Palm OS marketplace PalmGear and Tapwave, creator of the Zodiac entertainment console, are launching an online store in March.

The store will feature Tapwave "Ready" titles that have passed 3rd party quality testing. This new site will build upon an existing catalog of "Certified" and "Tuned" game titles that are currently featured and available for the Zodiac on Tapwave's website.

The partnership with PalmGear provides Tapwave an opportunity to select the top applications from PalmGear's selection of titles. With Tapwave's customers' needs in mind, PalmGear said it will be customizing the software store with links to and from Tapwave's site.

About Zodiac

The device comes in two models, Zodiac 1 for $299 (32MB of internal RAM) and the Zodiac 2 for $399 (128MB of internal RAM). The company said the Zodiac was designed for high-performance mobile entertainment centered on games, music, pictures and video. It runs a Tapwave enhanced version of the Palm Operating System (5.2T).


Tony Hawk's Pro Skater

In terms of controls, the 6.3 ounce, anodized-aluminum Zodiac features a full analog controller (or joystick) with 360 degrees of motion, built-in triggers and action button array for a console-quality gaming experience. For sound, it has built-in stereo speakers and a headphone jack let users listen to MP3s and gaming soundtracks.

Other features include dual expansion slots to add additional memory with SD flash cards. Zodiac also supports multimedia game cards and SDIO peripherals such as the Veo Digital Camera. It supports two forms of local wireless connectivity, IrDA for short-range beaming and Bluetooth for multiplayer wireless gaming within a 30-foot range.

The Zodiac has a high-resolution (480 x 320), backlit color display that the company claims is ideal for indoor and outdoor viewing. This Half VGA display is twice the resolution of today's Pocket PCs and four times the resolution of Nokia N-Gage and GameBoy Advance. Zodiac uses two processors, a Motorola i.MX ARM9 processor and the ATI Imageon W4200 graphics accelerator with 8MB of dedicated memory.