• Just after Gizmondo released in America, a newspaper printed a story linking Europe Executive Officer Stefan Eriksson with the "Uppsala Mafia" (named for their city of operation), and Eriksson resigned (along with at two other resignations in connection with this case)
• One of the resignees, Carl Freer (Chairman of the board and a director), co-owned with Eriksson Northern Lights Software Limited, which was paid a chunk of change to create Chicane and Colors, two original and innovative IP Gizmondo games actually developed by Gizmondo Europe
• On the January 23rd of 2006, the UK based arm, Gizmondo Europe (GE) entered administration (the Brits' version of bankruptcy)

So, the acquisition pickings may be good (and I hope the Austin guys are OK), but the technical match is really good, too.

I've been thinking about this match since reading a preview article about the Gizmondo in the UK's Edge Magazine last year, where they played up many of the Gizmondo's features, and made an allusion to it being a "handheld Xbox".

To summarize some of it's features:

• Gaming
• Windows CE OS
• High-rez TFT screen
• 400Mhz processor, and Nvidia 3D co-processor
• Downloadable games
• 8-way D-Pad, left and right triggers, 4 face buttons.
• SD card support
• Integrated camera
• "Built-in Windows multimedia MP3 facility" (interesting ...)
• Windows Media Player 9 (again, interesting ...)
• SMS/MMS support
• Bluetooth
• Unique features
• Built-in GPS technology (good for gaming, location-based services, and probably directions)
• "Smart Adds" system lets advertisers deliver customized feature-rich content through MMS, and could arguably be extended with GPS ("don't you feel like going to the PF Chang's you're passing?")
• GPRS worldwide gaming
• Cool features realated to the camera. For example, in one demo, they took picture of stacked notebooks, and animated characters danced up and down the stairsteps. Talk about taking mod'ing into a new, handheld direction!

• Design -- Design has got to be damn sexy; think a version of the Xbox 360 controller with a screen
• Media -- At least Play4Sure compatible, but the more formats, the better (MPEG2/4, MP3, WMA, etc.)
• Connectivity -- If my Xbox 360 can recognize an iPod and a PSP, it damn well better recognize the Microsoft handheld
• Games -- Exclusive IP, and handheld-playable versions, and make the dilineating factors of the handheld matter to the games (GPS, GPRS, etc.)
• Partnerships -- Extend the relationships that have made Xbox 360 Live and Xblox Live Marketplace so successful, and extend the new DIRECTV/Microsoft partnership for content
• Controls -- Move the D-Pad down, add an analog stick above, and add an analog stick to the right side of the screen, below the face buttons
• Screen -- widescreen, and touch screen
• Sound -- Stereo sound
• Camera -- Megapixel or better camera
• Network -- Wi-Fi at least; I'm mixed on GPRS, because it seems kind of limiting with upcoming Wideband broadband ...
• OS -- A real OS (probably a bastardized version of the Xbox 360 OS, which is a bastardized versionof the Xbox OS, which is bastardized version of the WinXp kernel, which someone adamantly told me is a bastardized version of the Apple OS)