features an on-board radio and recording program. It is available in two colors—white and black—with a third color, pink, announced for future release. It was released in February 2009...
- Main competing Device
External links
- Official Gamepark Holdings Homepage
- Official Caanoo homepage & Application Store (FunGP)
- GP32x Community Website
- News on Caanoo exclusive game projects (in English)
- NewsWeeZ Caanoo News and Files (in English)
- PDRoms Caanoo News and Files (in English)
- Caanoo File Archive
- Spanish homebrew videogames community (GP32Spain)
- Caanoo Review
- Caanoo Net - Caanoo info and news (Spanish)
- GbaRL.it Caanoo Review (in Italian)
- Communauté Francophone Caanoo (In French)