Tag Archives: Handheld Gaming

AYANEO Flip DS handheld PC takes inspiration from a different Nintendo star

Posted on by

The Nintendo Switch is hailed as the design that brought the handheld gaming market back to life, but it’s hardly the only notable product from the gaming giant. Almost two decades ago, Nintendo launched the evolution of its Game Boy line, the Nintendo DS with its odd yet interesting second screen. It’s still debatable whether that feature was a success or just a gimmick, but there’s little argument that it became an iconic design that few have been able to emulate successfully. One of the rising names in the handheld PC segment, however, is taking a stab at bringing that uniqueness to this fledgling market, with a micro laptop design that includes not a keyboard but a small second screen, a feature that could be even more quirky and gimmicky than it was on the Nintendo DS.

Designer: AYANEO

It’s hard not to see the Nintendo DS as a bit gimmicky. Almost all the controls you need to play handheld games are mostly covered by buttons and joysticks, so you actually need to craft specific games to take advantage of that second screen. Because of the custom design, those games won’t work on any other console without heavy changes or some special emulation. That said, a second screen might actually have more utility on a different platform like Windows, where a different display could be used for displaying information or custom controls.

That seems to be what AYANEO is aiming for with the Flip DS launching on Indiegogo next month. The handheld laptop design is nothing new and AYANEO, in fact, has a variant with that design, the AYANEO Flip KB. That squeezes a basic QWERTY keyboard in between split gamepad controls, allowing for quick text input in games or Web browsing. The AYANEO Flip DS, however, switches out the keyboard for a 3.5-inch touch screen, providing a second display that could augment the gaming experience, at least in theory.

In practice, that touch display can be used to show anything as long as the operating system or games support it. At the most basic level, it can give quick access to the most used settings, like toggling Wi-Fi, muting the mic, or even shutting down the PC. It can also display the system’s current operating conditions, for gamers who are concerned about frame rates, power draw, and temperatures. Given the more open Windows gaming ecosystem, it’s conceivable that this screen can also be used for additional in-game controls that are just a thumb tap or swipe away. It could even be used as an on-screen virtual keyboard!

That said, additional features could also mean additional burdens on the system as well as the buyer’s wallet. These are features that are not exactly critical to enjoying games on the go, as proven by the half-dozen handheld gaming PCs now on the market. It’s still an interesting exercise in design that looks to another Nintendo product for guidance, because as popular and innovative as it may be, the Switch isn’t the be-all and end-all of handheld gaming.

The post AYANEO Flip DS handheld PC takes inspiration from a different Nintendo star first appeared on Yanko Design.

Retro Gaming Watch puts a tiny handheld on your wrist, also tells the time

Posted on by

There’s a retro design craze that’s gripping multiple industries, from fashion to music to gaming. The latter is probably one of the most prolific sectors, spewing out new designs based on old models every year or sometimes more than once a year. Regardless of the origin, almost all these retro gaming devices have the same goal of allowing people today to experience the games of the past the way they were meant to be played, at least to some extent. Some, however, do try to just mimic the looks while offering a bit more freedom in what you can do with the device, like this rather unusual Game Boy SP look-alike that’s meant to ride on your wrist and act as a smartwatch when you’re not playing games on it.

Designer: Jason Rogers

There’s no shortage of small gaming handhelds, some of which can even be attached to a key ring. They’re not great at comfort or ergonomics, but these novelty items capture a lot of attention and even let you play a few retro games on the fly. You do have to take them out or pull them off your key ring before you can use them, though, which translates to seconds or minutes of lost opportunities.

The Retro Gaming Watch loses no time, no pun intended, by having that gaming handheld always at hand, or in this case, on your wrist. In its inactive, unused form, it masquerades as a regular though thick smartwatch, with a standard squarish display and typical features such as a digital watch face and notifications. It doesn’t have activity tracking, though, because that would require cramming more hardware in an already cramped space, space that would rather be used for running games instead.

1

The watch changes its tune the moment you detach it from its strap, unfolding to reveal a clamshell-style gaming device not unlike the Nintendo Game Boy SP. Given the existence of gaming devices smaller than this, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the Retro Gaming Watch can handle a few emulated games, at least the 8 to 16-bit titles that can fit in the device’s small memory. Where you get your emulated content, of course, is up to the reader’s ingenuity.

