Wikipad: The Most Unique Mobile Gaming Device On The Market To Date [Review]

Design

Wikipad Controller Close-Up

The Wikipad has dual-analog sticks, action triggers and bumper buttons.

The Wikipad is basically a plastic-bodied mid-to-high-range 7-inch Android tablet… with a twist. Instead of having a set of fully-functional gaming controls built into the device, the Wikipad team has designed a very unique partial-housing attachment, which the tablet slots into nicely.

The detachable housing unit is equipped with a full set of gaming controls, including dual-analog sticks, action triggers, and bumper buttons — all of which have been designed and tested to fit perfectly into your hands.

The front of the slate is made entirely out of military-engineered glass, which Wikipad says makes it the ultimate “scratch-resistant military-grade screen.” The rest of the device is made out of tacky-looking plastic, though, which doesn’t look great, but fundamentally makes the unit much lighter and more durable than others on the market.

The rest of the device is made out of tacky looking plastic, which doesn’t look great, but fundamentally makes the unit much lighter and more durable than others on the market.

The WikiPad and partial housing attachment are extremely comfortable to hold and offer a fair amount of grip, thanks to the rubber-coated, non-removable backplate on both the tablet and attachment. The device itself is fairly thick, measuring in at 10.6 mm (0.42 inches) without the game control attachment, and 65.3 mm (2.57 inches) with said attachment.

Unfortunately, there’s a whopping 20 mm (0.78 inches) bezel either side of the screen as well – which isn’t too appealing.

Once the tablet has been slotted into the housing it measure 286 mm (11.26 inches) wide and 145 mm (5.71 inches) in height, so it’s not quite back pocket material when fully assembled.

If you’re planning on taking it on a day trip, then, be sure to take a backpack as you will definitely get tired of carrying it around everywhere.

Display

A close-up of the Wikipad's 7-inch IPS display.

A close-up of the Wikipad’s 7-inch IPS display.

The Wikipad’s 7-inch 16:10 IPS capacitive touchscreen is fairly impressive, with a resolution of 1280 x 800. However, it’s a shame that the display doesn’t deliver content in Full HD 1080p. Nevertheless content still looks great when it’s played back, thanks to the 216ppi (pixels-per-inch) pixel density.

It doesn’t matter from which angle you look at the display; the colors are constantly crisp, and the picture is always crystal clear.

The multitouch screen supports 5-point gestures, which makes it the perfect companion for battling your way through an abandoned shack infested with zombies, or racing around the Nürburgring in your swanky Ferrari FXX.

A problem that some 7-inch tablets face is their viewing angle ability. If you tilt the device in any direction that’s not central to your body, the colors become washed out, and, as a result, there’s a severe loss of contrast. Thankfully, this is not the case with the Wikipad. It doesn’t matter from which angle you look at the display; the colors are constantly crisp, and the picture is always crystal clear.