2012 was a busy year for Android Tablet makers. There were lots of unique Android tablets introduced in several events around the world. Most of those were having amazingly powerful hardware muscle, almost same as a Laptop computer and powered with Android 4.0 Ice Cream sandwich.
In 2012 January at Consumer Electronic Show held in Las Vegas Wikipad Inc introduced a very unique kind of android Tablet named Wikipad. This is the world’s very first Android Gaming Tablet as well as Glassless 3D Tablet. They were expecting to release this to market by end of 3rd quarter and official specification is already out. Wikipad is under NOG spotlight today.
Device Configuration
Design
Design of the tablet is standard single block type. You can find stereo speakers and camera at rear panel while other connectors are placed at sides. Wikipad could be docked (slide in) in to a gaming cradle. There you can find the entire standard gaming controllers such as joy sticks, direction pads and other buttons. This dock converts the whole device in to high performance gaming consol.
Processor and Storage
Processor in Wikipad is 1.4 GHz Quad Core Cortex A9 running on Nvidia Tegra 3 chipset. 12 Core GeForce GPU is there to turn Wikipad in to the best Android gaming tablet. This comes with 1 GB DDR2 RAM and 16 GB internal storage. You can add another 64 GB through microSD card slot.
Display
Wikipad is having 10.1” IPS panel with resolution 1280 X 720 which will give you 145 ppi of pixel density. This is pretty much standard configuration, yet display is stereoscopic. On this display you will be able to enjoy 3D visuals without wearing any glasses. This makes Wikipad, the world’s very first tablet with 3D display.
Operating System
In the very first display, Wikipad had Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. But they are going to ship the device with latest Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Of course there will be some customization and pre installed applications to support the gaming environment.
Camera
There is an 8 MP primary camera which can record 1080p videos. Front facing camera is 2 MP and could be used for video chatting.
Connectivity and Interfaces
I could not find any official record about connectivity features in Wikipad. However having 3G or LTE connectivity is very unlikely. There will be Wi-Fi connectivity for internet access and multiplayer games. In side panel you can file 3.5 mm audio out and microUSB port. Through USB you could connect the device to a computer for data transferring.
Battery Life
There is a 23.46Wh battery which is enough to have good 6 hours of gaming with this device. If you are using this for video playback it will extend to 8 hours.
Wrapping Up
Android Gaming Tablet is a brand new concept and will have good chance in market. Device comes with good hardware and nice built. However, if you forget the Gaming cradle, rest of the device is just an average android tablet which you can already purchase in market. One good example is Google Nexus 7. So Wikipad will face very tight competition once it comes to the market, especially with price labels.
According to latest news, tablet will be priced at $199 and another $50 for gaming cradle. This is a competitive price, but still I have no reason to buy a separate tablet only for gaming. I’d be happy if Wikipad inc could come up with Gaming cradle for Google Nexus 7.
Tags: #Android #Nvidia #Tablet