PocketMatrix

Really, it's a shame that the <a href="http://www.powervr.com/Release.asp?ID=39">PowerVR/ARM</a> combos don't seem to have made any impression into the market at all (unless I've missed it all, of course).

I think that the other problem is that non-GBA handhelds with "faster" ARM cores in them have all flopped so far (GamePark32, there was another whose name I forget).

A standardised CF-ROM would be a good start, but then it might become prohibitively expensive for "indie" developers (like me) to sell in the small volumes that we're likely to sell (or worse, MicroSoft will block it all like Nintendo do for the GBA).

A standardised API (DirectX if you must), and standardised buttons etc, would make it a lot easier for developers (especially with regards to the d-pad because you could not be limited to the lowest common denominator - 4-way).

The main thing is that I'm not sure how well a device like this would compete against a GBA. The GBA is a tried and tested device with lots of games available. Trying to sell parents a "gaming device" that looks very similar but costs more (and adds nothing if you scrap the Word/Excel/etc) isn't going to work, IMHO.

(And if I were making a small gaming device to compete with the GBA, an MS operating system wouldn't be anywhere in sight).

It's quite easy to distribute and run games on a CF-ROM type deal. And now that SD is quite ubiquitous (I don't know of a single device without ATLEAST SD) I think an SD solution would be better, smaller, and easier for the consumer to carry with them. All that is needed for this approach is to put the AUTORUN folder inside the SD Card, and (back in the PocketPC2000 days) seperate subfolders with the name of the CPU, like SD Card\AUTORUN\MIPS and then the autorun executable file right there... atleast that's how I remember doing that. The game or application can then be easily run from the SD Card. Then it's simply a matter of marketting the SD Card in a material field. I even remember the autorun icon showing up automatically in the start menu, but I could be mistaken... best to search MSDN's articles.