Hewlett-Packard's calculator series, while in no way as popular or
standardized as the emulators of Texas Instruments (please see THIS for the
one and only COMPLETE overview of emulating the latter calculators on
Windows Mobile), indeed have their place under the sun. What is more, they
have way better emulators under Windows Mobile that TI.

Note that, as with the above-linked TI article, you may want to read this
roundup and actively follow the for example Wiki links. Higher-end HP
calculators (as with those of TI) can easily be better than any native
calculator and/or unit converter on Windows Mobile (WM for short), let them
be traditional touchscreen-enabled Pocket PC's (Windows Mobile 6
Professional / Classic models) or no-touchscreen Smartphones (Windows Mobile
6 Standard) devices. Furthermore, which should also be taken into account,
the majority of these emulators can freely be used (as opposed to mostly
commercial native WM calculators) - with the highest-end HP models even when
you don't actively own the original calculator. I provide you with all the
necessary manual links so that you can easily find out more information on a
given model - that is, you don't even need to own the (original) manuals.
Hats off to HP (as opposed to TI) for being so generous and providing the
ROM image of their best calculators and allowing for using them even if you
don't own the original calculator!

As usual with most of my roundups, you simply won't find a better, more
thorough source of the subject. This is particularly true of my first-hand
information on MS Smartphone (Windows Mobile 6 Standard) compliance. That
is, if you're lucky enough to have a newer, high-resolution (QVGA)
Smartphone and look for a decent calculator compatible with your device,
make sure you read this article - you won't find "hacking" tips like these
anywhere else.

Let's start with the most popular 48/49 series, which many consider even
better than the top-of-the-line Texas Instruments calculator series, the
TI-89.

1. Emulating HP-38G/39/40G/48GX/48SX/49G

The HP-48 and HP-49 series are no doubt the best calculators ever
manufactured by HP. They are not only graphing calculators, but also support
CAS (read THIS for more info on this very subject). Should you want, in
addition to, say, the Wiki pages, a guide to the different models and their
target audience, also check out hpcalc.org's Calculator Buying Guide.

Also note that, in 2000, HP ACO allowed the use of the HP38, 39, 40, 48, 49
ROM's even if you're not an owner of this calculator type (see for example
THIS for references); that is, you are free to use this emulator even if you
don't have the original calculator(s). This is great news, particularly
given that the manuals of the calculators are also available online.

Fortunately, the Pocket PC emulation of all these models is very strong (no
bugs, hi-res VGA support, object export/import supported on Windows Mobile
too etc.), as opposed to that of TI calculators.



....



more at:
http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/ind...&c=1&tb=1&pb=1






--
Werner "Menneisyys" Ruotsalainen - Microsoft MVP - Windows - Mobile Devices
Please see the Pocket PC Mag Expert Blog (including mine) at
http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/ - you will definitely like it.

Now that I've reviewed emulating most desktop gaming consoles (DO check them
out if you haven't already done so, they're all HERE - you won't find a
better source of information on all these questions ANYWHERE else; no wonder
they've all have been made sticky the official Emulators forum at
MobilitySite / AximSite by Michu, author of the Emupage, himself and some
even had the honor of being frontpaged at Pocket PC Thoughts and Just
another Mobile Monday!), I found it necessary to review how handheld gaming
consoles can be emulated on Windows Mobile.

Note that I do NOT review how the Nintendo Game Boy (G, Game Boy Color (GBC)
and Game Boy Advance (GBA) platforms need to be emulated. The reason for
this is very simple: Masterall, one of the biggest players in the Pocket PC
and Smartphone emulation scene, has just released another, very cool GBA
emulator, GBACE, and is continually working on it. Also, the other "big
name" with (currently) GB / GBC (no GBA) emulation, SmartGear, is
continuously improved. As soon as they reach a semi-final state, I publish a
FULL roundup of all Nintendo handhelds. In the meantime, if you need GBA
emulator, use either Sunbug's PocketGBA or the above-mentioned GBACE.

Note that the first chapter, the one on the Sega Game Gear (GG for short),
also discusses a 8-bit, not really advanced (but sill better than the NES)
desktop console of the eighties, the Sega Master System (SMS). Some Game
Gear games are just Sega Master System titles (with decreased resolution -
to see the resolution difference between the original SMS titles and that of
GG, compare the SMS screenshots in the reviews below to this GG screenshot);
in cases, increased color depth and, in VERY few cases, stereo music as
opposed to the mono music of the Master System) in a portable, small
cartridge format.

1. Sega Game Gear (and the Sega Master System)

There are three really usable emulators (and one outdated & non-working):

1.1 SmartGear 0.25



....



more at:
http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/ind...&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

Now that I've finished introducing and comparing almost all the gaming
console emulators, I've embarked on publishing reviews and tutorials on
emulating 8/16-bit home computers under Windows Mobile.

The first home computer I elaborate on is the Commodore Amiga, which was no
doubt the best computer, gaming-wise, in the late eighties and early
nineties, which also means a lot of Windows Mobile users would still would
like to know how it should be emulated.

First, I have some bad news. The emulator you will need to use, PocketUAE by
PocketInsanity, while pretty much compatible with Amiga titles (after all,
it's based on the pretty stable UAE core), has severe sound problems. If
there's anything happening on the screen or the system is accessing the
(virtual) floppy disk, the sound will most probably stutter.

Furthermore, even if you disable sound, you won't really have 100% speed
unless you skip at least 3-4 frames a time. This is perfectly visible with,
say, the horizontal shoot'm up title Katakis.

Never forget what I have stated in my previous articles: when possible, if a
given game has been released for more than one platform, try to find an
emulator that runs the game with a better speed. For example, Turrican is
pretty unplayable on the Pocket PC with music (music is a must with the
game - Chris Huelsbeck's music really rocks). As Turrican was released on
many platforms, you, therefore, want to look around . For example, the
currently available TurboGrafx-16 (PC Engine) (see the emulation guide
HERE), you may want to prefer it to the Amiga version. Granted, the Amiga
had better (tracked) music, but you won't be able to play the game without
stuttering sound.

[More:]

Again and again, don't forget I've reviewed ALL the desktop and MOST
handheld gaming console emulators, along with the MS-DOS emulator (and will
also review other, 8/16-bit home computers like the Commodore 64 and the
Atari ST(E)). Make sure you read them - the ports of the Amiga games, if
exist, may run FAR better in other emulators than in PocketUAE.

Furthermore, it has some other problems; for example, you won't be able to
enter any text / use the on-screen keyboard if you have a VGA device.
Fortunately, with VGA devices with built-in keyboards like the HTC
Universal, this isn't a problem because you can use the built-in keyboard
any time.

Otherwise, the emulator is pretty cool: it supports high resolution on VGA
devices, is free and REALLY compatible with MOST titles. If you can live
with the, in most cases, (in most games) stuttering sound, it's definitely
worth checking out.

Usage

1.. Download it from HERE (latest version: 21012006). Unzip the contents
of the ZIP file.
2.. if you don't already have some games, you can get them from HERE and
HERE. Unzip the games if they are ZIP'ed and copy the ADF files to the
"disks" subdirectory of the emulator.
3.. get the Kickstart ROM 1.3 HERE and, after unZIPing it, copy it to the
"roms" subdirectory. (You can also do the same with the 3.0 ROM but you will
rarely if ever need it - after all, Amiga 1200 games will run even slower
than the original Amiga 500 titles and PocketUAE is known to work slower
with the 3.0 ROM than with the 1.3 one. Note that most games will run OK
with the 1.3 Kickstart ROM; exceptions are, for example, the Archon I and II
bundle, which require the 1.2 ROM version not available for direct download
anywhere.)
4.. transfer everything to your Windows Mobile handheld and start Pocket
UAE Launcher.exe from a file explorer tool; for example, File Explorer or
Total Commander. (You may also want to create a shortcut to it in the
\Windows\Start Menu\Programs folder for quicker access.) (A quick remark:
Pocket UAE Launcher wasn't part of the distribution with previous PocketUAE
versions. Now it is - that is, no separate download is necessary.)
5.. Go to the "Disk" tab and, in the Floppy Disk 0: drop-down menu, select
the ADF disk image you'd like to play (Screenshot 1, 2)
6.. Go to the "Chip" tab and make sure KICK13.ROM is selected and active
in the Kickstart ROM File: drop-down list (screenshot 1, 2) (you will need
to do this only once - as opposed to selecting a game in the previous
bullet)

continued at:
http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/ind...&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

The Amstrad CPC home computer, while, internationally, definitely not as
successful as the Commodore 64 or the Sinclair ZX Spectrum , the two most
important, competing home computer platforms, may still be worth emulating.
At least, to bring up memories if you was a CPC user back into the eighties.

To emulate the platform under Windows Mobile (as opposed to the desktop
operating systems, where there are a plethora of emulators), your only
choice is PocketCaprice, port of caprice32, a (comparatively) incapable
newcomer to the CPC emulation scene.

Is it worth bothering?

If you're looking for a generic gaming platform, I'd say no.

The CPC could only gain the market leading position in France, and, apart
for the superior screen resolution & modes, was technically definitely
inferior than the C64. This also means games written (or, in most cases,
ported from the Sinclair Spectrum) are, in most cases, far inferior to their
C64 (or, when it does exist, say, Sega's Genesis / Mega Drive or NEC's
TurboGrafx-16 / PC Engine) counterparts, particularly animation speed and
sound / music-wise. A perfect example of the difference between the graphics
scrolling / speed and sound/music capabilities of the C64 and the CPC is,
say, the two Turrican versions running on the two devices. The C64 has
excellent music and scrolling without problems; the CPC doesn't even have
in-game music and much blockier scrolling.

There are very few exceptions to this rule; for example, text-based
adventure games taking advantage of the 640-pixel wide screen (as opposed to
the 256 / 320 pixels of the competing 8-bit platforms). These games,
however, aren't really worth playing in the emulator either because the
emulator doesn't emulate high-resolution modes correctly on a VGA Pocket PC's
- it downscales images to 320 pixels wide. This means you'll want to stick
to emulators of other platforms (or, with Magnetic Scrolls titles, game
interpreters) to play games relying on the 640-column video mode.

Some other, remarkable games for the platform are Hewson's (all 8-bit fans
know who they are and what they are famous for!) Cybernoid II (linked from
HERE; also see THIS; it's one of the, unfortunately, very few CPC games with
excellent in-game music), Switchblade (linked from HERE; also see THIS on
the vastly inferior ZX Spectrum version) and Get Dexter (linked from HERE).



....

more:
http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/ind...&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

The Atari ST, a remarkable 16-bit home computer, was a direct competitor of
other 16-bit systems; most importantly, the Commodore Amiga.

To emulate the platform, you'll need the free (!) CastCE. As opposed to,
say, PocketUAE (the Amiga emulator for Windows Mobile), it offers almost
flawless (except for some minor glitches like the lack of hi-res support on
VGA Pocket PC's) emulation.



Is it worth at all?

I'd say yes! While the Amiga is definitely better suited for gaming
(particularly when it comes to audio), its emulation on Windows Mobile is
pretty bad, particularly sound-wise. Therefore, if you're looking for
playing an Amiga classic not (necessarily) existing on other, emulable
platforms (or, at a much lower quality - see for example Stunt Car Racer,
which had the best port on the Amiga and the Atari ST), giving a try to the
ST isn't a bad idea. It might offer the best emulation capabilities and/or
gaming experience.

Of course, with most multiplatform titles, always try preferring console
ports (most importantly, 16 bit (!) consoles of the late eighties: Sega's
Genesis / Mega Drive or NEC's TurboGrafx-16 / PC Engine) for superior
emulation & gaming quality.

Download, usage


....

more at:
http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/ind...&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

--


--
Werner "Menneisyys" Ruotsalainen - Microsoft MVP - Windows - Mobile Devices
Please see the Pocket PC Mag Expert Blog (including mine) at
http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/ - you will definitely like it.


