Gizmondo's scheme to open a retail store in London's 'swinging' Carnaby Street has come to nothing, The Register can reveal.

Instead, the handheld games console company is to showcase its wares just round the corner on Regent's Street. The firm's retail outlet is located at number 175, a couple of blocks down from its undoubted inspiration, Apple's London AppleStore.

As our exclusive picture - hastily snapped on a Nokia 6600 while awaiting the arrival of the Kentish Town omnibus - reveals, there's little to see beyond Gizmondo's blobby logo and the 'coming soon' notice. The site contractors have cunningly ensured there are no gaps in the opaque window sheeting through which eager fans - not to mention nosey journalists - can peek.

What the store's opening date will be is not yet known - as, for that matter, is when the console will actually ship. It was formally launched on 29 October, and according to company sources we chatted with earlier in the Autumn, was to have shipped a few days later in early November.

It didn't. And more than two months on, punters who pre-ordered the handheld have still not received their machines.

Our understanding is that the consoles are - at last - in production, and various pointers suggest a February ship date, but don't hold your breath.

When it ships, the Gizmondo will feature not only 3D gaming, but Bluetooth and GSM/GPRS connectivity, mobile phone functionality, a GPS location sub-system, music downloads courtesy of Loudeye/OD2 and hopefully more than a few games. ®

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