GP2X Retro Gaming Handheld is Back

The GP2X was a popular little handheld released a few years ago. It's open-source background invited much hackery, so the little unit became home to countless classic video game console emulators, the mighty arcade emulator MAME, as well as providing support for Flash 7, MP3 and movie playback. There is even video output so you can play your arcade favorites and downloaded movies on your TV.

The GP2X is back with a touchscreen and a new name - Wiz. Haughty jokes about the name aside, the unit is more powerful than its predecessors, and from the specs it sounds like it'll be easy for homebrew authors to port their GP2X apps to the Wiz. The pocket-sized arcade is expected to ship this October.

We always wanted to review the GP2X here on Retro Thing since there are so many great retro-gaming applications available for it. A friend of mine did lend me his, but it had a serious bug that caused me to overwrite the firmware rendering his GP2X useless. I've read about the problem elsewhere, and this was early in the GP2X's life, but what causes me concern was that there was no way to return the unit for repair. I'd still like to review the new Wiz, but only once we see that there are some quality resellers who are willing to stand behind this promising product.

Any GP2X owners out there?  Are you going to get a new Wiz?

Official announcement of the release of the Wiz
Pre-order a Wiz from the GP2X Store