There are quite a few consoles based on Google’s OS that can be used in tandem with a TV set, but if you’d rather play games in the great outdoors, then the Magic Media i5 Android handheld console is the perfect solution for you.
That’s especially the case if you want to save the battery of your smartphone. Magic Media i5 is made by Chinese manufacturer MediaTek, which gained a lot of popularity after powering most Chinese smartphones with its dual-core and quad-core chips.
The first thing that crossed my mind when reading about this Android handheld console is that it has a very misleading name. People might think that there’s an Intel i5 CPU under the hood, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, this handheld gaming device sports a MTK6589 quad-core chip that combines a 1.2 GHz ARM Cortex-A7 CPU and a PowerVR SGX544MP GPU. In addition, Magic Media i5 comes with 1GB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage. A micro SD slot enables gamers to expand the capacity of this console so that they can store more games.
Magic Media i5 supposedly doubles as a phone, as it packs a dual-sim slot and 2G/3G connectivity. Still, when it comes to mobile gaming, one of the most important aspects is the display. This console’s 5″ 1280×720 IPS touchscreen display should satisfy even the needs of the most exigent Android gamers out there. That is, if they don’t want to play their games on a tablet. Besides the display, the controls are yet another important factor. To make things easier for gamers, Mediatek built game control buttons and direction pads into the sides.
There shouldn’t be any software compatibility problems, as Magic Media i5 comes with the latest version of Google’s OS, namely Android Jelly Bean 4.2.2. I’m not sure whether the manufacturer will provide a custom version so that only games can be played on it, or if other apps could be installed. The existence of the dual-sim slot indicates that the second option is more probable.
In terms of battery capacity, Magic Media i5 features a 3550mAh battery that rivals the ones present in most of today’s tablets. Needless to say, such a battery is better than the the ones found in all the current smartphones, and since the display is not Full HD, gamers should be able to play for extended periods of time.
MediaTek plans to launch this Android handheld gaming console later this year. The retail price will be around $200, and the device will probably be sold by many Asian online retailers. At such a price and with such features, the manufacturer of the Magic Media i5 handheld console represents a tough competitor for anyone willing to follow the mobile gaming route.
If you liked this post, please check the handheld classic Nintendo and the WeraMouse handheld browser mouse.
