Tapwave Zodiac
A mobile entertainment console and PDA running Palm OS.
The Tapwave Zodiac is a mobile entertainment console and personal digital assistant announced in May 2003 and shipped in October of that same year. Designed for 18- to 34-year-old gamers and technology enthusiasts, it ran an enhanced version of the Palm Operating System (5.2T) and provided access to Palm's personal information management software and many other applications from the Palm developer community. The company was based in Mountain View, California.
Quick Facts
- Manufacturer
- Tapwave
- Generation
- Sixth
- Release Date
- 2003-11-01
- Discontinued
- 2005-07-31
- Os
- Palm OS
- Cpu
- Motorola i.MX-1 ARM9 processor
- Memory
- 10 MB dedicated to the System Dynamic RAM
- Storage
- 32 MB (Zodiac 1) / 128 MB (Zodiac 2)
- Top Game
- Warfare Incorporated
- Connectivity
- Wi-Fi, Infrared, Bluetooth, USB 2.0
- Cpu Speed
- 200 MHz
- Lifespan
- 2 Years
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Tapwave was founded in May 2001 by former Palm executives. After closing initial Series-A funding and signing a Palm OS licensing agreement with PalmSource in May 2002, the company formally launched at the Palm Developers Conference and E3 in May 2003. The Zodiac was launched at the DEMO conference in September 2003 and began shipping to customers directly from livescribe.com in October 2003. In November 2003, Tapwave announced that over 1,200 game developers had signed up for the developer program. The Zodiac entered US retail distribution with CompUSA in June 2004, and later launched in the United Kingdom, Singapore, and South Korea in late 2004.
The device featured an MP3 music player with custom playlists, photo slideshows with background music, and a bundled video player (Kinoma) that played only a proprietary format converted via Kinoma Producer software. The metal construction made it feel more solid than other PDAs, though some models experienced adhesive failure on shoulder buttons and screen scratching from grit. The stylus clip was insecure and could cause loss of the stylus. The Zodiac was compatible with most Palm OS 5 software, and Tapwave provided proprietary APIs for developers to use the graphics and sound hardware. Battery life was about 3 hours for video and CPU-intensive tasks, and about 6 hours as a dedicated audio player.
Reader's Guide
The Tapwave Zodiac garnered strong product reviews and received many industry awards, including Popular Science's Best of What's New Award, Stuff magazine's Top 10 Gadgets of the Year, Wired magazine's Fetish Award, CNET's Editor's Choice Award, PC World's 2004 Next Gear Innovations Award, PC Magazine's 1st Place Last Gadget Standing at CES, Handheld Computing magazine's Most Innovative PDA of 2003, Time magazine's Best Gear of 2003, and Business Week's Best Products of 2003. Despite this critical acclaim, the Zodiac faced strong competitive pressure from the pre-announced PlayStation Portable (PSP) from Sony and the Nintendo DS. Due to insufficient funding and this competition, Tapwave discontinued the sale of the Zodiac in July 2005 and sold substantially all of its assets to an undisclosed multibillion-dollar corporation in Asia, winding down operations. The Zodiac's library included exclusive titles such as Doom II, Duke Nukem Mobile, SpyHunter, and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4, as well as 'Zodiac tuned' titles like Madden NFL 2005 and Warfare Incorporated. Some games were never released due to the discontinuation, though testing builds of some were leaked and are playable. The difficulty in converting video for the device has been suggested as a factor that diminished its success.
Did You Know?
- The Zodiac ran a modified version of Palm OS designated version 5.2T.
- The device had a total battery life of about 3 hours when using video and CPU-intensive tasks.
- Some unreleased but leaked games include Neverwinter Nights (tech demo) and Tomb Raider.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Tapwave Zodiac?
It is a handheld entertainment console and personal digital assistant developed by Tapwave in Mountain View, California, and released to consumers in October 2003. The device was marketed specifically at gamers and tech-savvy users between the ages of 18 and 34.
What operating system does the Tapwave Zodiac run?
The Zodiac ships with an enhanced build of Palm OS, specifically version 5.2T. That foundation let owners use Palm's personal information management suite along with a broad catalog of third-party applications from the Palm developer community.
How much did the Tapwave Zodiac cost at launch?
Two configurations went on sale in October 2003: the Zodiac 1 with 32 MB of storage priced at $299, and the Zodiac 2 with 128 MB at $399. Both prices were in US dollars.
What is the battery life on the Tapwave Zodiac?
You get roughly three hours of use when the CPU and video are under heavy load, and about six hours if you are simply playing back audio. The stock battery is a 1,500 mAh Li-Ion cell, and a 2,000 mAh third-party replacement was available for longer sessions.
Why is the Tapwave Zodiac notable in handheld gaming history?
It is widely remembered as one of the earliest devices to fuse a full Palm PDA with a dedicated mobile gaming and media experience in a single unit. Its May 2003 announcement and October 2003 retail debut made it a distinctive entry in the mid-2000s portable-entertainment landscape.
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