The Retro Gaming Watch is supposed to be a sort of counter-movement to the “Great Conformity” that is happening in a world filled with Apple Watches and its clones. It recalls a time when watches looked fun and could even be used as toys, at least for a younger crowd who wouldn’t be embarrassed wearing bulky and sometimes gaudy designs for everyone to see. Again, it’s not going to offer the best gaming experience, presuming it even becomes an actual product, but it has that novel character and rebellious spirit that’s going to tickle the fancy of many gamers, even if they’re just gonna wear it for show.

The post Retro Gaming Watch puts a tiny handheld on your wrist, also tells the time first appeared on Yanko Design.

Lenovo Legion Go Review: Big Steps for Handheld PC Gaming

Posted on by

PROS:


  • Beautiful and spacious 8.8-inch 1600p 144Hz screen

  • Detachable controllers with innovative FPS (vertical mouse) mode

  • Great overall performance

CONS:


  • Large and heavy

  • Bottom USB-C port is unusable when using the kickstand

  • Short battery life

RATINGS:

AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
SUSTAINABILITY / REPAIRABILITY
VALUE FOR MONEY

EDITOR'S QUOTE:

The Lenovo Legion Go pushes the envelope of what handheld PCs are capable of, paving the road for future innovation in this space.
award-icon

Although it was hardly the first portable gaming console, the success of the Nintendo Switch really inspired a new class of gaming devices. It pushed the boundaries of what you can accomplish with a handheld, offering a gaming experience that you can enjoy anywhere, including while sitting on a couch in front of a TV or table. Of course, Nintendo’s selection of titles is just a small part of the larger gaming world, and there have been many brands that have tried to bring the magic of the Switch to PCs. The Steam Deck proved that such a product would be popular, but it just stopped there. Lenovo, on the other hand, went all out with what is possibly the closest to a “Switch PC” to date. But is the Lenovo Legion Go just a Switch clone or is it offering a completely new gaming experience? We take this innovative gaming handheld for a few good spins to find out.

Designer: Lenovo

Aesthetics

Right off the bat, the first thing you’ll notice about the Lenovo Legion Go is that it’s huge, bigger even than the Steam Deck that’s already considered a giant. It’s slightly thinner than the Deck but only in the middle because the removable controllers almost add an inch to that thickness. It is definitely the larger and heavier of the three major handheld PCs, something that has repercussions for comfort and ergonomics, as we’ll see later.

Fortunately, you might forget the Legion Go’s size the moment your eyes settle on its large 8.8-inch screen, also the largest in this niche market. With a high pixel resolution and bright colors, it easily outclasses the competition, at least in terms of sharpness and visual impact. It doesn’t come without cost, though, but if you value a large, sharp, and fast gaming screen above other specs, this is the one to beat.

The Legion Go definitely carries itself well compared to its peers in terms of aesthetics. Unlike the more rectangular shapes of the Steam Deck and the ASUS ROG Ally, the Legion Go’s controllers taper a bit, creating a more interesting shape from the front. The back of the device is mostly flat save for the contoured handles of the controllers on each side. That back also features a full-width kickstand that lets you easily prop up the Legion Go on any flat surface for playing games or even for watching videos. The top edge has buttons and ports for controlling the device while the bottom has a lone USB-C Gen 4 port for both charging and data.

All in all, the Lenovo Legion Go presents a solid and distinctive design that doesn’t stray too far from the convention but has enough tweaks to make it stand out from the crowd. Its large screen plays in its favor, though the resulting large size is a bit of a double-edged sword. This niche market is still in its infancy and we’ll surely see more interesting designs in the future, but at least for now, Lenovo has pulled enough tricks to give the Legion Go a memorable character.

Ergonomics

There’s really no going around the fact that the Legion Go is a bulky and heavy device, bigger and heftier than its two closest rivals. For a device that’s primarily meant to be held in your hands, that can be a huge drawback. Even if its battery life lasts for hours (or if you’re playing it while charging), your hands and arms will undoubtedly tire after the first 30 minutes or an hour at most. It might be an artificial way to limit your gaming time, but the great thing about this kind of device is you don’t actually need to hold it up to play. Just like the Switch, you can simply set it down on a table or connect it to a large screen. Either way, you can just continue playing, at least as long as you have enough battery for it.

