Archos Gamepad

[codedivine]

Archos announced an Android powered 7'' tablet with gaming controls inbuilt and with Google Play store.

Announcement: http://www.archos.com/corporate/press/press_releases/ARCHOS_GamePad_-_PR_US_29082012.pdf

Ars coverage: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2012/08/archos-gamepad-a-7-android-tablet-with-d-pad-analog-sticks/

Runs Android 4.0. Announcement lists dual-core processor at 1.5GHz (unspecified) with Mali 400MP4. Availability at end of October at a price of about 150 euro.

If I had to guess the SoC, I would put my money on the new Rockchip RK3066: Dual-core 1.5GHz Cortex A9 with Mali 400MP4.

 

[Karamazov]

for 150€ it looks nice

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUB-S7BwMH4

 

[Karamazov]

it's now available on the Archos online shop.
I just ordered one, i'll give my impressions soon.

 

[Deleted member 13524]

Stock is gone.

That was fast..

 

[Exophase]

I was really interested in this, but it looks like it's using a fake d-pad (ie, just four buttons, exactly like the face buttons) and it has shockingly bad battery life while gaming.

But if anyone can definitively confirm or deny the part about the d-pad I'd appreciate it.

 

[Karamazov]

Mine arrived today

 

[Exophase]

Mine arrived today

Right, so about that d-pad..

 

[swaaye]

Appears reminiscent of Playstation dpad.

 

[Karamazov]

it's not a d-pad like in the ps pad, it's more like a wonderswan "pad"

i'll try street fighter 2 on the snes emu to see if hadokens are easily done or not.

 

[Exophase]

Appears reminiscent of Playstation dpad.

See, I don't think it does, because on a Sony controller the d-pad may appear segmented but it's actually a conventional joined membrane underneath. And you can see that the different parts are much closer together than the face buttons - here the two sides look identical, which is a bad sign.

I didn't have a Wonderswan and while it looks like this from pictures they could still be joined underneath.. however Wonderswan's pads weren't exactly loved..

 

[Karamazov]

those are separate buttons. not jointed under the shell like the ps1 d-pad.

 

[Karamazov]

So i tried snes SF2. Moves like hadoken are very hard to execute with that "d-pad".
BUT i have been pleasantly surprised to find that the left stick works with the emu and that without even having to configure it manually. With the stick those kind of moves are easy to do.