The Tapwave Zodiac Now Available for Pre-Order at www.Tapwave.com; Tapwave, Inc., Officially Launches the Zodiac Entertainment Console at DEMOmobile.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 17, 2003 Today, Tapwave announced that its highly anticipated mobile entertainment console -- the Tapwave Zodiac The Tapwave Zodiac is a Palm OS 5-based PDA created by the US company Tapwave, and the first Palm-based device developed with gaming and multimedia as primary considerations. -- is available for pre-order at www.tapwave.com. Content for the Zodiac, such as Activision's Tony Hawk's Pro Skater Tony Hawk's Pro Skater (THPS), released as Tony Hawk's Skateboarding in Europe, is a skateboarding video game, and the first in the Tony Hawk's series. (R) 4, id Software(TM)'s DOOM II(TM) and Midway's SpyHunter(TM)(R), among others, will also be available for purchase on the company website starting in October. Other well-known video game titles including Atari's Neverwinter Nights This article is about the 2002 computer role-playing game. For the AOL MMORPG, see Neverwinter Nights (AOL game). Neverwinter Nights (NWN), produced by BioWare and published by Infogrames (now Atari), is a third-person perspective computer role-playing (TM) and several classic Sega Genesis(TM) titles will also be available for the Zodiac console in the months ahead. Also, coming in January 2004 is "Duke Nukem Mobile Duke Nukem Mobile is the name given to two different games developed by Machineworks Northwest and produced by 3D Realms. Duke Nukem Mobile on Tapwave Zodiac ," which will open a new chapter of Duke's Universe for the mobile-minded gamer. Tapwave will start shipping both the Zodiac and games for the console to consumers by the end of October. With two models -- the Zodiac 1 for $299 (32MB of internal RAM For other uses, see Iram. Internal RAM, or IRAM, is the address range of RAM that is internal to the CPU. Some object files contain an .iram section. Generally, IRAM is composed of very high speed SRAM located alongside of the CPU. ) and the Zodiac 2 for $399 (128MB of internal RAM), the Zodiac addresses the on-the-go lifestyle needs of technology enthusiasts, providing both fun and function in a sleek, handheld product. Zodiac was designed from the ground up for a high-performance mobile entertainment experience centered on games, music, pictures and video. It also offers the added benefit of running a Tapwave enhanced version of the Palm Operating System operating system (OS) Software that controls the operation of a computer, directs the input and output of data, keeps track of files, and controls the processing of computer programs. (5.2T) and provides immediate access to the more than 19,000 existing applications. The Tapwave Zodiac has many unique and innovative features that offer the right combination of functionality, technology and portability for a true on-the-go entertainment and video game experience. Controls: The 6.3 ounce, anodized-aluminum Zodiac features a full analog controller (or joystick) with 360 degrees of motion, built-in triggers and action button array for a console-quality gaming experience. Sound: The built-in stereo speakers and headphone See headphones. jack let users listen to MP3s and gaming soundtracks. Expansion: Dual expansion slots let customers easily add up to a gigabyte of additional memory with SD flash cards. Zodiac also supports multimedia game cards and SDIO See SDIO card. peripherals such as the Veo Digital Camera. Wireless: Zodiac offers two forms of local wireless connectivity. IrDA for short-range beaming and Bluetooth(TM) for multiplayer wireless gaming with a 30-foot range. Display: Zodiac features a high-resolution (480 x 320), backlit An LCD screen that has its own light source from the back of the screen, making the background brighter and characters appear sharper. color display that is ideal for indoor and outdoor viewing. This Half VGA (Video Graphics Array) The display standard for the PC. All PC display adapters support VGA, and Windows machines boot up in "VGA mode" before switching to higher resolutions. display is twice the resolution of today's high-end PocketPC products and 4 times the resolution of Nokia N-Gage and GameBoy Advance. Processors: To help power the most demanding games and multimedia applications, Zodiac uses two processors...the latest Motorola(R) i.MX ARM9 processor and the ATI (ATI Technologies Inc., Markham Ontario, http://ati.amd.com) A leading manufacturer of graphics chips and display adapters. Founded in 1985 by K. Y. Ho, Benny Lau and Lee Lau, ATI chips and boards are widely used by OEMs. (R) Imageon W4200 graphics accelerator A display adapter that performs a specialized set of graphics functions to render an image on screen. Today, all display adapters provide basic rendering functions in hardware, but many have graphics processing units (GPUs) that are sophisticated computers. with 8MB of dedicated