Developer Wikipad, Inc. Introductory price US$249 | Type Tablet Operating system | |
Release date June 11, 2013 (2013-06-11) CPU 1.4 GHZ Nvidia Tegra 3 T30S quad-core | ||
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 (Jelly Bean) operating system, shipping as a Google certified product which allows access to the Google Play marketplace for applications and media.
Contents
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 (CEO of Oculus VR) and Matthew Joynes to bring console fidelity gaming control to the tablet market.
Overview
At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 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 (EA), Mortal Kombat (Gameloft) and Call of Duty (Activision) 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.
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.