Lemons to lemonade: how manufacturing and mechanical setbacks shrank the Wikipad

A smaller, cheaper gaming tablet? Wikipad President of sales Fraser Townley says it was always in the cards -- but it was supposed to be the company's second tablet, not its first. Business, of course, doesn't always go according to plan. Just before the Wikipad's planned October launch, the company stayed production to refine the product's gamepad element, Townley told us, addressing a technical hiccup that could have troubled customers. Not too long after that, the company's screen supplier told them the part they had hoped to use for the Wikipad's 10.1-inch display was being discontinued. Salt? Meet wound.

Wikipad set out to make the best of a bad situation: it skipped a step. "The 7-inch was always in our roadmap and on our plan," Townley told us, "we just accelerated it." That decision was partly made to please the community, which was a little concerned about price. At $249, the new Wikipad is certainly easier on the pocket book, but the redesign delayed the product just long enough to leave it teetering on the edge of a new generation -- the next Tegra chip is right around the corner. Fortunately, so is another Wikipad -- Townley told us the tablet's original 10.1-inch form would be out by the end of the year. He couldn't say if the delayed slate would be using NVIDIA's latest, but he left the possibility wide open. "There would be no point in launching a Tegra 3 tablet just months before the launch of Tegra 4, would there?" he joked. "We'll keep up with the market." An admirable goal, to say the least.

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By: Unknown On 10:41 PM

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Wikipad in miniature: 7-inch gaming tablet to debut in spring for $249, 10.1-inch sees further delay

When a company delays a product for "minor refinement," we typically expect to see small changes that contribute to a stronger overall product. That wasn't Wikipad's approach -- when it took its namesake gaming tablet into the lab for "minor" tweaks, it took a few inches off its screen size. The Wikipad is now a 7-inch tablet, slated to launch in spring for $249. It's smaller, the company says, but no less powerful -- it's keeping the Tegra 3 GPU the original build promised, not to mention 1GB of DDR3 RAM, 16GB of Flash memory, a 2-megapixel front facing camera and a 1,280 x 800 resolution display.

Wikipad's President of sales, Fraser Townley, told us the gamepad design hasn't changed much either. "We took the pinball wizard approach," he said. "We made everybody in the room shut their eyes, and try the controllers. It's not about the look, it's about the feel. Once we got the feel right, then we could worry about the look. That's how the ten inch was born, and that's how the seven inch stayed the same." The attachment boasts new buttons (now labeled a, b, x and y) with a chrome finish, but seems otherwise unchanged. Wikipad is mum on specific availability, but we're told we can expect to hear more after Chinese New Year. As the 10.1-inch original design? It's still coming, but Townley couldn't it narrow it down further than "before Christmas." Read on for Wikipad's official press announcement, or click here to find out how the tablet was cut down to size.

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WIKIPAD BRINGS 7" TABLET TO MARKET

LOS ANGELES, CA – February 7, 2013 -- Wikipad Inc. today announced that its 7" Wikipad tablet will be available from leading retailers in spring 2013 at a launch price of $249. Wikipad combines the unrivaled gaming experience of a console with the functionality and portability of a premium tablet, thanks to its unique attachable game controller.

"We wanted to get Wikipad into our community's hands and what we found was that the smaller 7" form factor just seemed right,'" said Fraser Townley, President of Sales, Wikipad, Inc. "The smaller frame delivers an aggressive price while keeping the same amazing specs."

The 7" Wikipad possesses the same powerful product specs as the previously shown and forthcoming 10" version in a form factor that is even more portable and at a price point that is even more accessible to gamers everywhere. In addition to the new compact form factor, refinements have been made to the dual-analog stick controller to ensure lightning-fast response times and the best gaming experience possible.

Wikipad also announced the relaunch of its website that now includes a comprehensive support page that has dynamic links to social networks and technical forums.

Wikipad – Built for Gaming

The Wikipad is the only tablet to possess the unique combination of truly immersive video game experiences found in consoles with the functionality and portability of a tablet thanks to its award winning attachable dual-analog controller. It offers a premium 7" IPS screen, 16 GB memory with micro SD slot to support an additional 32 GB of storage, ultra-light and thin chassis, is powered by the NVIDIA® Tegra® 3 quad-core mobile processor and it is optimized for cloud gaming. With an aspect ratio of 16:10, the Wikipad tablet offers true widescreen HD display.

Consumers will have access to entertainment and videogame content from partners and services including PlayStation®Mobile, Big Fish Games®, TegraZone – NVIDIA's free app that showcases the best games optimized for the Tegra processor – Google Play™, OnLive and many others. When the gamepad controller is detached, Wikipad's sleek design and full Android 4.1 Jelly Bean functionality make it a powerfully versatile device whether you are surfing the web, reading emails or enjoying films, music and apps at home or on the go.

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

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By: Unknown On 10:25 PM

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