System Watch: Via’s MoMA Eve New “Handheld” System

Posted by Jason

May 13, 2004

Via was expected to make an announcement at E3 about a new portable system. When that news first hit, everyone rolled their eyes. Now, after seeing the system and finding out more about their specs, we realize they might actually have something going for them. Extremetech had some specs available:

The Eve mobile console integrates the S3 Graphics UniChrome Pro IGP chip, featuring a 200-MHz clock that can drive a pixel rate of up to 200 million pixels per second with two textures each. MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 video will be displayed on a 4-inch LCD screen capable of 640×480 resolution. The Eve uses two hot-swappable lithium-ion batteries, each with a charge of about two hours, Hwang said.

According to Hwang, the Eve will ship with a SIM card, the type used by some digital phones to limit access. With the SIM card inserted, the Eve will be unlocked and will allow the user to play games that have been loaded onto the console. The Eve will include a USB 2.0 port, 802.11b wireless, as well as a CompactFlash card for portable content. Inside the handheld resides a 20-Gbyte hard drive for storing games.

Engadget (who informed us of the system) sees trouble ahead:

There are a lot of problems here besides a complicated content protection system. First, the price. The MoMA Eve is supposed to cost “under $500” which means it’s going to cost a lot more than most people will want to pay for a portable game console, even with all those fancy features. Second, the design. Yeah, we love the white plastic, but did they not realize that without folding up there’s no way anyone can carry one of these around?

So it’s not really a “Handheld Gaming System” so to say. It fits closer in the hybrid category along with oQo and Vulcan’s FlipStart. As far as the hybrid market goes, the FlipStart is very much on the top of our list. If Via/MoMA markets their system correctly, as a “ultraPC gaming system” and sell it at CompUSA at the PDA booth far, far away from the Nintendos and Sony’s, it might have some staying power. Otherwise, labelling it as a handheld would just sentence it to an early death because the field is too crowded.

Peter at Engadget says it best:

(why does every manufacturer suddently think they should have one of these?).

I actually like the design. Reminds me of a large Dreamcast VMU for some reason. It won’t fit in my pocket and security guards will gawk when they see it in the luggage x-ray, but hey, it will look nice sitting on my desk next to my future oQo and FlipStart systems. We’ll watch for more news on the Eve system and perhaps open it into its own category (hell, GizmoNdo has one, so why not?)

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