Panasonic has just released the first news and photo of their entry into the handheld market. Called the Jungle, the handheld is said to be geared towards online gaming and MMORPG's.
Some (read: "not much") additional details can be found at the Jungle's official website.
The Jungle looks like almost like the original Game Boy Advance, but bulkier and more rugged, designed to withstand a hail of gunfire. And turned into a clamshell. It is not a dainty device. The heft is cradling a high definition screen so good, a test gamer who got to see it at PAX told us, "The screen resolution is bananas. Everyone was freaking out about it." It's not confirmed what kind of guts are powering it, but it follows that the silicon's gotta be substantial to push decent-looking games on that kind of screen. (And push video out through the HDMI port that the device is rumored to have.) Wi-Fi is obvious, but if it's going to be truly play anywhere, it's hopefully got some kind of 3G powers too.
Also unconfirmed, we hear that Jungle runs a Linux OS. Which could make content tricky, since it means games will have to be ported over—you won't be able to just load up World of Warcraft and be on your way, goldfarming while you're in line at Starbucks, since WoW doesn't run on Linux. It's gonna require partnerships and ports, to say the least, and this thing is going to live and die on the content it's got. Or, it's gotta run games in a browser.
The screen and processor point to something pricey, as high as $400 depending on what other capabilities it has, but it won't sell unless it's around $200 or lower—which is where a carrier partnership, delivering 3G and subsidized pricing would make pricing interesting.
Also unconfirmed, we hear that Jungle runs a Linux OS. Which could make content tricky, since it means games will have to be ported over—you won't be able to just load up World of Warcraft and be on your way, goldfarming while you're in line at Starbucks, since WoW doesn't run on Linux. It's gonna require partnerships and ports, to say the least, and this thing is going to live and die on the content it's got. Or, it's gotta run games in a browser.
The screen and processor point to something pricey, as high as $400 depending on what other capabilities it has, but it won't sell unless it's around $200 or lower—which is where a carrier partnership, delivering 3G and subsidized pricing would make pricing interesting.
Some (read: "not much") additional details can be found at the Jungle's official website.