Tapwave Inc., makers of the handheld multimedia game system called the Zodiac, has declared bankruptcy and closed its doors.

The Zodiac, of which two versions were produced during the company's lifespan, was able to run all games built for the Palm OS. There were also several games that were created exclusively for the Zodiac platform.

GiN Lab Director Todd Hargosh gave the Zodiac a five out of five score in his 2004 review.

http://www.gameindustry.com/review/item.asp?id=273

While a great product for gaming and also for listening to music, the Zodiac faced stiff competition in the handheld arena from other similar devices like the Nokia N-Gage. Many of the devices competing with the Zodiac had the advantage of also being a phone, which enabled a lot of features that the Zodiac could not match. And more traditional gaming devices like the Nintendo GameBoy in all its forms were hard to match in terms of advertising and product awareness.

The final nail in the Tapwave coffin was probably the release of Sony's PSP, which can not only play some amazing games with graphics and effects far beyond the Zodiac, but also can let users watch movies.

Visitors to the Tapwave Web site were greeted with a message talking about the company's demise and reminding them that some Zodiacs and accessories may still be available at CompUSA and other stores while supplies last. It concludes with "We thank you for your past interest and support and apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused."