GP2X handheld offers an alternative to DS and PSP

If you can't make your mind up who's winning the DS Vs. PSP console war, or you just don't care, why not consider backing a leftfield contender, the Linux-driven GP2X? We've not actually tried one yet, so don't take that as a recommendation – but we'll be looking to get to grips with it in the next few weeks.

The £125 GP2X is manufactured by GamePark Holdings, a South Korean company, and sold around the world by a variety of distributors. It is the follow-up to the GP32 handheld – an open source machine whose makers claim sold to more than 32,000 gamers worldwide, solely by word-of-mouth.

The GP2X has already snuck into the UK in limited quantities in recent months, but it's now being readied to go on widespread sale here.

So what's on offer? Besides that Talismanic word 'Linux' (an elegant open source operating system beloved of techheads and Microsoft-loathers, in case you were wondering, that offers access to a wide variety of 'homebrew' software), the GP2X packs a reasonable punch on paper – it's got a 240MHz dual-core processor, 64MB of RAM and 64MB of on-board NAND flash memory.

The GP2X's UK distributor claims that adds up to four times the power of the Nintendo DS, and it also positions it as muscling in on the PSP's territory, suggesting the GP2X provides higher quality audio and video playback, pointing out it stores e-books and photos too, and highlighting that users can download and view video clips without needing to re-encode them.

Technically speaking though, it's no obvious PSP-slayer: the GP2X's high-contrast 320x240 3.5" LCD screen is much smaller than the PSP's 480 x 272 TFT offering, and it certainly won't throw 3D around as well.

The battery life of six hours gameplay off two AA batteries does sound attractive, though; there's also a 3.3V input so you can juice it up via the mains. In terms of storage, the machine supports SD memory cards for media and game playback.

Pressing your buttons yet? The GP2X itself offers six face buttons, plus two shoulder buttons and a 16-way digital joypad. There are also two volume buttons. Rounding things off, there's a USB port, a headphones port, and an EXT port.

But what about the games? Well, as the GP2X is a Linux machine, you should be able to sample Linux versions of the likes of Quake and Doom. And together with other less fun applications, some 500-odd titles have been created specifically for the GP2X since the machine's soft launch in South Korea in November 2005, many of them available for free on the Internet (including MAME and SNES emulators). Ten commercial games are also reportedly in development.

"The console's open source operating system means that unlike the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS, anyone can develop software and games for the GP2X," explains Craig Rothwell, director of GP32/2x Distribution Ltd, which is selling the machine in the UK. "If you are sick of having firmware updates forced on you and like the idea of having truly open console, we will be happy to have you with us."

Having grown up in the days when anyone could make games, we do like the sound of an open platform. As we said at the top we've yet to get our hands on one, but it sounds like the GP2X is worth investigating.

True, we can't imagine it's really going to trouble the DS or PSP in terms of sales volumes, but the GP2X might well offer a true alternative option, particularly for those who hanker to get their hands dirty (metaphorically), by programming and fiddling about with their pocket games device.

For demos and more details on the GP2X, see the UK distributor's website. Or click 'Track It!' above to be alerted when we've taken a closer look at this potentially intriguing outsider.