The Tapwave Zodiac mobile entertainment console, its accessories and games were rolled out in all 227 CompUSA stores today. The Zodiac will be placed in the mobile computing section of the CompUSA stores. Along with the Tapwave Zodiac being available at retail, it will also be available on CompUSA's website.
According to David Wenning, VP of Sales for Tapwave, "CompUSA’s focus on mobile computing technologies made them a great partner to bring this exciting new Palm-Powered entertainment system to consumers across the country. Now consumers will be able to experience first hand the brilliant high-resolution display, amazing half-VGA graphics performance, rich stereo sound, and the multimedia power of the Zodiac mobile entertainment console."
"This is a new and exciting technology merging the benefits of the Palm-based PDA with an extremely well presented gaming platform that is sure to please the PDA user and avid portable gamer as well," commented Nate Mallad, buyer for CompUSA. "Gaming on a handheld device has just taken a giant leap forward, and movie watchers will love the Zodiac’s ability to present full-motion video and stereo sound."
Beyond purchasing the Tapwave Zodiac at CompUSA, consumers can now pick up the latest Zodiac accessories and popular Zodiac game cards, such as Activision's Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 and Midway's SpyHunter. Along with premiere titles, Tapwave is also offering two game packs – Z:Pak: Adventure, which will include Galactic Realms and Legacy; and the Z:Pak: Fun featuring Paintball, MegaBowling and Kickoo's Breakout. In a few weeks, id Software's DOOM II and 3D Realms/MachineWorks Northwest's Duke Nukem Mobile will also be joining other Zodiac games on CompUSA's shelves.
The Zodiac accessories available today at retail include the Zodiac Sport Case, Zodiac Cradle and a Zodiac Stylus 3-pack. Other accessories for the Zodiac will also be available in coming weeks. These include a Zodiac Deluxe Leather Case and the Zodiac Universal Travel Kit.
In addition to launching at retail, this year Tapwave expects to offer a total of 60 to 75 Tapwave Certified titles, such as Tiger TeamÂ: Apache vs. Hind (helicopter combat game), Orbz (action arcade) and Acedior (RPG). Some of the Zodiac premiere titles for this year will include Activision's MTX: Mototrax and Street HoopsÂ, Eidos' Tomb Raider and Atari's Neverwinter Nights.
To ensure the continued success of the Zodiac, Tapwave is partnering with leading game publishers to bring other well-known premiere titles to Zodiac console users. Since launch, Tapwave has licensed premiere property titles originally created by Activision, id Software, Eidos, Atari, Midway, 3D Realms, Fathammer, Sega and Epyx.
The Zodiac console was designed from the ground up to work hard and play even harder. The new retail model comes with the latest Zodiac 1.1 software suite, which includes many new enhancements like background music playback (e.g., listen to music while you play games, view a photo slideshow or read an e-book) and the ability to sync your personal organizer data with Microsoft Outlook using Chapura PocketMirror. Housed in a sleek and ergonomic 6.3 ounce, anodized-aluminium design, the Zodiac console not only provides an unparalleled mobile gaming device with analog control, 3D graphics, stereo sound, vibration effects, and wireless multiplayer gaming, but also everything required for a rich multimedia experience including music, pictures and video. From a work perspective, the Zodiac offers the added benefit of running a Tapwave-enhanced version of the Palm Operating System (5.2T) and provides immediate access to thousands of existing applications and games already available on the operating system.
The console is offered in two models – the Zodiac 1 for $299 (32MB RAM) and the Zodiac 2 for $399 (128MB RAM).