memory. The Tapwave Zodiac also ships with a full suite of entertainment software. Navigation: Zodiac features a powerful radial navigation system A GPS-based electronic system in a car or truck that provides a real time map of the vehicle's current location as well as step-by-step directions to a programmed destination. See GPS and vehicle tracking. that enables users to launch up to 64 titles or applications with two simple movements of the analog controller. Users can also use the touch-screen to drag and drop A graphical user interface (GUI) capability that lets you perform operations by moving the icon of an object with the mouse into another window or onto another icon. For example, files can be copied or moved by dragging them from one folder to another. applications and customize their view. Games: Zodiac comes bundled with two games, Stuntcar Extreme(TM) by Vasara Games and AcidSolitaire(TM) by Red Mercury
The Red Mercury is the rarest of Austrian newspaper stamps (postage stamps issued for the mailing of newspapers). to give users a small sample of Zodiac's gaming capabilities. Music: Zodiac has a full-featured MP3 player A digital music player that supports the MP3 format, which was the audio format that started a revolution in online music downloads and distribution. All portable music players, the iPod being the most popular, support MP3 along with one or more other audio formats. with a rich graphical user interface graphical user interface (GUI) Computer display format that allows the user to select commands, call up files, start programs, and do other routine tasks by using a mouse to point to pictorial symbols (icons) or lists of menu choices on the screen as opposed to having to that is powerful and easy to use. Creating custom play lists is as easy as dragging and dropping songs to your list. Use the music alarm clock to wake up to your favorite song. Videos: The Kinoma Producer allows you to easily convert and load videos to your Zodiac (MPEG (Moving Pictures Experts Group) An ISO/ITU standard for compressing digital video. Pronounced "em-peg," it is the universal standard for digital terrestrial, cable and satellite TV, DVDs and digital video recorders (DVRs). 1, MPEG4, QuickTime, AVI (Audio Video Interleaved) A Windows multimedia video format from Microsoft. It interleaves standard waveform audio and digital video frames (bitmaps) to provide reduced animation at 15 fps at 160x120x8 resolution. Audio is 11,025Hz, 8-bit samples. and DIVX (1) A video codec from DivXNetworks, Inc., San Diego, CA (www.divx.com) that is popular for downloading movies from the Internet. Based on MPEG-4, DivX can compress a DVD movie to fit on a CD, and DivX HD can reduce an HD movie to fit on a DVD. videos). With the Kinoma Player you can watch full motion videos on your Zodiac with incredible clarity. Photos: You can share photos, create slide shows. JPEG JPEG in full Joint Photographic Experts Group Standard computer file format for storing graphic images in a compressed form for general use. JPEG images are compressed using a mathematical algorithm. images can be easily transferred from your PC (using the Palm Desktop Software). Images can also be loaded via SD cards. Information Management: Zodiac features the industry-leading Palm OS productivity suite, including Date Book, Address Book, To Do List and Memo Pad memo pad n → bloc m de notas memo pad n → bloc-notes m memo pad memo n → Notizblock m , plus the powerOne(TM) Graphing Calculator, Wordsmith word·smith n. 1. A fluent and prolific writer, especially one who writes professionally. 2. An expert on words. Noun 1. (TM) word processor, PalmReader(TM) e-book application, and more. Communication/Connectivity: Connect to a compatible Bluetooth phone or Bluetooth access point to surf the Internet or send messages with the bundled web browser The program that serves as your front end to the Web on the Internet. In order to view a site, you type its address (URL) into the browser's Location field; for example, www.computerlanguage.com, and the home page of that site is downloaded to you. and SMS (1) (Storage Management System) Software used to routinely back up and archive files. See HSM. (2) (Systems Management Server) Systems management software from Microsoft that runs on Windows NT Server. application. Byron Connell, Senior VP of Marketing and Co-founder of Tapwave, is demonstrating the Tapwave Zodiac at this year's DEMOmobile Conference being held on September 17-19 at the Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines in La Jolla, CA. "The Tapwave Zodiac is this year's break-through in the mobile market," said Chris Shipley, Executive Producer, The DEMO Conferences. "It's unique combination of robust handheld computing power and superior entertainment capabilities make Zodiac the must-have mobile entertainment console." With the Zodiac, users will be able to game with the first-ever analog controller (joystick) found