Just missing my first appointment where I was supposed to get my hands on and play the Oculus Rift wasn’t the best start to PAX 2012. Then having to double time it halfway across town to see some gaming tablet I had never heard of had me thinking this wasn’t going to be my day. But you know what? I’m pretty glad I did. I got about 15 minutes of one-on-one, hands-on time with the tablet and CEO/designer designer James Bower. This Wikipad thing is pretty neat.
First off, this isn’t an off the shelf tablet modified with a gimmicky controller. The Wikipad is an Android-based tablet built from the ground up with gaming on the go in mind. It has a 10.1” display with a 1,280×800 resolution, the Tegra 3 quad-core processor running at 1.4GHz and will come with the latest Jelly Bean operating software. It isn’t just all about gaming either, the Wikipad has full tablet functionality.
The construction of the tablet itself is of good quality. It is thin and relatively light. The speakers produce really good sound, far better than what I have on my iPad 2. There is also a rectangular ridge around the back of the tablet. While its first function is to help dock with the controller accessory this ridge also provides a nice thing to grip your fingers on while you are handling the table but also helps amplify the sound if you lay the tablet down on a surface. Admittedly, this is an unintended benefit but nevertheless kind of neat.
While the controller accessory was still a design prototype, it felt good in my hands and of good quality. The thumb sticks especially felt quite good with little to no dead zone and a nice positive feel. It is a big of a different experience holding a full dual analogue controller and 10” screen in my hands having been used to doing the bulk of my mobile gaming on a Vita and 3DS XL. Holding it a couple of feet from my face the effect is similar to that of viewing a big screen tv at home. The tablet and controller are pretty light. I don’t see fatigue being a problem. Furthermore, the Wikipad will support a wifi direct connection to your TV if you want to use it as a display.
Games-wise, anything on the Android platform will be playable on the Wikipad. The tablet will have full Google Market ability, TegraZone support, GaiKai’s streaming service and Playstation Mobile games. With its pricing announced at about $500 and release at the end of October the biggest question approaching the Wikipad’s release is will it sell? As impressive as it all is my biggest concern would be its true portability. The controller accessory is pretty big and frequent travellers who like to pack light might think the controller is just too pick to pack along. What do you think? Is this on your radar?
