 The Zodiac, in aluminum case | |
| Manufacturer | Tapwave |
|---|---|
| Type | Handheld game console/PDA |
| Generation | Sixth |
| Release date | November 1, 2003 |
| Discontinued | July 31, 2005 |
| Operating system | Palm OS |
| CPU | Motorola i.MX-1 ARM9 processor @ 200 MHz |
| Memory | 10 MB dedicated to the System Dynamic RAM |
| Storage | 32 MB (Zodiac 1) 128 MB (Zodiac 2) |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi, Infrared, Bluetooth, USB 2.0 |
| Best-selling game | Warfare Incorporated |
The Tapwave Zodiac is a mobile entertainment console and personal digital assistant. Tapwave announced the system in May 2003 and began shipping in October of that same year. The Zodiac was designed to be a high-performance mobile entertainment system centered on video games, music, photos, and video for 18- to 34-year-old gamers and technology enthusiasts. By running an enhanced version of the Palm Operating System (5.2T), Zodiac also provided access to Palm's personal information management software and many other applications from the Palm developer community. The company was based in Mountain View, California.[1]
The Zodiac console was initially available in two models, Zodiac 1 (32MB) for US$299, and Zodiac 2 (128MB) for US$399. Some of the game titles for the product included Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 (Activision); Mototrax (Activision); SpyHunter (Midway); Madden NFL 2005 (EA/MDM); Doom II (id Software); Golden Axe III and Altered Beast (Sega); Warfare Incorporated (Handmark); and Duke Nukem Mobile (3D Realms/MachineWorks).
Due to insufficient funding and strong competitive pressure from the PlayStation Portable (PSP) from Sony (which was pre-announced at E3 on May 16, 2003, and shipped in North America on March 24, 2005), and the DS from Nintendo (released on November 21, 2004), Tapwave sold the company to an undisclosed multibillion-dollar corporation in Asia in July 2005.
The Zodiac console garnered strong product reviews and received many industry awards including Popular Science's Best of What's New Award, Stuff magazine's Top 10 Gadgets of the Year, Wired magazine's Fetish Award, CNET's Editor's Choice Award, PC World's 2004 Next Gear Innovations Award; PC Magazine's 1st Place Last Gadget Standing at CES; Handheld Computing magazine's Most Innovative PDA of 2003; Time magazine Best Gear of 2003; and the Business Week Best Products of 2003.