As mentioned earlier, this is as close as we’ve come to a Switch-like PC, and that’s primarily thanks to the detachable controllers. You can slide them off, though downward in the opposite direction compared to the Switch, and use them as normal Bluetooth controllers except split in two. There is, however, a special Lenovo-only mode that changes the narrative a bit. It’s called FPS mode and you stick the right controller into a base that makes it look like a joystick, except it’s a mouse that you drag across the table, not unlike those ergonomic vertical mice. As the name suggests, it’s meant to offer a more precise method of aiming with the right hand in FPS games and more fluid movement with the left controller. It’s definitely an innovative design but one that requires heavy muscle memory training to really get used to.

The Legion Go isn’t just a gaming device, however. It’s a gaming PC that runs a regular version of Windows 11, which means the user experience isn’t optimized for anything but a keyboard and mouse or, at the very least, a touch screen. This makes operating the non-gaming parts of the operating system a bit more tedious, though Lenovo thankfully included a small touchpad on the right-hand controller exactly for this purpose. There’s also a tiny scroll wheel on the back side of the same controller, but its location makes it difficult to reach. Along with the idiosyncrasies of Windows itself, this makes operating the device in handheld mode cumbersome and awkward.

Performance

Lenovo definitely pulled out the stops when it came to the Legion Go’s silicon muscles. Running inside is an AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme with RDNA Graphics paired with 16GB of RAM and 512GB or 1TB of NVMe SSD storage. It’s not desktop-level hardware, not even a gaming laptop, but at this size, it’s currently the best that’s available for handheld computers. It can definitely handle most PC games at medium settings, and maybe a few at high settings. Of course, cranking up those options will drain the battery quicker, and there’s not a lot in the first place.

The real star of the show, however, is the impressive 8.8-inch 2560×1600 IPS LCD display with a 144Hz refresh rate. Not only is it the largest among handheld computers, it also has the highest resolution. It’s bright, vibrant, colorful, and sharp. And it’s also quite the battery drain. On paper, a high resolution such as this would be a huge boon for gaming, but only if you have lots of battery and power to spare. At full resolution, the only way you’ll get above 60fps in Fortnite is by setting the setting to medium (67fps) or low (79fps). Then again, 47fps with high settings isn’t so bad either. Dropping the resolution to 1200p made the gameplay experience much better during our test.

The real problem is the battery life, though the Legion Go isn’t alone in this regard. At medium settings, playing Fortnite (with voice chat on) drained the battery in around 79 minutes and at 1200p resolution only. Again, the sharpness of the screen is a huge advantage over the Steam Deck and the ROG Ally, but the price it entails is just too high. Sure, you can set a lower resolution by default, but then you’ll be paying for hardware you’re not able to fully utilize.

The Lenovo Legion Go has the bare minimum when it comes to hardware connectivity, namely two USB-C 4.0 ports, one at the top and another at the bottom. There’s also a headphone jack for good measure so you can connect your favorite wired headphones for more immersive gaming. Having two USB-C ports is great for connecting peripherals or a hub while still having one port free for charging the device. The catch is that the placement of the bottom port makes it inaccessible when using the built-in kickstand. Sure, you can use the top port for charging, but you still lose the other port for other accessories. To be fair, the Switch has the same problem but is worse by having a single USB port, but you’d hope that designers would have solved this problem by now.

Being able to set the Legion Go down on a table and still play using the controllers is also a Switch-inspired feature, but the actual implementation needs a little bit of work. In addition to the awkward way of pulling out the controllers, you apparently can’t use a different external controller unless you take the pair out and disable them from Windows Device Manager. It might just be a bug or a hidden setting, but the fact that it isn’t as straightforward as on a regular computer (or even the Nintendo Switch) makes it a less favorable experience.

