• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, September 27, 2005

The Gizmondo handheld is a lot of things. It plays video games, movies, and music; it's capable of browsing the Web and sending e-mail and text messages; and it snaps pictures. It even has a global positioning satellite (GPS) navigation and tracking device. And for brands like Adidas, Sprite, and Levi's, the Gizmondo is a way to connect with young, impulsive, and increasingly elusive consumers. These brands and others have already partnered with the manufacturer of the device, Tiger Telematics, to target young consumers via a questionnaire distributed at the time of purchase. The questionnaire polls kids on their interests, and the GPS hardware embedded in the device determines their geographic location.

"They'll be the first to pull off what advertisers are dreaming about if they can actually pull it off," says Mark Egan, an account director at Havas's MPG. Egan is dubious. To succeed, Tiger has to convince users to forgo purchasing its estimated $400, ad-free model, as well as the exponentially more popular Sony PSP handheld, for its roughly $200 ad-supported one. Let's just say it's in the kids' hands.