VIA MoMa Eve Portable game console

[Ioman]

Previewing at E3 2004, MoMA's stylish new Eve Mobile Gaming Console designed by Meyerhoffer Studios promises to revolutionize the market for mobile gaming and entertainment devices.


From VIA's press release:

VIA Technologies, Inc. and Ministry of Mobile Affairs (MoMA), today introduced the Eve Mobile Gaming Console, at E3 2004.

As the world's first handheld gaming device based on the x86 architecture, Eve combines instant support for thousands of existing PC games with rich digital media entertainment playback capabilities to provide the highest performance and the most feature-rich mobile gaming console on the market. With its integrated wireless connectivity and highly sophisticated hardware security features, the Eve Mobile Gaming Console also provides a secure vehicle for users to play online games and download content through the strategically partnered GameDweller On-Demand content delivery service.

"The single largest challenge to enter the mobile gaming console market has always been signing up developers to deliver games for unique hardware architectures," commented Richard Brown, Associate Vice President of Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc. "With its native x86 compatibility, Eve has the potential to blow away any other portable gaming console on the market not just in terms of available game titles, but also in its ability to playback rich digital media entertainment files such as videos, recorded TV programs, and movies."

Built upon the VIA Grace Platform, the Eve Mobile Gaming Console is powered by the VIA Eden-N Processor and the VIA CN400 digital media chipset, delivering advanced 2D and 3D graphics as well as MPEG2/MPEG4 hardware acceleration for an awesome visual playback experience when gaming or watching movies on the go. The device also comes with a 20GB hard drive to provide ample storage capabilities for gaming applications and digital media files, and its flexibility is further enhanced by integrated 802.11 wireless, two USB 2.0 ports and a CompactFlash Type II slot, enabling seamless connectivity with PCs, notebooks, and peripheral devices such as digital cameras, digital video cameras, and memory cards.

The Eve Mobile Gaming Console also leverages the advanced features of the VIA PadLock Hardware Security Suite integrated in the VIA Eden-N processor, along with Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards, for a unique combination of hardware and software security capabilities that enable protection of game publishers' digital products. This technology relies on industry standard AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) cryptography from the VIA PadLock ACE (Advanced Cryptography Engine) and key generation from the VIA PadLock RNGs (Random Number Generators) to assist with Digital Rights Management.

"With its traditionally high levels of power consumption and heat dissipation, the x86 architecture has never been able to break into the mobile space, but with the ground breaking technologies developed by VIA we were finally able to break the barriers and create a first with Eve," commented Andrew "bunnie" Huang, CEO Ministry of Mobile Affairs Inc. "Featuring the low power VIA Eden-N processor with advanced hardware AES encryption features and stunning 2D/3D graphics, the Eve Mobile Gaming Console is taking the x86 platform into the portable gaming and entertainment market for the first time and creating an exciting new product category."

Eve's powerful hardware capabilities are further complemented by a stylish industrial design by award winning Meyerhoffer Studios. Meyerhoffer Studio's other projects have included designs for clients such as Apple, Porshe, Ericsson, and Nike. "In response to the "aggressive-arcade" designs more common to gaming consoles, Eve is intentionally a simple iconic shape, one that you won't mind getting caught with...even when you're not supposed to be playing." commented Thomas Meyerhoffer.