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Dear Henry,
Thank you for your interest in Tapwave and Zodiac! Currently we are only shipping direct and only to the U.S. for both hardware and software. We are planning on a U.S. retail launch this spring with international distribution in late 2004. Once we have established our retail channels, U.S. customers will have a choice to purchase direct from Tapwave or through one of our retail partners. Unfortunately, we cannot discuss who the retail partners will be since that information has not been release for publication. These retail locations will also have software available for purchase on cards.
There are other sites who sell Palm OS compatible applications but the Tapwave website is the only site currently offering games specifically tested (and many of them optimized) for the Zodiac.
There is currently no plan to accept PayPal.
Please let us know if you have any other questions.
Best regards,
Tapwave Support
Can you believe it that this site is still under construction? Forums etc are still not up and running! You should think that they could put a staff to take care of their site since this is the only way people can get the Zod or buy their software.
A good place for zod news and updates
Tapland
For forums, there is an active gaming community at
Zodiac Gamer
by the world renoun prophet.
And if you are a Zod newie, looking for reviews of Zod stuff, try
Zodiac Reviews
We are now at my fav part - software. First, lets remind ourselves that the Zod is a Palm device; so most Palm software works on it. In fact programs like the Bible Thumper works better on the Zod - with full landscape 320x480 screen view and scroller kinda works unlike the Treo 600 (scroll doesn't work).
Like the T3 with a 320x480 screen, most apps can be displayed portrait or landscape (as in the music program below).
As mentioned earlier, the Zod is bundled with apps like Palmreader, Wordsmith, Powerone, alarm clock and special stuff to show its features like Music (MP3), Photo (jpg viewer), Kinoma (video) and Inkstorm (Bluetooth chat).
I have kinda took a stab at pairing the Zod with my Nokia 6820 and with the help of some SPUGers, got it running MultiMail and Xiino. Great!
Where the zod really shines is in the gaming area. The Zod comes bundled with Acidsolitaire that plays nicely and Stunt Car Extreme, that's really the most stunting game on any Palm. Feast your eyes on these 3D shots below (taken from tapewave's site):
This game not only makes full use of the built-in 2D card, but with its Gameboy layout, anyone can get at least second place! To make things more exciting, the Zod vibrates when you hit into an obstacle!
As stated earlier, all Zod-specific games are currently available only from Tapwave. Amongst the more exciting titles are Atari Retro, Spy Hunter (nothing like the top-view classic; now in 3D), Warfare Incorporated, Interstellar Flames, Galactic Realms and fabulous classics by Megasoft and other established palm developers.
The great thing about Zod-specific games is that more and more established palm developers are getting into the action. megasoft2000, developers of perfectly crafted Palm software are first off the gate and have already released 2 of the most popular palm games - Billards and Megabowl (my favorite games)!
Billards which has blown all Palm competition off the water is even more stunting in the Zod (feast your eyes on screenshot above). I just couldn't put it down the moment i got it!
Features: Play pool and billiards against a sophisticated artificial intelligence engine. Choose from 6 different game options. Customize your table type, ball size and table preferences. Even choose the color of the felt. A wide range of games, geometric settings, real life physics modeling and “videotape” review of your last shot will allow you to sharpen your skills enough to get you ready to take on the local pool shark.
Megabowl has to be played to be appreciated. with zod's 320x480 landscape (just like the t3), it is easy to fit the scores as well as the lanes on the screen, thus enjoying uninterrupted gaming - instead of flipping to and fro. great gaming experience - highly addictive.
Features: Get ready for “league play” with MegaBowling. The action is so realistic that you will be able to hone your bowling skills whenever you have a few minutes to spare. Pick your level of skill, from beginner to expert, and test your game against an opponent or the computer. On-screen scoring, realistic pin ball and pin action and cheers from the crowd when you throw a strike will keep you coming back for more. Simply use your finger or stylus on your touchscreen to bowl a strike in either portrait or landscpe screen position.
