Today, the game-centric Wikipad tablet was intended to make its debut at GameStop, but it seems that will not be happening, as the company behind the device has suddenly delayed the product indefinitely.
Unlike most other Android tablets, the Wikipad promises to offer unique game-centric functionality, and even boasts its own detachable gamepad. The manufacturer, however, says it needs to make a "minor refinement" at the last minute before the product will be ready for sale.
At the moment, it's unclear exactly what this refinement entails, and the makers of the Wikipad have not yet given any indication as to when the device will make its actual debut.
For now, GameStop has stopped taking pre-orders for the $499 device. We've reached out to Wikipad for more information, but have not heard back as of press time.
Perhaps they are finding that the $500 price was just not competitive on the handheld market especially when there are seemingly better alternatives for less than $200.
They still would sold the ones they manufactured. They say last minute refinement but at this point they should have manufactured thousands already to hit the release date. Maybe the hardware was faulty.
I agree with Raymond -- when they've already taken pre-orders (and many of them, from what I can tell), I doubt it's an, "oh, crap -- nobody is buying these" type of situation.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/29/archos-gamepad-with-physical-controls/
Here is the ARCHOS GamePad in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUB-S7BwMH4