What PPC is best for MAME and Nethack?

[drac]

Well, it's that time of year again, and I have extra impetus to finally take the plunge and add a PPC to my PDA lineup: a close friend has been given an iPaq by her boss.

Anyway, I have every intention of taking advantage of the two main capabilities of the PPC platform that I've been lusting after: Nethack and Mame...

I'd been plotting to get an Axim, before I was told that the D-Pad often gave problems... right now I'll likely go for something 1941-ish.

Bluetooth would be a plus; Wi-fi is completely unnecessary. Cheapness is a plus!

[drac]

I guess I should have made more clear in the message body that I really need some feedback here!

I'm not going to be able to try any of these units out in person before I buy- I will have to buy online.

What relatively low-end PPC device is best suited for gaming in general and MAME/Nethack in particular?

Thanks in advance...

adrian

[SandersP]

Any handheld will do nethack just fine. It's a slow pace game.

now, MAME is different story, you have to feel the button. h1945 has a pretty tiny D-pad. so if you play Mame for 1-2 hrs straight, expect your tumb to take a beating.

Speed wise, they all give roughly the same experiance since Mame and nethack are pretty simple game.

Asus is actually the favorite model among hardcore handheld gamers.

[drac]

The Asus A620BT is too expensive- what's the D-Pad of the 2215 like?

The D-pad seems to be a weak point of several PDA's- the Dell, the 19xx, the Palm Tungsten T3... why can't the manufacturers get the message?

[SandersP]

h2210 has the best D-pad imo, tho' the speaker is under the chasis. (can't have everything can we?)

the h1945 d-pad is responsive, but it's tiny and pointy, as you might have imagined in small PDA. Not the worst, but I definitely wouldn't want to play space shooter for hours on end with it.

anyway, this is the area that one really need to touch and see how the device fit. hand size, buttons preferance etc.. very hard to tell beyond general.

[drac]

Yeah, I've pretty much decided on the 221x.

I want a cradle, which is US$50 extra if you get the 19xx, and I want to use memory cards. If I get the SD-only 19xx I'll have to get a 256 MB SD; if I get the 221x, I can use a CF from my camera.

So, the cost savings from buying a 19xx would be eaten up on the cradle and the SD card.

Add to that the fact that I prefer the 221x's IR port location, and the comments I'm getting confirming that the buttons are better than those of the 19xx, and I'm pretty much set!