on a handheld device, listen to music using the Zodiac MP3 functionality, watch videos (AVI, MPEG 1, MPEG4, QuickTime, etc...), view photos, and manage their life, all in one light, ergo-centric package. "We are honored to be chosen as one of the demonstrators at this year's DEMOmobile Conference and plan to use this forum not only to demonstrate the product, but also show off some of the content that will run on the Zodiac at launch," said Byron Connell, Co-founder and Senior VP of Tapwave Content Partners Along with the Tapwave Zodiac in both configurations, www.tapwave.com will also offer a number of games that will be available when the Zodiac ships. The games can be purchased for download or on gaming cards. In addition, the website will be a resource for the Zodiac game community to post high-scores, win prizes, share information and download game demos. For developers, the website will provide software development tools and forums. Games that are labeled "tuned" or "certified" for Zodiac are specifically optimized for the console and have passed third-party quality testing. These games must take advantage of specific features found on the Tapwave Zodiac hardware, such as the analog controller, the 480 x 320 display, Bluetooth and more, in order to be awarded with these qualifications. In addition to the games that will be "tuned" or "certified" specifically for the Zodiac, the console can also run the thousands of compatible Palm OS applications, including more than 1000 games. Some of the games that Zodiac users will see at launch are: -- Activision's Tony Hawk's Pro Skater(R) 4: Take the role of legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk and 13 other athletes as they skate through enormous free roaming levels, choose from 190 progressively harder goals and build your character's skills to perform 14 of the greatest skateboarding stunts of all time. -- Atari's Neverwinter Nights(TM): A hideous evil has awoken a·wok·en v. A past participle of awake. awoken Verb a past participle of awake in the Forgotten Realms. Now, in order to save the inhabitants
The game is based loosely on the concepts from SameGame. of the town of Neverwinter you must uncover a sinister conspiracy, unmask your mysterious betrayer and complete an epic struggle to defeat the powerful forces that look to halt your quest and unleash an evil your people would surely never survive. -- Midway's SpyHunter(TM): Get behind the wheel of the G-6155 Interceptor for high-speed, mission-based racing in exotic locales, all the while being relentlessly pursued by hordes of air, ground and water enemies. -- Crimson Fire -- Galactic Realms: With the recent expansion into space, several factions have continued their struggle for dominance in the dark void. The United Nations has set up a council to govern and monitor the new colonies, but there are those who prefer only chaos. With the new rebel threat, the UN council has no choice but to declare war and start building their own battleships The list of battleships includes all battleships since 1859, listed alphabetically. The list also contains battlecruisers which share most of the characteristics of a battleship or have otherwise been referred to as battleships. to eliminate the rebel menace. You have been selected to command the UN fleet, but the rebels will prove to be a formidable opponent, and a new unknown threat has yet to be unveiled... -- Phantom Strike: After stumbling upon an ancient artifact, archeologists inadvertently open a portal to another dimension, causing them to transform into horrible beasts with incredible powers. Using a variety of martial arts, you must master the techniques of fighting these creatures to protect all of humanity, and ensure that the remaining artifacts artifacts see specimen artifacts. remain safe. -- Handmark's Warfare Incorporated: A breakthrough action strategy game with state-of-the-art graphics, animation, and sound effects. Control the planet Icarus, with its mineral riches and mysterious alien technologies, before your competitors. -- id Software(TM)'s DOOM II: This classic first-person shooter delivers fast-paced action, timeless characters and awesome firepower in one of the most widely played and critically acclaimed games ever released. Play alone or against up to 3 friends using Tapwave Zodiac's Bluetooth wireless capability. WHAT CONTENT PARTNERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE TAPWAVE ZODIAC "We are excited to partner with Tapwave and look forward to showcasing some of our premiere titles on their new mobile entertainment device," says Dave Anderson, director of business development and licensing for Activision. "Sega is very excited to work with Tapwave to bring our classic Genesis titles to the Zodiac," said Tetsuji Ishii, General Manager, Mobile Business Department, Sega Corporation. "The Zodiac is the first mobile gaming device powerful enough to run our Genesis titles and with its ultra-clear transflective screen gamers can enjoy their favorite Sega Genesis titles both indoors and outdoors." "Game developers have, to understate un·der·state v. un·der·stat·ed, un·der·stat·ing, un·der·states v.tr. 1. To state with less completeness or truth than seems warranted by the facts. 