Tiger Telematics
Gizmondo

The Gizmondo “handheld multi-entertainment device” was initially known as the Gametraq and first appeared in October 2003.  It was also shown at CES in January 2004 and CeBIT in March 2004. By April 2004 the device was rebranded as Gizmondo. It was officially launched in March 2005 at a lavish event in the company’s “flagship store” on Regent Street in central London. This was attended by a range of A-list attendees including Pharrell Williams, “Aussie babe favourite” Dannii Minogue, Verne Troyer, Busta Rhymes and Lennox Lewis. Additionally, 2000 fans attended and “swarmed the store”. The company revealed that “store’s entire allocation of units was completely sold” that day. Tiger Telematics (the parent company of Gizmondo) was extremely bullish about the launch with its CEO, Michael Carrender, addressing the crowds at the store opening stating that the handheld entertainment sector was “an enormously exciting place to be right now”. He was confident that Gizmondo would be “a strong player in the market to stand alongside more established brands”. The launch event continued into the evening with a party at Piccadilly's Park Lane Hotel which the company claimed “was one of the most star-studded events of the year” with performances from Sting, Jamiroquai, Pharrell Williams, Clipse and Busta Rhymes. The Gizmondo device was subsequently promoted in magazine adverts featuring British Formula One driver Jenson Button. It was offered in two versions, a $400 ad-free variant and a $229 ad-funded option. The excesses of this launch event should have been a warning sign that something was not quite right about the business, and it eventually turned into a massive failure. Controversy then engulfed the company as it was revealed it had lost huge amounts of money and the company’s president, Stefan Eriksson, had partied for a whole year spending investors’ money. It was later revealed that Mr Ericksson had also been involved in a Swedish criminal outfit called the "Uppsalamaffian" (the Uppsala mafia). The company was declared bankrupt in February 2006 with £160m of debt ($300m) and production of the device was stopped. After the bankruptcy Mr Ericksson also had a car crash in an extremely rare Ferrari Enzo while in California. He was subsequently jailed and deported for driving under the influence of alcohol and other criminal offenses. In July 2007, the Gizmondo device was christened as the “worst selling handheld console in history” by GamePro. It claimed the device had sold less than 25,000 units.