The Wikipad was a beacon of hope for hardcore gamers wanting more out of their Android devices. It’s a 10-inch tablet that comes equipped with a traditional dual-analog stick controller dock that lets players control games with the kind of precision that touch screens lack. It’s an exciting product to say the least, and it was supposed to launch yesterday. That’s obviously not the case anymore.
The Wikipad team issued a statement to Phandroid saying that the gaming tablet has been delayed due to a “last minute opportunity to enhance the Wikipad bundle.” Here’s the full statement:
The Wikipad team has been relentlessly working with our manufacturers and partners to perfect the Wikipad bundle to ensure our first product is the best tablet and entertainment experience at launch. There is a last minute opportunity to enhance the Wikipad bundle as well as a minor refinement needed to ensure our first customers are completely satisfied with the Wikipad.
We have informed our retail partners about this delay. For those who pre-ordered the Wikipad at GameStop through today October 31st, we will deliver the refined and upgraded bundles as well as a special bonus gift with the pre-order.
We are very eager to deliver the Wikipad experience and are passionate about excellence. We apologize for this delay and want you to know that we are committed to bringing you the very best, high-end gaming tablet possible.
We are in the final stage and will be announcing the new date soon.
The Wikipad is a dreamer among gaming technology. There have been other devices in the past that tried to shake up gaming, much like the Wikipad, and they failed. That’s not to say the Wikipad will fail, but last minute delays have traditionally been signs of trouble. We can only hope that’s not the case with the Wikipad.
The device is no longer listed as being available for pre-order at GameStop. The Wikipad team will hopefully have the device back up for pre-order before the holiday shopping season starts in earnest. There are probably quite a few hardcore gamers that are looking forward to playing mobile games with a control scheme built for games.