When it comes to performance, the Legion Go spares no expense at using the best possible hardware, but having the most powerful isn’t always the correct solution. Power-hungry specs, especially a hi-res screen, drain the battery faster than it should, and owners are forced to tweak every aspect to squeeze out as much juice as they can from the device. Admittedly, PC gamers are used to tweaking settings left and right, but that’s a little less convenient and less ideal on a handheld form factor.

Sustainability

Impressive as the Legion Go’s design might be, there will definitely be concerns about its long-term viability. First-gen designs in this industry don’t always spark confidence, both in terms of durability as well as customer support down the road. Lenovo is an established brand, of course, so there’s an implicit trust in the products that it makes. This device definitely feels solid, despite its plastic body, so you can be assured that it’s not some flimsy product that will die out on you in the first few months.

Its unique design does bring a few complications, though, particularly with the removable controllers. These can be points for mechanical failure in the feature, or structural weaknesses that could lead to an early death for the device. There are a lot of custom parts used for the Legion Go as well, so repairs will have to be done by authorized Lenovo service providers only. That increases the risk factor in purchasing a device that could meet more accidents in your hands compared to a conventional laptop.

Value

Gaming handhelds are becoming popular again, both from the retro front as well as the PC market. Just looking at the growing number of options outside of major manufacturers shows there’s a sizable market for these devices. Not every PC gamer is a fan, though these would also admit dreaming of being able to play games anywhere, including in situations where they can’t use their bulky gaming laptops. As mentioned, there are plenty of options available now, but the Lenovo Legion Go offers the best-balanced set of benefits and drawbacks in the market today.

It has powerful specs topped by a gorgeous and large display that really makes games pop. The FPS mode might need a bit of getting used to, but the convenience of being able to detach the controllers when needed is a huge boon, though there are some rough edges to smoothen out. Battery life is pretty dismal by default, but that’s on par with other handheld PCs. The biggest clincher is that you’re getting this solid mobile PC gaming experience starting at just $699.99, which means you aren’t cutting corners for that juicy price tag.

Verdict

There was a time when analysts proclaimed the PC market to be dying, but that might only be true for desktops. Laptops flew off the shelves during the pandemic, and now handheld PCs are sparking interest and ushering in a new generation of PC gamers who are living the dream of playing anywhere. There are still only a few players in this market, and Lenovo, the world’s biggest PC maker, is making sure it’s leading here as well.

The Lenovo Legion Go definitely shows the brand’s expertise, combining decades of experience with a bold design and innovative features. It also proves that there is still plenty of room for improvement, whether for refining features or introducing new experiences. At this point, handheld gaming PCs like these are still considered a luxury, but with a tempting $700 price tag, the Legion Go is doing its part to make these devices more approachable and more usable for everyone.

The post Lenovo Legion Go Review: Big Steps for Handheld PC Gaming first appeared on Yanko Design.

AYANEO SLIDE Handheld PC design demonstrates another way to play games on the go

Posted on by

Handheld gaming devices are in vogue again, and not just the smartphones we always have in our hands these days. The success of the Nintendo Switch has given rise to a new breed of portable PCs built specifically with gaming in mind, and now even big brands like ASUS and Lenovo are playing in this very niche field. While both the Switch and the Steam Deck have become the poster children for this category of devices, they aren’t the only way to play PC games anywhere and everywhere. Another contender is pushing a new entry into the race, and this one hides a QWERTY keyboard for those times when you need keys rather than buttons to play, communicate, or even work.

Designer: AYANEO

Handheld PCs like the Steam Deck, ASUS ROG Ally, and Lenovo Legion Go are probably PC gamers’ dreams come true. They allow them to play their favorite modern and even retro titles without having to worry about finding a place to set up a laptop. That convenience, however, comes at the price of relying only on controller buttons and joysticks for movement, while being at the mercy of a touchscreen and an on-screen keyboard for everything else. That’s not a problem for something like the Nintendo Switch with games specifically designed for such an input scheme, but for a PC that can potentially play and do anything, it’s severely limiting.

The AYANEO SLIDE addresses this problem by introducing a physical QWERTY keyboard that doesn’t get in the way when you don’t actually need it. Its trick is to hide that keyboard underneath the display using a sliding mechanism, not unlike the slider keyboards of smartphones from long ago. That makes it trivial to type out messages for games that require chatting with other players or to even play games that might not fully support game controllers. And since you can easily hide it when you’re done, it doesn’t take up too much extra space when it’s not in use.

