Wikipad is a Los Angeles, US based tablet and tablet peripherals
manufacturer specializing in gaming products marketed to gamers. Their debut
product was the Wikipad 7, a proprietary Android tablet hardware engineered for
mobile gaming. Marketed as a video gaming tablet it features an attachable
gamepad, and is powered by a quad core Nvidia Tegra. The tablet uses the
Android 4.2.2 operating system, shipping as a Google certified product which
allows access to the Google Play marketplace for applications and media.
The tablet is one of two Sony PlayStation certified tablets. Wikipad
is marketed for playing games designed for the Android platform, as well for
utilizing game streaming services such as Onlive, PlayStation Now, and Steam
for PC games. The tablet itself also functions as a standard tablet and in
specification is markedly similar in all aspects to the Google Nexus 7, the
specification difference is that the Wikipad has upgradeable side loading
storage, and HDMI out. Wikipad was founded by James Bower,
Brendan Iribe and Matthew Joynes to bring console fidelity gaming control to
the tablet market. Overview
At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on January 10, 2012, the Wikipad
was shown with both a 2D and a 3D a glasses-free 3D-enabled device, although
3D is no longer mentioned on Wikipad's website. In May 2012, Gaikai, a Cloud
gaming service which Sony acquired a month later in June 2012, partnered with
Wikipad, Inc. to integrate its streaming service to the tablet. On September 26,
2012, Wikipad's president of sales, Fraser Townley, said that mobile and
cloud gaming streaming service would be the new norm and replace the present
structures around game buying. Wikipad eventually launched successfully in 2013
at a price of $249 with the same specifications as the 10 inch tablet but
in a 7-inch form factor. Wikipad announced Gamevice for ODM
manufacturers to bring mobile console gaming to all OS platforms for
smartphones and tablets., and a Game Mapper tool to automatically map all
touch screen controls to the included hardware, allowing such games as FIFA
14, Mortal Kombat and Call of Duty to be played using the integrated controller.
The Wikipad features an included detachable controller with standard
controller D-pad, triggers, buttons and dual analog sticks. The controller is a
dock that allows the tablet to slide in and lock, so the device retains the form
factor of a standard tablet. Hardware
Reception The Wikipad was given a 4 and 5 star
rating by Consumer Tablet Reports in 2013 placing the tablet in the best buy
category, compared to its much larger competitors HP, Samsung, and Dell.
Eurogamer praised the design and open nature, but noted the lack of compelling
Android games and launch price. An aggregation of reviews done by
Engadget shows the average review score of the Wikipad to be 59/100. Most
reviewers praised the concept of a tablet built for gaming, and the ability
to remove the controls was well received. While the design of the tablet
was generally viewed as positive, many found the build quality to be lacking.
Due to the delays in manufacturing, the Tegra 3 processor was also viewed as
"last-gen" compared to the newer Tegra chipset Nvidia had announced before the
final launch of the Wikipad, in the end the Tegra 4 release was ultimately
delayed and Nvidia apologized to Tegra 3 OEM.
See also Archos GamePad
JXD S7300 Nvidia Shield
References External links
Official website