While we typically don’t yearn for gaming smartphones with physical controls due to their size, a company in Asia is set to debut its latest smartphone that caters towards serious mobile gamers.
When it comes to gaming, smartphones are very capable devices, offering a wide variety of titles while on the go. Although smartphone apps are generally optimized for use without physical controls, sometimes you just can’t help but feel like a game might play a bit better if you had a controller connected. In what seems like ages ago, Nokia experimented with the N-Gage, a handheld gaming device that also doubled as a phone. Even more recently, Sony tried to leverage its PlayStation business with the Xperia Play, an Android device that featured a slide-up display, D-pad, action buttons, and even shoulder buttons.
While it has been quite some time since the Xperia Play graced storefronts in the United States, it appears that companies in Asia have been working on similar devices, offering folks a portable gaming machine that can also double as a smartphone. When we last visited Snail Mobile, it was a couple years ago at CES and they were showing off a beefy handset that offered a glasses-free 3D display, with hopes of bringing it to a variety of different carriers.
Now, it appears the firm is preparing to offer something new, sporting a familiar design and more focused on providing excellent specifications for a great price. The Snail Mobile i7 features a 6-inch 1080p display, MediaTek’s Helio X20 processor, 6GB RAM, 64GB of storage, and a 6,000 mAh removable battery.
As for the other details, the i7 will have a 16MP rear camera, along with a 5MP front-facing camera, stereo speakers, dual-SIM capability, and USB Type-C port. As you can see from the images above, the handset will also have an array of interactive controls like thumbs sticks, D-pad, action buttons, and more. While the above model will retail for about $280 USD, there will be a variant that includes 8GB RAM and 128GB of storage for $295, that is set to arrive later in the year.
If you are residing in Asia, you can expect the i7 to make its debut in August. Snail Mobile also plans to deliver this handset to the US market, bit did not mention any specifics in terms of its availability.
Source: Engadget