Granted, the AYANEO SLIDE is hardly the first to use this design to address the problem of an absent keyboard. The recent GPD WIN 4 and the old Sony VAIO UX from 2006 both used a sliding mechanism to hide a QWERTY keyboard. AYANEO’s design, however, also lets you set the screen at an angle when you slide it up, which offers a slightly more ergonomic viewing angle compared to a completely flat screen.

While the addition of a hidden keyboard does fix one problem, the design has some drawbacks in the current implementation. Given the large size of the device, thumb-typing on that keyboard isn’t exactly comfortable or fast. A sliding mechanism also invites trouble because of moving parts. An alternative design, one employed by AYAENO rival GPD, uses a mini laptop form factor to offer a different way to mix gaming and typing on the go, but that also brings its own problems in terms of portability and bulk.

The post AYANEO SLIDE Handheld PC design demonstrates another way to play games on the go first appeared on Yanko Design.

Analogue Pocket Classic retro gaming handheld puts the color in Game Boy Color

Posted on by

Just because you’re trying to design a retro interpretation of an old design doesn’t mean you have to copy the original inch for inch. In fact, it might even be illegal in some cases to be an exact replica of the product you’re trying to pay homage to. It’s definitely a good opportunity to address the flaws of the past or to implement designs that were intended but couldn’t be implemented because of the limitations or tastes of ages past. It wouldn’t make sense, for example, for a modern recreation of the Game Boy Color to display the extremely limited palette of the original in this day and age. Fortunately, Analogue had the sense to equip its retro gaming handheld with modern capabilities while staying faithful to the original’s essence. So faithful that it, in fact, even tried to recreate the playful colors of the Game Boy Color while also expanding that selection with almost all the colors of the rainbow and then some.

Designer: Analogue

Even by yesteryear’s standards, the Game Boy Color’s chunky design clearly earmarked it as a toy for kids. Those kids, however, have now grown up, and many of them want to relive those fun-filled days but probably with something that doesn’t look like it was plucked out of a time capsule. The Analogue Pocket is an attempt to feed this hunger while also making the design and the heritage accessible to a lot more people. Its more modern and sleeker aesthetic easily appeals to gamers of all ages but still exudes that charm that made the GBC an icon. Still, the retro handheld seemed to be missing one particular element that would really set it apart from other Game Boy Color recreations.

That missing piece of the puzzle was delivered by the “Classic” edition of the Analogue Pocket, which basically gives the device a colorful paint job. The very first GBC was a rather boring and very industrial gray, but the market eventually exploded in a variety of colors, including a transparent one. The Analogue Pocket Classic brings back not just one or two or five of these but offers no less than eight hues. That’s on top of the plain black, white, transparent, and glow-in-the-dark editions that came out in the past.

The full palette includes Indigo, Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, Pink, Orange, and Silver, all of which Analogue boasts have been color-matched to the original models. It might just be a change of hue, but it immediately gives the Pocket a vibrant character befitting of a gaming device. With these accurate colors and the overall design of the handheld, there is very little doubt that this retro revival truly captures the spirit of the Game Boy Color as faithfully as it can without tripping over legal landmines.

The story doesn’t end on a high note, unfortunately, with all variants of the Analogue Pocket now declared to be completely sold out. That’s true for this colorful yet limited run of the “Classic” edition as well as the original models. It’s uncertain if these will ever return to shelves, and collectors will have to stay on their toes while waiting for hopeful news in the coming days.

The post Analogue Pocket Classic retro gaming handheld puts the color in Game Boy Color first appeared on Yanko Design.

This Cyberpunk-Looking Handheld Gaming Console Takes a Page From Teenage Engineering

Posted on by

Borrowing from Teenage Engineering’s visual DNA, the PocketMan P1 has a metal-first design language that oozes sleekness along with industrial details like exposed screws. Ergonomics be damned, the PocketMan P1 is a console for your eyes and your soul. Its design sports all the controls you need, featuring a D-pad, action buttons, multiple joysticks, and even four shoulder buttons. From the looks of its interface, it probably houses a black and white screen that eschews fancy graphics for a hardcore retro experience, and there’s even support for ‘apps’.

