14 DAY TRIAL // Are you nostalgic about Sony Xperia Play, the first Android gaming phone to have ever graced the market? Then you’ll probably be glad to hear that a phone similar to that model has just been made available for pre-order.
The device is called Snail Mobile W3D and arrives equipped with a dedicated D-pad, face buttons, dual analog joysticks, and dual shoulder triggers on both sides.
Naturally, the manufacturer behind this atypical smartphone (Snail Games) is based in China, so you’ll be able to get the phone in return for a decent amount of cash.
At a glance, the phone actually looks like a PlayStation Vita and bundles quite decent specs, which are needed to support all kinds of games.
The gaming smartphone niche is pretty scarce
The W3D arrives with a 5.5-inch 1080p display that provides a glasses-free 3D viewing experience, and it also uses eye-tracking cameras exactly like the Amazon’s Fire Phone, which by the way hasn’t enjoyed a lot of popularity.
This means users will be able to enjoy a nice, natural 3D effect while playing their favorite games without the need for a third-party accessory.
In addition to that, the Snail W3D is powered by a 2.2GHz MediaTek MT6595 octa-core processor with 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage (with microSD card) and Android 4.4 KitKat out of the box (that means it might not support games that require Android 5.0 or later).
Other features include a pretty decent 13MP rear camera and a 5MP frontal selfie snapper. Furthermore, there’s an interesting dual-USB system for charging and syncing to a computer simultaneously. Last but not least, the Snail W3D has support for dual-SIM and 4G LTE.
The phone is sustained by a worthy 4,200 mAh battery pack and should be released into the wild on September 29.
Snail Games might not be a very well-known brand in the US, but nevertheless, the company is selling its Android smartphones in the US via Amazon where you can place a pre-order for $400 / €353.
It’s obvious the phone has been designed for those who are into playing games rather than holding their phone up and making phone calls. This is due to the large bezels meant to accommodate the gaming buttons.
What do you think about this device? Let us know in the comments below.
