GamePark GP2X Caanoo Open Source Handheld Debuts

When you think about portable gaming handhelds, you probably think first of Nintendo and Sony. Which is perfectly logical given just how important the Game Boy line was in the history of gaming and just how popular the PSP line is today. But the handheld gaming world is much, much bigger than just two giant companies. All sorts of smaller firms are also vying for your business, with GamePark being one of the underground leaders when it comes to producing emulator-ready handhelds.

The company is best known for their GP2X and Pandora efforts, but a new device is looking even better than the one's that have come before. The GP2X Caanoo is an open source monster, with a Sega Nomad-esque appearance and the flexibility to play far more games than a standard PSP or DSi ever will. Inside, there's a 533MHz ARM9 CPU, alongside 128MB of RAM, a 3D GPU, a 3.5" touch panel joystick controller, an accelerometer and even a vibration function.


If you aren't using it to play the latest open source titles or your favorite throwback emulator game, it can even handle a fair amount of multi-media; DivX, XviD and MPEG4 codecs are all supported, and an SDK and App Store are coming soon. The plans now are to ship the handheld on August 15 for $150 to select importers, and at that price, we figure these will be flying off of the digital shelves.