PlayMG is selling an Android device with a 4 inch screen, a 1 GHz processor, and Google Play Store support. But The MG isn’t a phone. Instead it’s a handheld gaming system that runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.
The MG is scheduled to ship in early November. It’s available for pre-order now for $149.
If you already have an Android smartphone you probably don’t need this device. It’s basically got the specs of a phone from a few years ago. But it’s cheaper than most phones, and you don’t have to pay for a data plan to use it. PlayMG is targeting young folks looking for a portable gaming console — the same folks who might otherwise be looking at an iPod touch.
The MG features a 4 inch, 480 x 800 pixel capacitive touchscreen display, a 1 GHz TCC8295 ARM Cortex-A5 single core processor, 1GB of RAM, and 4GB of storage. There’s also a microSD card slot for up to 64GB of additional storage.
There’s a 1.3MP front-facing camera, but no rear camera. The device also has a micro USB 2.0 port, gyroscope, accelerometer, compass, 802.11n WiFi, and a headphone jack. It measures 5.8″ x 2.6″ x 0.47″ and weighs about 4.5 ounces.
PlayMG also includes tools that let parents see what games and other apps their kids have been using.
The developers tried to fund their project through a Kickstarter campaign a few months ago — but failed to raise even a tenth of the $950,000 goal. That doesn’t seem to have stopped PlayMG from taking orders for the product.
via SlashGear
A5? Ugh!
Edit: ok, checking some numbers of over at ARM and it seems to be something like a A8 at 750Mhz.
I am not sure this will have enough horsepower to really play the latest and greatest on the google Play store. It concerns me that anyone would sell and under-powered gaming device like this.
Depends on what is more important, CPU or GPU. Seems that Telechip has actually packaged a MALI GPU onto this range:
https://www.telechips.com/eng/Product/consumer_pro13.asp
But we are still looking at a single core CPU that is some 25% weaker than the A8.