Designer: Grzegorz Rozwadowski (Twig Studio)

Functionally, the PocketMan P1 follows the vertical handheld style of the Game Boy Classic (with a monochrome display to match). Unlike the GB Classic, this console boasts an all-metal design with a seemingly edge-to-edge display, tight corners, industrial detailing, and a slick form factor that tapers off at the screen; effectively giving you a chunky console that’s nice to hold in your palms, but doesn’t have a hefty upper half that would throw its center of gravity out of whack. The product’s cyberpunk-ish design feels highly sophisticated, elevating the status of a game console to something that’s more than just a ‘toy’.

The PocketMan P1 comes with all the bells and whistles of a great controller. It’s got every conceivable control apart from probably a touchscreen (though I wouldn’t be surprised if it did). There’s a USB-C port on the bottom alongside a 3.5mm aux jack for headphones. Strangely enough, the console has card readers on both the left as well as the right side, presumably allowing you to load multiple cards with different games.

The controls on the PocketMan P1 resemble the kinds seen on modern handheld gaming devices, although the black-and-white screen definitely gives the console a retro touch. That being said, we don’t really know whether the P1 has an LED, LCD, or e-ink screen, so it’s entirely conceivable that the PocketMan P1 could be running a color display but with a black and white OS, helping keep its software as minimal-looking as its hardware. The presence of an Apps icon confirms the latter too, although without a traditional keyboard, it’s probably hinting at an App store or the ability to side-load different emulators to play your favorite games.

Although currently just a concept (yeah, I know), the P1 is a masterclass in minimalist metallic design. Its form language and detailing resemble some of Teenage Engineering’s handheld gadgets rather well (especially the TP-7 Field Recorder), and in doing so, rejects the idea that gaming hardware needs to be hyper-ergonomic and covered from head to toe in RGB lighting. The P1’s design language blends consumer tech’s aluminum obsession with great gaming hardware, creating a console with truly universal appeal… and with a ‘meant for serious gamers’ attitude.

The post This Cyberpunk-Looking Handheld Gaming Console Takes a Page From Teenage Engineering first appeared on Yanko Design.

Lenovo Legion Go Gaming Handheld Hands-on: The World of Portable Gaming Revolutionized

Posted on by

Lenovo has made a remarkable stride forward in a world where the fusion of technology’s portability with its performance is rapidly advancing. With confidence, they have unveiled a vision that not only aligns with but also boldly redefines the paradigm. Allow me to introduce the Lenovo Legion Go – a device that flawlessly combines portability, power, and prowess, setting an unprecedented standard in the market.

Designer: Lenovo

Lenovo’s Gaming Revolution is Handheld

Lenovo is widely known for introducing sturdy and reliable laptops for businesses. However, their dedication to creativity continues to remain strong. With its entry into the realm of portable gaming, Lenovo aims to redefine the idea of gaming on the go. Recently, they launched the Legion Go, which is expected to be an exhilarating experience for gamers worldwide.

Design and Feel: Elegance Meets Ergonomics

When you first see the Legion Go, it immediately catches your attention with its impressive appearance. The device has a sleek and polished finish, incorporating both matte and glossy surfaces. The design is ergonomic and particularly noticeable during extended gaming sessions. The grip is comfortable, allowing gamers to stay fully immersed without experiencing any discomfort. Additionally, the rear surface features a subtle texture that ensures a secure hold, preventing the device from slipping during intense gaming moments.

Performance: Gaming Powerhouse in Compact Form

Gamers who want to experience superior image quality and vibrant colors that make their games come to life will find the Lenovo PureSight Gaming Display to be an excellent choice. This display features the latest AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor, which delivers remarkable compact processing power, ensuring that gamers can enjoy lag-free gaming.

