Wednesday during E3 2012, Wikipad said it has selected Nvidia's Tegra 3 quad-core SoC as the brains behind the world's first gaming tablet.
The portable gaming gadget is currently on display at select Nvidia and Gaikai locations at the Los Angeles Convention Center. It features Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich," a 10.1-inch screen, a thickness of 8.6-mm, a gamepad-like attachment, and the preloaded Nvidia TegraZone which offers games optimized for Tegra and game controller support.
"By adding Nvidia’s Tegra 3 processor to the Wikipad, we’ve combined the best of tablet and console gaming into one device that fits in the palms of your hands," said Fraser Townley, President of Sales for Wikipad. "Tegra 3 opens up incredible content options including optimized mobile games and console-quality streaming games through new cloud gaming services."
The Wikipad tablet first made its appearance back in January during CES 2012. Still in a prototype stage, it was touted as the first glasses-free 3D Android 4.0-based tablet with an attachable video game controller. Analog sticks resided on each side, and a D-pad was mounted on the left and four action buttons seated to the right. A set of speakers were embedded into the controller at the bottom and shoulder triggers at the top.
Then last month Gaikai announced that it teamed up with Wikipad to help produce the upcoming tablet. Gaikai will provide a client that will be integrated into the tablet's OS, streaming console-quality titles right to the user's fingertips. Details regarding the client are slim for the moment, but it's assumed that users will be able to purchase individual games from a Wikipad storefront -- whether these games can be played on other devices is unknown.
The tablet is supposedly capable of glasses-free 3D and 1080p playback including H.264, VC1, VOB, ISO, M2TS, and FLV. Other features include HDMI and USB 2.0 ports, front and rear cameras, 8 GB of on-board storage and an SD card slot for an additional 64 GB of space. Wi-Fi will be the connection of choice although a USB 2.0 port indicates that an optional 3G module may be available.
The Wikipad launch date is set for the end of the 3rd Quarter, 2012 through major retailers worldwide. Will this tablet be successful and take gamers by storm, or become another Xperia PLAY?
