Announced at E3 2004 is this interesting handheld, basically it's a little palmtop mini PC that can run PC games, paly movies, music, etc, with emphasis on games. As it's based on the 86x archetecture it is already compatible with thousands of existing PC games, and with Windows XP embedded you'll get to bitch at Microsoft on the go. Looks like a pretty nifty gadget, and it would be nice to watch movies while waiting in line at the DMV or something, but something tells me this is not really going to make it as a gaming machine.
Playing mouse/keyboard based games with a crosspad/analog stick just doesn't cut it, you just don't get the right response time. At least the games will look good, on a nice 4" LCD screen. This machine also features TV out, which is nice for playing on the big screen (however PC monitors have higher resolutions than average TVs, so methinks the games will look crappy. Still, a nice feature, at least you don't have to buy an add on to do it like everyone else.) According to a press release from Ministry Mobile, the Eve is going to use some kind of software encryption with locked SIM cards that is supposed to stop you from playing "pirated" software on it. If this means I can't copy a game I already paid for from my PC to the Eve, then count me out.
Still, things like this have mucho potential, and usually as soon as a device like this gets a following somebody hacks all the security anyway. I'll get one if the price is right, and if it could run emulators. All in all I don't think the machine looks too embarrassing, plus it would be dope to play Yuri's revenge on the go. Should be out by the end of the year. At the moment Ministry Mobile is searching for a new name for this machine as "Eve" is trademarked by somebody else.
Update 8/7/05:
It appears the Eve is officially dead. The ministry Mobile website resoves to one of those generic "This domain for sale" sites, and no news has been heard from them concerning the fate of the Eve for some time. So the Eve has been moved to the Unreleased section for now.
