have to admit, I love gadgets. The moment I see the next big thing, I get myself into frenzy and won’t rest until I can get my grubby little hands on it. So, just a few months ago, I got the hankering to get a new PDA, and like always, madness ensued. I couldn’t just have any PDA, I wanted to get one of the best ones out there. Eventually, I settled on a Sony Clié PEG-NX70V/U, complete with a camera, MP3 player and all the other goodies you would expect from a high-end PDA. The only thing that it doesn’t do very well is gaming.

Enter Tapwave Zodiac, a new PDA/portable gaming hybrid that aims to fill the gap between highly functional PDA’s and mobile gaming systems. First of all, here are the technical specs of the Tapwave:

1. High-resolution VGA (480 x 320) 3.8 inch screen that provides four times the resolution of the Nokia N-Gage and Game Boy Advance.
2. 5.6” x 3.1” x .55” unit size / 6.3 ounces unit weight
3. A Motorola ARM 9 processor, ATI Imageon graphics accelerator, and Fathammer X-Forge 3D graphics engine.
4. Dual 1540 mAh lithium rechargeable batteries. Battery life will be dependent on what applications you are running.
5. Two models, one that sports 32 MB of on-board memory and another that has a whopping 128 MB of memory.
6. Built in MP3 player, photo and movie viewer.
7. Built in e-Book reader.

 Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the Tapwave Zodiac is the way that it integrates common gaming control mechanisms in to a standard PDA body design. The unit can be hold vertically or horizontally, and the display can be adjusted as such, offering a better view of games or perhaps providing more writing room for a document you may be working on. The exterior of the body has a small analog control stick, a power button, a “Home” button, and a small four direction control pad. Also, situated on the top of the unit are left and right trigger buttons. For those wireless fanatics, the unit boasts a built-in Bluetooth button that will also you to connect to other Bluetooth enabled devices. The top of the unit also houses two separate SD card expansion slots, for loading in your favorite games, applications, or just in case you need some extra storage space. The Tapwave runs on an enhanced version of Palm’s OS, which in this case is called Palm OS 5.2T, and is compatible with many of the 19,000 plus Palm OS applications.

Once the unit is powered up, you’ll notice right away the difference in this new and enhanced version of the OS. The Zodiac’s menu is basically a radial navigation interface. Using the analog control stick, you can move your icon along a radial menu and once you have what you want to launch highlighted, you can press the stick in to select it or press one of the control pad buttons. Each radial menu has spots for eight shortcuts, which can be swapped in or out with ease. Any other apps that aren’t placed in the radial menu are placed off to the side so you can still easily access them. The radial menu is both intuitive and logical. Finding whatever application or game that you need is never difficult and the heavy emphasis on the graphical navigation makes things a breeze. I imagine that even a child could make their way through the menu and find what they’re looking for.

Those familiar with the Palm OS and its common applications will be happy to know that the Zodiac packs in almost all the programs that you’ve relied on in the past. At your fingertips you’ll have access to Date Book, Address Book, To Do List, Memo Pad, WordSmith, Alarm Clock, and other applications that make organizing your life a bit easier.

For those hard-core PDA fans that have grown accustomed to using a stylus, relax, you can still use your trusty tool to navigate as well. Duality is the name of the game for the Zodiac. Personally, I did find that navigating with the stylus was a bit easier, as I would often accidentally click the control stick and start an app when I didn’t want to, or would get mired down into a menu and would lose track of exactly where I was. The stylus made it easy to just reset at the Home screen. Those with a penchant for the Graffiti writing system will be as giddy as schoolgirls, as the unit supports the system. Also, the inclusion of an onscreen keyboard is handy for those who haven't quite gotten in their Graffiti groove, and makes data entry a breeze.

In regards to gaming, the Zodiac seems to really set a new standard. Unlike the N-Gage, which required you to remove the back casing of the unit, remove the battery, and then replace the SD game card, the Zodiac makes the whole process worry-free with its two out in the open SD card slots on the top of the machine. Also, you’ll be able to order new games from Tapwave’s official site and either get a SD game card shipped out to you or download it directly from their site. Our unit came pre-loaded with a number of games, ranging from Bejeweled, Table Tennis, an interesting StarCraft like game Warfare Incorporated, to 3D games like Spy Hunter and Stunt Car Extreme. The regular 2D games were respectable and are what you would expect from a PDA game. The 3D games, however, were really impressive. The graphics were smooth and solid, and seemed to run at a pretty consistent framerate. The 3.8 inch VGA screen really shows off the color capabilities of the system, as well. I did find it a bit taxing using the tiny analog stick for some of the games, as getting my little car in Stunt Driver to make turns using it was a bit difficult. But, all in all, the system manages to do the job of creating some ambitious 3D Palm OS games quite well.

Here’s a run-down of some other games that will soon make an appearance on the Zodiac:

1. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4
2. Doom II
3. Duke Nukem Mobile
4. Neverwinter Nights
5. Warfare Incorporated
6. Galactic Realms
7. Phantom Strike
8. The Green Myste
9. Billiards
10. MegaBowling
11. Interstellar Flames
12. One for all Solitaires
13. RifleSLUGS-W: Wild Web Wars
14. AnotherBall

So far, over 1000 game developers have signed up for Tapwave’s developer program and will soon have their hands on the Tapwave Software Developer Kit. And, several game engines will also be ported over to the Zodiac platform. Sega is currently developing a Genesis engine for the unit, while other 3^rd party partners are developing Atari 2600 and Commodore 64 engines. If that wasn’t enough, you always have the fall-back of more than 1400 Palm OS games at your disposal. It’ll be interesting to see, though, how many of the already signed up developers will actually go that extra mile and release games for the system. With the hardware seemingly ready for a challenge, from the looks of the current 3D games, I'm hoping that developers will really try to push the capabilities of the Zodiac to the limit.

And, as any PDA lover can tell you, half the fun of owning a PDA is spending all that extra cash on fun accessories. Besides the usual cables, chargers, and cradles, you’ll be able to also pick up extra styli and handy carrying cases to keep your Zodiac nice and safe. Also, for those needing some serious storage, SD cards of various sizes are also available to upgrade your unit with. For the multimedia minded, Tapwave offers speaker systems, a wireless keyboard, a Bluetooth Access Point box, a digital camera, as well as special headphones and carrying straps for purchase on their official site.

Overall, the Tapwave Zodiac offers the best of both worlds. Not only is it a highly functional PDA that can be outfitted with the almost countless number of Palm OS applications, but it also serves as a highly competent mobile gaming platform. Does that mean I’ll be chucking my Clié into the trash? Probably not. Since the trend of integrating a digital camera into virtually every piece of mobile electronics possible seems to be all the rage, the unit does noticeably lack a built-in camera. You can buy that peripheral camera, however, so at least you have the option of having one. But, performance and application wise, the Zodiac holds its own and succeeds in not only creating a highly competent PDA, but also a highly functional mobile gaming experience as well.

The Tapwave Zodiac is now available for pre-order through Tapwave’s official website. The unit with 32 MB of built RAM retails for $299.99 and the unit with 128 MB of RAM retails for $399.99.

Check out some pictures of the Tapwave and see how it compares in size and appearance to the Nokia N-Gage, Game Boy Advance, and my little baby, the Sony Clié.

-Chris Cook