W3D - Android gaming smartphone

[buzz_n64]

"Meet the W3D, an Android gaming smartphone with physical controls and a 3D screen (hands-on)"



http://www.cnet.com/products/snail-w3d/

"LAS VEGAS -- Imagine if you took all of the best features of a PlayStation Vita, Nintendo 3DS and an Android smartphone and combined them into one device. It sounds like a thing of fantasy, but at the International CES trade show the concept has become a reality. Snail Games is showcasing their upcoming W3D gaming smartphone, which includes physical gaming controls, such as those on the PlayStation Vita, and a 3D screen that is similar to the Nintendo 3DS.

The device is massive and dwarfed the iPhone 6 Plus I placed next to it. To the right of the device's 5.5-inch display are four pressure sensitive buttons and an analog joystick. On the left there is a directional pad and a second joystick. The layout is nearly identical to the Vita, although the left joystick and directional pad are swapped. There are four shoulder buttons (two on the top right and two on the top left), volume keys and a power button at the top of the device. At the bottom you will find a 3.5mm headphone jack and, for some odd reason which the company representative and myself couldn't understand, two MicroUSB ports. Maybe it's so you can charge the W3D while outputting it to a TV through MHL. That's my best guess.

The screen has a resolution of 1,920x1,080 and a pixel density of 400 pixels per inch. The glasses-free 3D uses eye-tracking synchronization, which helped keep the 3D enabled as I moved the device up and down. Inside there's a speedy 2.2GHz octa-core MediaTek MT6595 processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, a 13-megapixel camera and support for both 4G LTE and CDMA. Removing the back cover reveals the device's massive 4,000 mAh battery, which the company claims should last you the entire day, or around 6 hours of continuous gaming. There is also a MicroSD card slot and two SIM card slots.

The W3D I played around with was in a special preview mode, but I was able to dig in and see that it was running Android 4.4 KitKat. A company spokesperson explained that it will feature a special Snail launcher, although that can be replaced by the user. While I wasn't able to play any games on it, the W3D was comfortable to hold and felt good in my hand. The screen looked very nice, but there were some hiccups with the 3D. The model the company was showing off is still only a prototype, which could explain the problems that surfaced.

The W3D will be released in China within the next few months for an as-yet undetermined price. Snail said that it hopes to bring the gaming smartphone to the US sometime this year, however there was no release or pricing information available. I like the idea of the W3D, but I have a feeling we won't be seeing it in the US any time soon. If it does make its way to market, I'm curious how people will carry it around. It really is massive."

[Flojomojo]

Way smaller than a Game Gear, more colors than an Atari Lynx!

[dgdgagdae]

The Shield didn't seem to get a lot of traction, and it had the marketing muscle of Nvidia behind it. I don't see this going anywhere.

[Tanooki]

I like it but like he said above, if Nvidia failed as much as they did with their budget and marketing power, this thing is fubar from the get go most likely. If all phones came with an option or just came that way, Nintendo and Sony would have to convert or kiss their asses goodbye because tactile controls are a big thing that saves them some market share as touch only blows and having to clip a moga pro or a nvidia shield to an existing phone/tablet isn't ideal.

[OldSchoolGamer]

Well I love an ANDROID device with built in controls but I don't need a phone, I have been very happy with my import JXD s7800b.

[Niku-Sama]

^wow that actually looks like its got a relatively decent bulid quality^

[MASTERWEEDO]

I wanna see battery life before I get excited bout one of these.

[Dr. BaconStein]

I have been following these Android game systems and own two JXD handhelds myself. Snail makes good products, but they tend to be very expensive compared to the others.

[kai123]

I wouldn't mind a phone like this but the price is going to be the deal breaker on it. I have a Shield handheld and it is amazing. You can run so many emulators and of course Game Stream is very nice as well. If you don't have a Nvidia Android device you can download Limelight from the Play store. I would recommend being on a 5GHZ connection if at all possible on your network.