Gizza Gizmondo

The question was posed and it took more than a week to get the answer but Log On has finally established when Gizmondo will launch in Ireland - next month.

What, you didn't care about yet another handheld games console? Though no one's quite sure yet, the Giz - as the makers would like it to be known in street lingo - looks quite powerful, being based on Windows CE (which PocketPCs use) but also incorporating some intruiging features such as GPS, MP3 playing and multiplayer over mobile-phone networks (like the N-Gage).

So April 19 is the big day for Ireland and you'll be able to walk into retailers such as 3G, Xtravision and Spectra with €350 and walk out with the shiny black beast. About 20 games are pencilled in for the launch but only a handful are household names (such as Richard Burns Rally).

Gizmondo has done a deal with Vodafone in the UK to bundle a pre-paid SIM card to enable the handheld to send text messages and use GPRS for multiplayer (but not make voice calls). The deal may well be reproduced here.

Rather worringly, Vodafone is also pushing its voluntary marketing scheme whereby you opt in to receive ads on your Gizmondo. What a terrific idea. Not.