When the Switch launched earlier this year, it offered something quite unique. A games console that’s also a handheld with the player choosing how to use it. Nintendo is even keeping track of how we use the Switch. But of course, whenever something novel appears and proves popular it gets copied, and the Switch is no exception.
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The first Switch-like tablet we’ve seen comes from, you guessed it, a Chinese manufacturer by the name of Vastking. The device is called the Vastking 800 and it differs from the Switch in a number of key ways while retaining the same large display with Detachable Controllers format.
As Notebook Italia (translated) reports, the Vastking 800 uses an 8-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1920-by-1080 and two detachable controllers that communicate with the tablet using Wi-Fi, there is no physical communication methos even when they are attached. Inside, the tablet uses an Apollo Lake Pentium N4200 running at 1.1GHz, between 2-6GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, and a 2MP camera.
Connectivity includes 802.11ne WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0. There is also a G-Sensor (gyroscope), USB 3.0, micro HDMI out, a 3.5mm audio jack, and USB Type-C for charging embedded 3,400mAh battery. It’s also possible to expand the storage by adding an SSD (the format is not know right now).
Notebook Italia also got to see the gaming device in action at the Global Sources Electronics Fair 2017 in Hong Kong:
The Vastking 800 certainly won’t play Nintendo Switch games, especially as it runs Windows 10. However, that does open it up to playing lots of games if it has access to digital download stores such as Steam, GOG, or EA’s Origin service.
If this device follows the same course as other gaming tablets, then the manufacturer will load it up with emulators and access to game roms and ship it as a retro gaming device. The fact it has detachable controllers is simply a nod to the design of the Switch, but will prove useful for multiplayer gaming.
Anyone interested in picking up the Vastking 800 will have to wait for further details as neither the price or release window have been revealed yet.
My biggest concern about the tablet is the battery. When you consider the Switch uses a 6.2-inch display and uses a 4,310mAh battery to get 3-5 hours of use, imagine how long an 8-inch higher resolution display running Windows 10 is going to last between charges relying on a 3,400mAh battery.
http://www.pcmag.com/news/357099/nintendo-switch-like-gaming-tablet-runs-windows-10?source=SectionArticles
