Android-powered GameStick design finalized, gets docking station
Though PlayJam’s GameStick surpassed its Kickstarter funding goal by leaps and bounds, the final design of the Android-powered portable gaming unit wasn’t finalized until now. Using input from early backers of the project, PlayJam retooled the controller/console to be “more ergonomic” to “better sit in the hand.”
Changes also include relocating the pop-out HDMI stick from the bottom of the controller to the back. A microSD card was also added, giving the unit a total capacity of up to 104GB of storage.
In addition to a revamped controller, PlayJam also revealed a docking station that will both charge the GameStick as well as offer connections via USB, HDMI, and ethernet. The dock also features wireless charging. It can be purchased as part of a bundle with the GameStick for $109.
GAMESTICK UNVEILS FINAL DESIGN INSPIRED BY KICKSTARTER COMMUNITY
London & San Francisco; January 29th, 2013; As the GameStick Kickstarter campaign (http://kck.st/12SSvMO) enters its final few days, the team announce their final designs of the device as well as a new docking station for every peripheral conceivable.
GameStick; Kickstarter´s most recent success story, currently sits at over 500% of its original target with over $500K raised at the time of writing. The team waits on tenterhooks to discover the final figure to be revealed at 04:23 PST on Friday 1st February.
“It´s hard to believe that we launched GameStick just a few short weeks ago. The Kickstarter campaign has been a roller coaster of a ride and one which has given us more feedback than we could ever have possibly imagined.” says PlayJam´s CMO, Anthony Johnson, “We have been able to take that input and literally better shape our product to give our backers a truly bespoke creation – one which has been designed by the Kickstarter community that backed it.”
The new design sees subtle changes to the controller, which gets a more ergonomic form with extended grips and a tapered shape to better sit in the hand. The housing for the HDMI stick has been moved to the rear of the controller and the stick itself now supports an expandable 32GB MicroSD card slot in response to overwhelming demand. The finish has also been meticulously designed meet the highest of standards.
Additional requests from the backer community resulted last week in the GameStick team announcing support for peripheral hardware through a previously unspecified docking station. The dock brings on board a number of sought after features such as; wire-free charging for the controller, a number of USB and HDMI ports to support peripheral hardware such as keyboards, mice, microphones and cameras as well as support for yet more storage bringing the total potential capacity of the bundle up to 104GB.
“The GameStick Dock is a prime example of how we have moved rapidly to innovate while still in the pre-production phase,” continued Johnson, “it has made for a ‘hairy’ 30 days but we think the results are worth it and we are delighted that we have been able to tailor the product as much as we have in such a short time-frame”
The GameStick Kickstarter campaign has reached its first two stretch goals with just under $60K to go to hit it´s third and final stretch which will add a number of colour options to its range; a target the team hopes to hit before close. Backers have been urged to vote for their favourite colours on the GameStick Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/GameStickNews) in a poll to establish the final color.
To visit the Kickstarter page and pledge your support, please visit: http://kck.st/12SSvMO
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