After a day with Megabowl, I tried the portrait mode instead - it was awesome. The bigger playing field allowed more precise play and by the look of the screenshot below you can see how my score has improved!
Now lets look at Zod-specific games from other than Tapwave. You may ask, how can this be since tapwave controls all Zod games? My answer is that the WWW is a big place and not even Bill Gates can control it.
So off I went to some Palm sites, Palmgear in particular to search for Palm (not Sony Clie) 320x480 games. I figured that the Zod's screen is pretty much the same as T3. So what runs on T3 should run on the Zod even if the buttons may not be the same. Stylus input games should have no problem. A few such games surfaced and one that I really liked by PDAmill, is Gamebox Solitaire.
Look at the screenshot above, isn't it really so carefully and beautifully crafted? It's the kind of games that you want to buy, keep in RAM and show it off an every opportunity. I liked solitaire Golf very much, and don't care to learn any other - so kept playing it all night since I got it.
This is the kind of software I would consider 'must buy' since it has enduring interest, keeping you occupied when waiting at the station, on the MRT, when you are early for a meeting or appointment... now all your spare moments can be blissfully and wastefully used.
While running this game, I discovered 2 things
1. Upon installation, there is a Zod version - hurray, no longer monopolised by one company!
2. The man behind this fab software is Peter, the guy I wrote a story on some years ago at - the-gadgeteer. Peter does great stuff, especially for the PPC and smartphones, so i am glad that he is now into Palm as well.
Features:Ten card games: Blind Alleys, Canfield, Chinese, East Haven, Fourteen Out, Freecell, Golf, Klondike, Pyramid, Pyramid golf High quality graphics: High quality, authentic tables and cards of unseen quality Ambient music: Three sound tracks totalling over 15 minutes made by Jason Surguine, Pocket PC's most famous and (very likely) best composer. (Music is not available on all Palm OS devices) Visual effects: Packed with visual effects, such as shadows, rotated cards, smooth card animations and alpha effects Save Game: Games are automatically saved when you exit, so you can continue where you've left off Unlimited Undos: Unlimited undos and replay feature gives you a chance to correct any error you make Detailed options: Detailed options let you change how cards are sorted, dealt, moved, flipped and played.
I discovered another 3 non-Tapewave games. Vyper is a shoot 'em up, which runs rather sluggishly on the Zod.
Then, with great delight at Toysoft, I saw one of my passion (should I say former passion?), mahjong!
Check out these features below: Supports Palm T3 320x480 and 480x320 modes. Supports Sony UX 480x320 modes. Supports Tapwave Zodiac. Real Chinese Mah Jong. Not tile matching. Play against three computers. Awesome graphics and sound for PalmOS(R) 5. Two game styles: Classic and HK Styles. Full counting points for Classic Style. Selectable Tile Sets for PalmOS(R) 5 and Sony(R) Clie. View Full tile set. Selectable Player image. Save game. MahJong Hall of Fame. Turn on/off sound. Automatic Win for beginner and Novice players. View all discard tiles. Setable point value. Setable Fans. Setable Table Color.
Thanks to the Zod, more of these 320x480 landscape games are around - like Galactic Realms, Gizmo, Megabowling, Paintball, PDA Mill Solitaire, Kickoo's Breakout, Another Ball...
However, most Palm software will run on the Zod all right, even if it is not full screen. And most of which you can rotate between landscape and portrait modes.
A new os upgrade for the really excellent first release is coming out soon. Don't take it from me - here's what Byron Connell, Founder and Senior VP of Marketing at Tapwave has to say about the new (free) update:
Music and Sound:
Music update – Enable background playback with status bar integration. Sound update - Enhanced implementation of MIDI and utilization of Yamaha sound chip.
Photos:
Photos update - Improved JPEG scaling for size reduction. Photos update – New “delete selected photo” menu option.
Bluetooth:
Inclusion of phone drivers for Bluetooth connection to popular GSM/GPRS phones. Improved discovery process and performance. New Bluetooth APIs – inclusion of new gaming APIs, improved model for 2+ users, and updates to software development kit.