"Werner "Menneisyys" Ruotsalainen [MVP - Windows - Mobile Devices]"
<!ei.maileja@kiitos!> wrote in message
news:%23neG4Z$qHHA.5032@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
> The Amstrad CPC home computer, while, internationally, definitely not as
> successful as the Commodore 64 or the Sinclair ZX Spectrum , the two most
> important, competing home computer platforms, may still be worth
> emulating. At least, to bring up memories if you was a CPC user back into
> the eighties.
>
> To emulate the platform under Windows Mobile (as opposed to the desktop
> operating systems, where there are a plethora of emulators), your only
> choice is PocketCaprice, port of caprice32, a (comparatively) incapable
> newcomer to the CPC emulation scene.
>
> Is it worth bothering?
>
> If you're looking for a generic gaming platform, I'd say no.
>
> The CPC could only gain the market leading position in France, and, apart
> for the superior screen resolution & modes, was technically definitely
> inferior than the C64. This also means games written (or, in most cases,
> ported from the Sinclair Spectrum) are, in most cases, far inferior to
> their C64 (or, when it does exist, say, Sega's Genesis / Mega Drive or
> NEC's TurboGrafx-16 / PC Engine) counterparts, particularly animation
> speed and sound / music-wise. A perfect example of the difference between
> the graphics scrolling / speed and sound/music capabilities of the C64 and
> the CPC is, say, the two Turrican versions running on the two devices. The
> C64 has excellent music and scrolling without problems; the CPC doesn't
> even have in-game music and much blockier scrolling.
>
> There are very few exceptions to this rule; for example, text-based
> adventure games taking advantage of the 640-pixel wide screen (as opposed
> to the 256 / 320 pixels of the competing 8-bit platforms). These games,
> however, aren't really worth playing in the emulator either because the
> emulator doesn't emulate high-resolution modes correctly on a VGA Pocket
> PC's - it downscales images to 320 pixels wide. This means you'll want to
> stick to emulators of other platforms (or, with Magnetic Scrolls titles,
> game interpreters) to play games relying on the 640-column video mode.
>
> Some other, remarkable games for the platform are Hewson's (all 8-bit fans
> know who they are and what they are famous for!) Cybernoid II (linked from
> HERE; also see THIS; it's one of the, unfortunately, very few CPC games
> with excellent in-game music), Switchblade (linked from HERE; also see
> THIS on the vastly inferior ZX Spectrum version) and Get Dexter (linked
> from HERE).
>
>
>
> ...
>
> more:
> http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/ind...&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
>
>
>
>

If you have a QVGA Smartphone like the HTC Vox / s710, you know well enough
that most existing games and other graphics-based Smartphone apps (Windows
Mobile 6 Standard) out there only use a postage-stamp sized screen area. An
example of this is PDAMill's Flux Challenge, which, being designed for the
traditional low-res (176*220) Smartphone resolution, only uses part of the
available QVGA screen estate:

[screenshot]

There were no widely known solutions for the problem. Some developers
announced support for QVGA devices (for example, that of Cell Doom - see
announcement HERE), but the most (including PDAMill) didn't.

Fortunately, an excellent White Russian coder has come up with a generic
solution, which not only makes it possible to run MANY (but not all!) games
at full screen, but, in cases, also lets for using real (!) QVGA resolution
with some titles (for example, emulators).

Downloading, installing

Go to this MoDaCo thread and download the ZIP file attached to the first
post. You'll need to register as a forum user if you aren't able to access
it. If you don't want to bother with it, I've also uploaded the file to my
database back-end; it's HERE.

After this, just unZIP it and start GxQvga Patcher.exe. Should you encounter
an error message complaining about the lack of the .NET Framework 2, you
will need to download it HERE (note that some stated it only requires 1.1. I
haven't checked whether they're right. The latter is accessible HERE.)


....

more at:
http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/ind...&c=1&tb=1&pb=1







--
Werner "Menneisyys" Ruotsalainen - Microsoft MVP - Windows - Mobile Devices
Please see the Pocket PC Mag Expert Blog (including mine) at
http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/ - you will definitely like it.