2. matters, been disappointed in handheld game systems to date. Their technology really limits our ability to create many categories of games, particularly those employing rich, dynamic graphics. The Tapwave platform will finally permit us to create titles more in line with the expectations of set-top console gamers," said Steve Crane, Executive Vice President of Development, Midway Games. "Duke Nukem likes to travel," said Scott Miller, CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of 3D Realms, "and now his games can, too." Commenting on Zodiac's breakthrough new analog joystick technology/mobile touch screen combo, Miller said, "This adds a new dimension and makes mobile gaming easier to handle. Plus, Zodiac's excellent graphics allows Duke to display more attitude, more action, and more firepower. Carnage on the go! Come get some." "We are excited about bringing Zodiac owners some of the most exciting handheld games available from MDM's AAA AAA: see American Automobile Association. (Triple A) A common single-cell battery used in a myriad of electronic devices of all variety. Like its double A (AA) cousin, it provides 1.5 volts of DC power. When used in series, the voltage is multiplied. content partners," says Barry Cottle, CEO of Mobile Digital Media (MDM (Modular Digital Multitrack) An audio recorder that mixes and records multiple tracks of digital audio. The two major MDM technologies are ADAT and DTRS. See ADAT and DTRS. ), the largest publisher of cross-platform consumer software on industry standard SD and MultiMediaCard (MMC See MultiMediaCard and Microsoft Management Console. ) cards for PDAs and mobile phones." "The Tapwave Zodiac is built to maximize the experience of roaming space, hunting down your targets, and completing your mission with a barrage of laser fire," said Kyle Poole, President of Crimson Fire. "When we saw its large screen, high resolution, landscape mode, and analog controller, we knew we had found the perfect handheld console for our game, Galactic Realms -- a graphically advanced, real-time space combat game that lets you fight battles from three unique perspectives." "The Tapwave Zodiac is an amazing device," said Douglas Edwards, VP of Marketing at Handmark. "The Zodiac's cool features entice developers to build break-through games that take advantage of its high resolution display, extended battery life, and analog controller. Games like the new Handmark Warfare Incorporated can now deliver a mobile experience comparable to that found on PC size game consoles." "DOOM II pioneered the first-person, multiplayer shooter experience on the PC, and now that same exciting experience is available in the palm of your hand anywhere you go," said Todd Hollenshead, CEO, id Software. "Whether you want to battle the forces of Hell alone in the award-winning single player game, or go toe-to-toe with up to 3 other competitors in an intense deathmatch using the built-in Bluetooth, DOOM II on the Tapwave Zodiac is the ultimate mobile gaming experience." "Zodiac is the fastest handheld gaming device to date", says Andre Vasen, CEO of MachineWorks Northwest LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control , "it's an impressive piece of engineering." Developer Support For developers, Tapwave offers a fully customized version of the X-Forge 3D game engine (www.x-forge.com) for rapid prototype and development. In conjunction with the Tapwave hardware offerings, the company will both publish games and continue to aggressively support independent game development specifically for the Tapwave platform. By keeping the platform open, building a strong developer support program, and providing a distribution channel, Tapwave will leverage the thousands of developers focused on mobile gaming and build a strong win-win business opportunity. Since announcing the company in May 2003, more than 500 game developers have signed up for the Tapwave development program and requested the Software Development Kit (SDK (Software Developer's Kit) See developer's toolkit and Windows SDK. SDK - Software Developers Kit (or "Software Development Kit"). ). About Tapwave, Inc. Pioneers of a new category called mobile entertainment gear, Tapwave is changing the way people live, play and interact on the go. Founded in May 2001, Tapwave is a privately funded startup company in Mountain View, CA. Through a wealth of experience and strong partnerships, Tapwave is developing a portfolio of innovative next-generation products tailored to deliver the most fun and function in mobile entertainment gear. More information about the company can be found on the Internet