There have been several attempts at creating more gaming oriented Android hardware over the last couple of years. The last most serious attempt was Sony’s Xperia Play. While the hardware checked most of the right checkboxes, the so-so build quality and lack of any marketing and support just a couple months after release led it to an early death. And while the “desktop” gaming seen could very well see a console come to life, the mobile market is Android’s bread and butter.

Today, ARCHOS unveiled their Android-powered GamePad which goes far and above any other Android mobile gaming device we’ve seen thus far. In fact, if you’re familiar with any of Sony’s PSP line of devices you’ll already feel right at home upon picking up the ARCHOS GamePad in your hands. The size and layout of buttons is very similar.

In terms of power ARCHOS made sure their GamePad was far from a slouch. A 1.5 GHz dual-core processor along with a Mali 400mp quad-core GPU mean pretty much any game will run flawlessly (and look good damn good to boot).

We’re definitely intrigued. Shorter titles still feel like they’re better at home on a multi-use device like a smartphone. The recent crop of longer play, more “serious” games, however, will highly benefit from the vast assortment of physical buttons the GamePad offers.

Look for the ARCHOS GamePad to hit the streets in October for “less than ~$188 USD”.
Via: AndroidCentral