"Werner "Menneisyys" Ruotsalainen [MVP - Windows - Mobile Devices]"
<!ei.maileja@kiitos!> wrote in message
news:%23a6QUqBrHHA.2320@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> The Atari ST, a remarkable 16-bit home computer, was a direct competitor
> of other 16-bit systems; most importantly, the Commodore Amiga.
>
> To emulate the platform, you'll need the free (!) CastCE. As opposed to,
> say, PocketUAE (the Amiga emulator for Windows Mobile), it offers almost
> flawless (except for some minor glitches like the lack of hi-res support
> on VGA Pocket PC's) emulation.
>
>
>
> Is it worth at all?
>
> I'd say yes! While the Amiga is definitely better suited for gaming
> (particularly when it comes to audio), its emulation on Windows Mobile is
> pretty bad, particularly sound-wise. Therefore, if you're looking for
> playing an Amiga classic not (necessarily) existing on other, emulable
> platforms (or, at a much lower quality - see for example Stunt Car Racer,
> which had the best port on the Amiga and the Atari ST), giving a try to
> the ST isn't a bad idea. It might offer the best emulation capabilities
> and/or gaming experience.
>
> Of course, with most multiplatform titles, always try preferring console
> ports (most importantly, 16 bit (!) consoles of the late eighties: Sega's
> Genesis / Mega Drive or NEC's TurboGrafx-16 / PC Engine) for superior
> emulation & gaming quality.
>
> Download, usage
>
>
> ...
>
> more at:
> http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/ind...&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
>
> --
>
>
> --
> Werner "Menneisyys" Ruotsalainen - Microsoft MVP - Windows - Mobile
> Devices
> Please see the Pocket PC Mag Expert Blog (including mine) at
> http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/ - you will definitely like it.
>
>
> "Werner "Menneisyys" Ruotsalainen [MVP - Windows - Mobile Devices]"
> <!ei.maileja@kiitos!> wrote in message
> news:%23neG4Z$qHHA.5032@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
>> The Amstrad CPC home computer, while, internationally, definitely not as
>> successful as the Commodore 64 or the Sinclair ZX Spectrum , the two most
>> important, competing home computer platforms, may still be worth
>> emulating. At least, to bring up memories if you was a CPC user back into
>> the eighties.
>>
>> To emulate the platform under Windows Mobile (as opposed to the desktop
>> operating systems, where there are a plethora of emulators), your only
>> choice is PocketCaprice, port of caprice32, a (comparatively) incapable
>> newcomer to the CPC emulation scene.
>>
>> Is it worth bothering?
>>
>> If you're looking for a generic gaming platform, I'd say no.
>>
>> The CPC could only gain the market leading position in France, and, apart
>> for the superior screen resolution & modes, was technically definitely
>> inferior than the C64. This also means games written (or, in most cases,
>> ported from the Sinclair Spectrum) are, in most cases, far inferior to
>> their C64 (or, when it does exist, say, Sega's Genesis / Mega Drive or
>> NEC's TurboGrafx-16 / PC Engine) counterparts, particularly animation
>> speed and sound / music-wise. A perfect example of the difference between
>> the graphics scrolling / speed and sound/music capabilities of the C64
>> and the CPC is, say, the two Turrican versions running on the two
>> devices. The C64 has excellent music and scrolling without problems; the
>> CPC doesn't even have in-game music and much blockier scrolling.
>>
>> There are very few exceptions to this rule; for example, text-based
>> adventure games taking advantage of the 640-pixel wide screen (as opposed
>> to the 256 / 320 pixels of the competing 8-bit platforms). These games,
>> however, aren't really worth playing in the emulator either because the
>> emulator doesn't emulate high-resolution modes correctly on a VGA Pocket
>> PC's - it downscales images to 320 pixels wide. This means you'll want to
>> stick to emulators of other platforms (or, with Magnetic Scrolls titles,
>> game interpreters) to play games relying on the 640-column video mode.
>>
>> Some other, remarkable games for the platform are Hewson's (all 8-bit
>> fans know who they are and what they are famous for!) Cybernoid II
>> (linked from HERE; also see THIS; it's one of the, unfortunately, very
>> few CPC games with excellent in-game music), Switchblade (linked from
>> HERE; also see THIS on the vastly inferior ZX Spectrum version) and Get
>> Dexter (linked from HERE).
>>
>>
>>
>> ...
>>
>> more:
>> http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/ind...&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>

The Commodore 64 (C64) is the most successful home computer ever
manufactured. This also shows in the number of the software products (mainly
games) released for the system.

Fortunately, Windows Mobile, both the traditional Pocket PC and the touch
screen-less Smartphone version, has pretty good Commodore 64 emulators.

In this roundup, I elaborate on them all on both platforms. I also present a
small gift to the entire QVGA (320*240) MS Smartphone community: a C64
emulator, hacked by me, which does make use of the entire QVGA screen, as
opposed to the pre-hacked state. And, of course, the roundup itself is also
a nice present: as with all my other emulation-related articles, nowhere
else will you find a better, more thorough article on all these subjects, I
think ;)

1.1 Is Windows Mobile-based C64 emulation worth the trouble at all?

As opposed to, say, emulating the Amstrad CPC or the Commodore Amiga, the
answer is YES, for two reasons.

