Archos Gamepad Released In the USA 106
An anonymous reader writes "Archos have finally released their much anticipated touchscreen gamepad in the USA. The console boasts a Arm Cortex Dual-core A9 1.6GHz cpu, 1024MB Ram, 8GB internal storage and uses the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean OS. The Gamepad has 14 physical buttons and dual analog thumb-sticks as well as a touchscreen which means the latest 3D Android games should work great and for fans of emulation the traditional gamepad design and buttons will make N64/PS1 emulators work great on the gamepad." CNET UK was unimpressed, calling it "a bitter disappointment"; IGN was more optimistic, especially at its sub-$200 price.
Re:Integrated Controls Better (Score:2, Interesting)
Portable gaming systems have used 3-5" screens for decades quite successfully.
...due to price
Due to the failure of the iPhone in major gaming markets...
What?
Sorry the iPhone is an American\GB mainly in places like China Android outsells 25:1 with Apples Market dropping. It means that Apple simply will not the the posts, as Android continues to pick up market share, while Apple continues to throw away its for short term profitability.
The Archos Gamepad's pricing is definitely a plus, if you have to buy an entire device. But a lot of (most?) people now already have a portable Android or iOS device they use for other purposes; a set of attachable controls would give them the same abilities with a better screen for only $50-$100.
Most people definitely do not have a tablet, but the gaplet will appeal to those whose main use of a tablet is for *gaming* over *surfing* *reading* *videos*...or simply as a secondary device [the price make it cheap enough] like every other handheld console out there [with the power of Android]