A Chinese company called GPD looks like it has finally made our wishes come true and this blog post is the GPD WIN review. Today there is a huge variety of tablets, smartphones, laptops and desktop PCs in the market today but there is one hardware platform niche that is not being filled. That niche is the ultra-portable Windows 10 PC which also doubles as a gaming console. Introducing the GPD Win.
Anyone familiar with GPD would know that they specialise in handheld game consoles, like the recently launched GPD XD portable video game handheld that can play Android games as well as emulated games from those popular retro consoles from past decades like the Nintendo and Sega Master Systems for example.
GPD has managed to raise a fair chunk of money – it must be well over a half million dollars by now – via an Indiegogo campaign for the development and production of this new type of computing handheld. The in GPD Win handheld has a form factor similar to its clam shell cousin, the GPD XD Android game console, which was launched in back in 2015. The GPD Win is powered by an Intel Atom Cherry Trail X5-Z8500 processor and it has a full blown version of the Windows 10 home operating system running on it. Now, you have a true Windows PC in a small clam shell form factor.
This means that you should theoretically be able to run any Windows application on this mini device as well as play PC games from the Windows store and even the Steam Network.
But let’s be realistic. Remember that we’re talking about an Intel Atom Processor which should be able to play many of the older Windows PC type game titles but may have an issue playing the more graphic-rich games that you would normally download from the Steam network to play on your $2000 game PC tower. I mean anybody who is a serious gamer would know that you would normally have to spend a decent bit of money to build a powerful gaming PC with not even one but sometimes to high-end graphics processor cards in order to play some of the more visually stunning PC titles. That being said, I would think that the GPD WIN would be more suited to playing some of the older PC game titles that do not require as much processing power. Nonetheless, there will be the capability to stream high end games that you would normally get from the Steam network directly onto the GPD Win via your desktop gaming PC however, which I consider to be a big plus. But don’t get me wrong, because looking at the specs alone I am sure that the GPD WIN can play a lot of the modern PC games from the Steam network okay – there may be some titles however that may be a challenge for the little power house, that’s all.
The fact that you can now have a true Windows PC in the palm of your hand which could run Microsoft Office and pretty much any Windows application means that you can take around your windows productivity applications with you in your pocket as well as game on the go all in one neat little device.
The GPD Win comes with a 5.5 inch 1280 x 720 pixel display. The display does have a capacitive multi-touch capability, which simply means that it is a touchscreen.
Now the GPD Win also has lots of buttons and I mean lots! First off, there is a full QWERTY keyboard complete with a set of function keys. There is also be a full gamepad, complete with a couple of analogue joysticks, four action keys labelled A, B, X and Y, Start and Select keys as well as two shoulder buttons on each side of the gaming handheld.
We understand that the GPD Win also comes with 4 gigabytes of RAM, 64 gigabytes of EMMC storage capacity. It also has 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 wireless connectivity capability as well.
Now in order to make this a very productive tool, the good folks at GPD have also included a MicroSD expansion slot which can hold micro SD cards up to 128 gigabytes. There’s also a Type C USB port which is used for charging the built-in battery as well as doing data transfers and there is also a full-sized USB port that will be used for general connectivity too external devices. We can assume that that USB port will be version 2.0.
The GPD Win will also has a built in 6000 mAH battery just like its Android cousin the GPD XD.
We will have to see how well the battery lasts seeing that it will be running a true Windows operating system with an Intel chip running Windows applications. GPD claims that one can get about 6 to 8 hours of use on the system without having to charge the battery when doing regular tasks like surfing the Internet and using basic Windows applications like Microsoft Office. I would assume that number to be a bit lower when you are playing graphic intensive games for long periods of time.
The GPD Win retails for about $299 and if you want to get your paws on one of these lovely units Amazon has them here at a really great price.
All in all, the GPD Win is the first device of its type being a hybrid mini Windows PC and game console with a built-in gamepad all in one. Today its closest rival would be the Pandora which is a Linux-based portable gaming console which also has a built-in QWERTY keyboard and full gamepad. The Pandora team is currently working on the Pandora’s successor called the PYRA which will be accepting pre-orders later this year as well.
Get the protective waterproof case for your GPD WIN from Amazon here:
Get the portable Samsung DVD writer from Amazon here.
Checkout my YouTube review videos below of the marvellous GPD WIN. Enjoy!