First, the device has a plethora of good (!) games. While the same games
typically exist on other platforms (back in the eighties, games were
released for several computer and/on gaming console platforms at the same
time), the C64 had a more game-friendly hardware when compared to most home
computers (and even some dedicated gaming consoles) of that time.

This means for example the C64 version of the classic game "Uridium" is
orders of magnitude better than, for example, the very slow and in no way
spectacular (not even mentioning its also sub-par sound / music) ZX Spectrum
version. With other games, the differences may not be so apparent (after
all, Uridium used the superfast character mode on the C64, unlike on the ZX
Spectrum, where it needed to do some heavy bitmap moving), but, generally,
if you can, say, only choose from a ZX Spectrum, an Apple II, an Amstrad CPC
and a C64 port, check out the latter first for the best possible graphics /
sound. (The only exception is the high-resolution mode of the Amstrad CPC,
which results in particularly text-based adventures' delivering a much
better gaming experience. Unfortunately, as PocketCaprice doesn't support
the high-resolution mode on VGA devices, this advantage is non-existing on
our mobile platform.)

Second, as opposed to emulating the Amiga, Windows Mobile-based C64
emulators have no speed problems at all - not even on very slow handhelds.
While it's impossible to play most Amiga games on even the fastest Windows
Mobile devices without stuttering sound, C64 games run on even on
lowest-end, 7-year-old models without problems. This also includes today's
TI OMAP-based models, of course.

Supporting low-end hardware, fortunately, also means support for even
low-end, low-resolution (176*220) MS Smartphones. As the Smartphone platform
has way fewer games than its big brother, the Pocket PC, emulation becomes
even more important. While, fortunately, there are some really excellent
gaming console emulators for MS Smartphones (even 176*220 ones) - for
example, Masterall's emulator masterpieces and SmartGear, home computers are
generally not emulated on the platform (that is, there are no for example
Atari ST or Amiga emulators for the MS Smartphone). The lack of (home
computer) emulators and native games makes it very important for any MS
Smartphone user to have access to a plethora of C64 games, which are, with
many titles, perfectly emulated even on low-end, cheap mobiles.



more at:
http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/ind...&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

It was some 20 days ago that I published my last installment of Gaming news.
Let's see what happened in the meantime and what should you immediately go
purchase before the rebate is over.

First, three EXCELLENT games (two of them even having a MS Smartphone
version!) for half the price today. Go get them - they are ALL highly
recommended.

1.. Orions: Legend of Wizards, by far the best turn-based strategy game
ever released for Windows Mobile (see my Strategy Guide HERE), is available
HERE for $9.98 (unfortunately, there's no MS Smartphone version of the game)
2.. SkyForce Duo PPC (SkyForce and SkyForce Reloaded combined) is
available HERE (for the MS Smartphone, HERE) for $12.00 only
In addition, an important remark for gaming fans: Should you ever need more
games for your Pocket PC (let alone MS Smartphone), emulation is a GREAT way
of playing. Don't forget to check out my gaming console / home computer
emulator reviews - I've published several of them in the last few days!

Now, for the regular news.

Emulator news, new releases:

1.. A new, 0.25 version of SmartGear, one of the best, fastest and, what
is even better, MS Smartphone-compatible emulators has been released. It
fixes the VGA issues I've mentioned in the review of the previous, 0.24
version.
2.. Masterall, developer of several EXCELLENT emulators (also supporting
MS Smartphone) has also released some interesting stuff:
a.. FinalBurn 0.10, THE CPS 1/2 and NeoGeo emulator for WM, was released
the day before yesterday
b.. the first version of GBACE, a brand new GBA emulator
more at (with fixed links):
http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/ind...&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

The Sinclair ZX Spectrum was a very popular home computer system in the
eighties.
The history of the Spectrum didn't end at the official, 1990 discontinuation
of the series. As with the Commodore 64 (see the review of all Windows
Mobile-based C64 emulators HERE) , which still receives top-notch scene
demos, the Spectrum had (and is still having!) a spectacular afterlife in
the ex-Soviet states; most importantly, Belarus and Russia.

Particularly in Russia, there have been a plethora of self-manufactured ZX
Spectrum-based home computers throughout the entire nineties, with a lot of
fans and developers. This trend even continued to this century - currently,
there is some hardware manufacturers still producing ZX Spectrum-based &
compatible computers like the Pentagon and the ATM Turbo. While these
models, in general, haven't really improved on the (gaming-wise,
particularly weak) graphics subsystem of the original Spectrum (not taking
the new low-res EGA-like mode into account), they come with plenty of memory
(128k to 1M in general), good sound capabilities, IDE hard disk, CD-ROM,
mouse etc.

