Huawei has revealed a new Android-powered games console called the Huawei Tron at CES 2014, which promises to take the Ouya on at its own game.
Like the Kickstarter-funded Ouya, the Huawei Tron is a compact micro console that lets you play Android-based games on your TV utilising a custom control pad. It runs on Android 4.2.3.
The Tron’s specs are actually a fair bit more advanced than the Ouya’s, however. It runs on Nvidia’s quad-core Tegra 4 chip, which is a whole generation on from the Ouya’s Tegra 3 processor.
Huawei’s cylindrical console also sports double the RAM of the Ouya at 2GB, and between twice and four times the internal storage at 16GB or 32GB. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 3.0 are included, as you might expect, and there’s also a USB 3.0 port.
The control pad has a fairly typical Xbox One-style eight button set-up (including two analogue triggers and two bumper buttons), two analogue sticks, and a D-pad. It also has an unusual circular touchpad situated between the main analogue stick and buttons, somewhat similar to the PS4.
Huawei Tron Price and Release
According to The Verge, Huawei is planning to sell the Tron for just $120, which is a little under £73 by today’s exchange rate.
Of course, the key problems with the Huawei Tron are likely to be the same as that of the Ouya, regardless of the former’s apparent technical superiority.
There just aren’t enough fully fleshed out console-standard Android games out there to form the raw material for those quick and easy conversions. In addition, the platform is unlikely to receive strong support from major game developers - or even respected indie developers, for that matter.
Of course, the Huawei Tron isn’t primarily aimed at established Western markets. Rather, it’s gunning for that huge domestic Chinese market, which would prive more than lucrative enough to justify its existence.
It could also spoil the mood of Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony just as China opts to make foreign games consoles legal in the country.
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