General Updates:
Updated releases of 3rd party bundled applications on CD & ROM. Power management enhancements for even longer battery life. SD driver performance.
Even as i speak, Firehammer - Vasara Games' 2D shootem-up was released. According to those who got it today, they say that it runs smooth (Portrait mode), the vibration is great, and the parallaxing graphics look cool.
other upcoming, out-anyday-now games to look out for by an increasing number of developers, both old and new
Crimson Fire - Phantom Strike etc.
Midway Games - Spyhunter (licensed)
Activision - Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4 etc.
BioWare - Neverwinter Nights etc.
Twelve Games - Capoeira Fighter 2 etc.
ToySoft - Mahjong King etc.
Sega - Genesis ports (titles unspecified) etc.
3DRealms - Duke Nukem Mobile etc.
id Software - Doom II etc.
Personally, I am looking forward to Palm emulators, not necessarily Zod specific, so long as I can play it on the Zod - with buttons, grip and feel all in the right place. Some are already available, others are WIP. In the Zodian, a Korean Zod user group, there is a rumor of an SNES emulator brewing.
Here are some which are available or announced:
CodeJedi - Xcade (multiple arcade game emulator) & Atari ST emulator
Chrilith - ScummVM port (interpreter for LucasArts adventure games)
Gambit Studios - Liberty Gameboy emulator
Kalem Soft - NesEm NES and Gizmo, Sega/GameGear emulator
and TurboGrafx-16 Emulator
Phoinix - Gameboy emulator
PalmApple - Apple 2e emulator
Sega Classics - Sega's proprietary commercial Gamegear emulator
ColEm - Colecovision emulator
PalmSpec - Spectrum emulator
ARMZX - Spectrum emulator
Danny from Toysoft sent me two files - statusbarlib.prc and appsliprotate.prc which can turn any Palm PDA capable of 320x480 landscape, most apps into full landscape mode. For the T3 and also for the Zod, it works very well on Bible Thumper. This also works well with Majongking and Crazy8 games.
Feast your eyes on the screenshot below:
After several more 'one more go' attempts on this game I must say that Majongking has
1. The most beautiful layout of mahjong games for the palm.
2. Easy to play - no need to read manual.
3. For Singaporeans - a 13-tile hongkong mahjong version.
4. Good sounds - many options.
5. Runs on normal Palms also.
Since many Asians are more addicted to mahjong than anyone else, I predict that this game will do well in this part of the world.
Crazy8 is another program that will run in 320x480 landscape. It's a rather old program, but has been updated many times. I did a review on it once while comparing card games and mentioned Seahorsesoft in many of my features, eg SPUG.
razy8 aka Uno has been a long-time favorite of mine and it's even more fun in hi-res landscape - look at the great screenshot below
Other games by Seahorsesoft are solitaires - 4Corners, Blackjack, Clock, Montana and cards games - Euchre, Rummy and Pyramid. They have since released a classic game - Ludo. Check 'em all out at the above link - great games at very low costs. If you like card games, go for their bundles.
Update from their site: The new 5.0 version adds lots of great features, including support for high-resolution devices with virtual silkscreens like the Tungsten T3, UX Series, Zodiac, and iQue. With the silkscreen minimized you now get more of your cards displayed (a feature requested quite often)!
Also for you die hard Crazy 8's fans, the deck size has increased. But even more exciting is the addition of two new special cards: Rotate and Draw Bomb. These will be sure to add some interesting elements to the game play.
When it comes to the Zen of PDA, Palm has no equal Yet there is no device - PPC or Palm that is so well designed to play games like the Zod - buttons, 2D card, flippers, large screen etc and yet slim and sleek enough to slip into the shirt pocket. And for serious apps, there are Bluetooth and multimedia.
The Zod is now my daily pda of choice - it is so thin, I carry it with me on my shirt pocket without anyone noticing or commenting on it. It does everything I need and then some; really happy with it.