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Wikipad Gaming Tablet Launches Next Week In US

by Matt Akers on Jun 04, 2013 at 08:59 AM

Wikipad, Inc. announced today that its Wikipad gaming tablet will launch in the U.S. on June 11th. It will initially be available through Walmart, Best Buy and TigerDirect.com for $249. A UK and worldwide launch is planned for later this summer.

The Wikipad, which was originally slated for release last fall, offers a 7” touch screen, 16 GB of storage, micro SD and USB slots, accelerometer, and gyroscope. It also comes with a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, true widescreen HD, and HDMI out capabilities. 

The Wikipad tablet runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and comes with a removable game controller. Users will have access to games from the Google Play, PlayStation Mobile, and NVIDIA’s TegraZone libraries. The price is $100 less than another game-focused Android portable, The Nvidia Shield, slated to launch later this year, though there are some key technical differences.

The Wikipad has a Tegra 3 processor. The Shield has a Tegra 4. The Wikipad's display is seven inches compared to the Shield's five. Both come with 16 GB of internal flash memory and are expandable via Micro SD, and both support Jelly Bean. The tradeoff seems to be size versus processor power.

Are you interested in a game-oriented Android device? If so, which seems better to you, the Wikipad or the Shield?

Click to the next page to see the full press release. 

(LOS ANGELES, CA – June 4, 2013) -- Wikipad, Inc. today announced its 7” Wikipad tablet will be available on June 11, 2013 at a retail price of $249 in the US, with an UK and global launch planned for this summer. Thanks to its award wining and patented interchangeable game controller, Wikipad redefines the mobile tablet experience bringing together the console quality experience with the functionality and portability of a premium tablet.

“The launch of the Wikipad 7 tablet signals a transformative turning point in the direction of the mobile gaming industry. Wikipad’s tablet combines the latest range of features found in a premium Android tablet together with the unrivaled console video game experience only available with a gamepad,” said Matthew Joynes, Chairman of Wikipad Inc.

“There is no other mobile device on the market that possesses Wikipad’s unique functionality and versatility and all available with full warranty and customer support at an entry level price point,” said Fraser Townley, President of Sales at Wikipad Inc.

The Wikipad is the only tablet to possess both the unique combination of a console quality gaming experience with the functionality and portability of a tablet thanks to its award-winning and patented detachable dual-analog controller. Wikipad offers a multi capacitive 7 inch touch screen, 16 GB memory with an additional micro SD slot to support a further 32 GB of storage, together with micro USB, GPS, accelerometer and gyroscope. The tablets ultra-light and thin chassis is powered by the NVIDIA® Tegra® 3 quad-core mobile processor that's optimized for cloud gaming with a 12 core Nvidia GPU. With an aspect ratio of 16:10, a 2-mega-pixel front facing camera the Wikipad tablet offers true widescreen HD display and HDMI out.

Consumers will have instant access to entertainment and videogame content of over 700,000 apps from Google Play from Google Mobile Services, PlayStation®Mobile games from Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., and TegraZone – NVIDIA's free app that showcases the best games optimized for the Tegra processor. When the gamepad controller is detached, Wikipad’s sleek design and full Android 4.1 Jelly Bean functionality make it a powerfully versatile tablet for surfing the web, emailing, enjoying all the latest films, books, magazines and music, conversing via Skype or experiencing the latest apps at home or on the go.

“PlayStation®Mobile is a global initiative to bring the PlayStation®-like game experiences to a wide-reaching community of tablet and smartphone gamers.  We’re excited to bring PlayStation Mobile to the Wikipad tablet which provides a portable gaming experience that is fun and compelling,” said Ronald Schaffner, Director Business Development, and Sony Computer Entertainment America.

“Wikipad's dual-analog gamepad controller transforms our mobile games such as the multiplayer Shadowgun: DeadZone and the action FPS Dead Trigger into entertaining AAA console-like experiences," Tomas Slapota, Vice President, MADFINGER Games

We are excited to be a launch partner for the innovative Wikipad gaming tablet that provides a brand new platform for our cloud-based, interactive streaming product, Big Fish Instant Games,” said Jina Heverley, vice president and general manager of PC, Mac and Cloud for Big Fish. “Using the cloud-optimized Wikipad platform, casual game players will be delighted when they turn on their tablet to find more than 250 casual games from Big Fish available on their new device. The Wikipad is the perfect platform to introduce Big Fish games to a new, vibrant gaming audience.”

For a full list of retailers, product specs, a comprehensive support page, technical forums, retailers and video games that take full advantage of the Wikipad’s dual-analog stick controller, please visit: http://www.wikipad.com/  

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