at www.tapwave.com. About DEMOmobile 2003 The annual DEMO and DEMOmobile conferences focus on emerging technologies and new products, which are hand-selected by executive producer Chris Shipley from across the spectrum of the personal technology marketplace. Top executives from the leading hardware and software technology companies, venture capitalists, journalists from key industry publications and industry analysts attend the DEMO and DEMOmobile conferences to preview the most promising products and technologies for the coming year. DEMO is held in February each year and features approximately 60 new companies, products and technologies. DEMOmobile is held each fall and features approximately 35 new mobile technologies. For more information, visit http://www.idgef.com/. About Activision Headquartered in Santa Monica, California For other uses, see Santa Monica (disambiguation). Santa Monica is a coastal city in western Los Angeles County, California, USA. Situated on Santa Monica Bay of the Pacific Ocean, it is surrounded by the City of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades and Brentwood on the north, , Activision, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products. Founded in 1979, Activision posted revenues of $786 million for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2002. Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, Australia, Scandinavia and the Netherlands. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's World Wide Web site, which is located at www.activision.com. The statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements." The Company cautions readers of this press release that a number of important factors could cause Activision's actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in any such forward-looking statements. These important factors, and other factors that could affect Activision, are described in Activision's Annual Report on Form 10-K Form 10-K A report required by the SEC from exchange-listed companies that provides for annual disclosure of certain financial information. Form 10-K See 10-K. for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2002, which was filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers of this press release are referred to such filings. About Midway Games Inc. Midway Games Inc. is a leading developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software. Spy Hunter is a trademark of Midway Amusement Games, LLC. This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning future business conditions and the outlook for Midway Games Inc. (the "Company") based on currently available information that involve risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, the financial strength of the interactive entertainment industry, dependence on new product introductions and the ability to maintain the scheduling of such introductions, technological changes, dependence on major platform manufacturers and other risks more fully described under "Item 1. Business - Risk Factors" in the Company's current Annual Report on Form 10-K and the other filings made by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. About id Software: id -- Freud's primal part of the human psyche and one of the hottest game shops on Earth -- has been rocking the gaming world from Mesquite, Texas since 1991. As a renowned leader in the industry, id Software forged such frenetic titles as Wolfenstein 3D(R), DOOM(R), DOOM II(TM), QUAKE(R) and QUAKE II(TM). With intense graphics and mind-blowing action, id's games have helped redefine the modern video game, continually setting industry standards for technology and gameplay. And, in keeping with tradition, id Software has amplified the world of adrenaline pumping 3-D gaming with the release of their latest action titles, QUAKE III Arena Quake III Arena or Quake 3, abbreviated as Q3A or Q3, is a multiplayer first-person shooter computer and video game released on December 2, 1999. (TM), QUAKE III: Team Arena(TM), and Return to Castle Wolfenstein Return to Castle Wolfenstein (PC) is a first person shooter computer game published by Activision and originally released on November 19, 2001. The single player game was developed by Gray Matter Interactive and Nerve Software developed its multiplayer mode. (TM). id Software's advanced DOOM 3 engine is leading the next revolution in 3-D interactive games. Check out more about id Software at www.idsoftware.com. DOOM, DOOM II and id are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Id Software, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. DOOM II distributed by Tapwave under license. About MachineWorks NorthWest LLC: Founded in 1997, MachineWorks Northwest LLC (www.machineworksnorthwest.com) is a privately held developer/publisher and a pioneer in mobile gaming. Machineworks NW is presently porting DOOM 2 to Zodiac. |
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