Russia's leading role in the ZX Spectrum's surviving has also resulted in
something else: a steady stream of software titles released for these ZX
Spectrum-based computers. Just pay a visit to the Virtual TR-DOS main page
(Wiki), which is the largest archive of the software ever released for these
models. I especially recommend downloading the full app / games database
(it's the Virtual TR-DOS Games & Press Base link on the main page) and
browsing the database. Titles with the type "RU" are all genuine games
developed by Russian developers. Titles with the type "D" are also
interesting because they show what projects Russian developers have ever
embarked on (but, then, either failed at or, at least, didn't deliver a
final, fully working version). The dedicated demo download page is HERE.
I've even posted some screenshots of a somewhat working (!) Civilization and
Wolf3D-clone in the The Comparison & Feature Chart ("Chart" for short). You
WILL want to check out these demos in a capable emulator (in either the
desktop-based Unreal Speccy or its Windows Mobile version,
UnrealSpeccyPPC) - they are really fun and clearly show these models (except
for the really bad, one-colour graphics) are much-much better than anything
imaginable on the original ZX Spectrum. You may also want to check out some
scene demos (again, under a capable, compatible emulator); for example, the
two ZX demos written by AND, author of UnrealSpeccyPPC. While, technically
(mostly graphics-wise), these clones aren't as good as the Commodore 64,
some demos (and genuine Russia-based) are really top-notch.

If, on the other hand, you "only" want to play old, original, commercial
games written for the original ZX models and are not at all interested in
advanced stuff like watching Russian demos written for somewhat more
advanced Spectrum clones, you will also want to read on - you'll find all
the answers in this article.

In this roundup, I present a full roundup of the Windows Mobile (both Pocket
PC and MS Smartphone) emulators of the platform. As usual, I'm absolutely
sure you won't find a better discussion of the subject anywhere else. And,
in addition, I present you a lot of new and REALLY groundbreaking
information never ever published in English - only in Russian (one of the
several languages I have the honor to speak) and a very short news item in
Czech. Yes, this is the FIRST roundup to report on the BEST ZX Spectrum
emulator ever written, UnrealSpeccyPPC. You can be pretty much happy that I
also speak Russian (along with a lot of other languages) - without my
knowing the language, Windows Mobile users would have ended up being not
reported on this really groundbreaking emulator, let alone being presented
with a usable tutorial, which I also provide in here - probably not even in
the future.

This roundup is somewhat different from the previous one discussing
Commodore 64 emulators. The sole reason for this is very simple: of the five
Pocket PC-capable Spectrum emulators, there is only one that should be
preferred unless you need Portrait mode or an on-screen keyboard with all
the original labels. With the C64 emulators, there were two strong Pocket PC
contenders (PocketCommodore64 and PocketHobbit) and, of course, the
Smartphone-based PocketHobbitSP2003. In the case of the Spectrum,
fortunately, there is only one really recommended emulator, which greatly
simplifies the discussion.

This means I put particular emphasis on the most recommended Pocket PC
emulator, UnrealSpeccyPPC, unlike the other two non-disqualified titles
(PocketClive and SpectrumAnyWhere), let alone the two titles (the
comparatively new, but with the arrival of UnrealSpeccyPPC, already-outdated
PocketSpeccy and the very old (the last version was released in 1999),
Handheld PC-specific SinclairSpectrumEmulator), which I haven't included in
the Chart . Of course, as far as the MS Smartphone platform is concerned, I
also put particular emphasis on the most recommended MS Smartphone emulator,
FuseSP. This, of course, doesn't mean I completely ignore the two
non-disqualified Pocket PC-specific titles (PocketClive and
SpectrumAnyWhere) either - I've very thoroughly compared them to the rest in
the Chart . It's just that, in the textual tutorial below, I don't elaborate
on how you can for example load programs. In the Chart, you'll find most of
the needed information though.

First, let's elaborate on whether it's at all worth emulating ZX Spectrum
(or, of course, one of its more advanced, Russian clones).

.....



more at:
http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/ind...&c=1&tb=1&pb=1