The Lenovo Legion Go operates on Windows 11 and offers impressive graphics performance, comparable to that of a console. Its large 8.8-inch QHD+ 16:10 Lenovo PureSight gaming display truly brings games to life, providing gamers with an immersive and expansive screen. With up to 500nits brightness and a 97% DCI-P3 color gamut, the display is adjustable to suit different playstyles and situations. It supports various resolutions, ranging from 1600p to 800p, as well as 144Hz and 60Hz refresh rates. The 10-point touch screen allows for natural and intuitive control, such as scrolling, tapping, and swiping. The Legion Go also boasts up to 16GB LPDDR5X (7500Mhz) RAM, which offers power management flexibility for optimal gaming performance and faster loading times, depending on the scenario. It also has up to 1TB PCIe Gen4 SSD and a micro-SD slot that supports up to 2TB of extra storage.

During our brief testing period, casual games to more graphics-intensive games felt delightful it was clear that the performance was nothing short of exceptional. Transitions were smooth and seamless, loading times were lightning-fast, and there were absolutely no interruptions during gameplay. One of the standout features was the ability to switch between refresh rates with ease without experiencing any lag or delay whatsoever. Overall, we were thoroughly impressed with the performance of our system when it came to gaming.

Touch and Feel: A Console Experience

Many handhelds struggle with touch controls, but the Legion Go excels in this area. Its touch response is quick, and it flawlessly recognizes multi-touch gestures, distinguishing between intentional swipes and accidental touches. Additionally, its haptic feedback provides a tactile sensation similar to that of traditional console controllers.

Controller Dynamics: More than Just Accessories

The detachable controllers of Legion Go are simply amazing. Their magnetic connection is sturdy yet easy to detach. The buttons are tactile and responsive. Our testing revealed that first-person shooter games felt natural, sports games were easy to play, and strategy games were more engaging than ever.

The implementation of RGB lighting in this particular product is executed with a level of refinement and elegance that is not commonly seen in other similar gaming accessories. The lighting is not excessively flashy or intrusive but rather adds a tasteful touch of visual interest that amplifies the overall gaming experience.

The Lenovo Legion Go is an impressive gaming device that boasts a range of advanced features to ensure optimal responsiveness and accuracy during intense gaming sessions. One of the most notable features of this device is its hall effect joysticks that prevent joystick drift and minimize dead zones, providing a smooth and seamless gaming experience. Additionally, the Lenovo Legion Go comes equipped with an integrated trackpad, a large D-pad, an angled mouse wheel, and a total of 10 mappable shoulder buttons, triggers, and grip buttons, making it a versatile and highly customizable gaming controller.

In terms of aesthetics, the Lenovo Legion Go is a stylish device that features a power button adorned with the iconic Lenovo Legion ‘O’ and RGB lighting that changes colors, indicating the user-selectable fan mode. The joysticks also have customizable RGB rings that add a layer of style and serve as a notification system for controller pairing. Beyond its sleek design, the Lenovo Legion Go is also highly functional. The Legion TrueStrike controllers are detachable, allowing for more playstyle flexibility and enabling FPS mode for quick FPS gaming sessions. In FPS mode, the controllers can be detached from the Lenovo Legion Go body and placed on a surface using the kickstand at the back. The right detached controller can be attached to a controller base that comes with the device via a magnet, and the optical eye at the bottom of the controller provides more precise aiming and control, making it perfect for competitive FPS games, similar to using a mouse.

Overall, the Lenovo Legion Go is a top-of-the-line gaming controller that offers unparalleled responsiveness, accuracy, and flexibility, making it an essential tool for serious gamers.

The Lenovo Legion Glasses: Not Just a Gimmick

For some time now, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality have been quite popular terms. However, the Lenovo Legion Glasses have made a compelling argument for VR gaming while on the move. After connecting the glasses to the Legion Go, our surroundings were transformed into a gaming paradise. The field of view is extensive, and the experience feels almost as if you’re in a movie theater.

Sound Matters: Enter the Legion E510 Headphones

To truly enhance your visual experience, top-notch audio is a must. That’s where the Lenovo Legion E510 headphones come in. These headphones are expertly designed to capture every auditory detail, from the deepest bass to the clearest highs. Plus, they boast impressive noise isolation capabilities, making them ideal for gaming in loud surroundings.

Software: The Heart of the Experience

The Lenovo Legion Go has many impressive features, but the key connecting element is the Legion Space. This feature is specifically designed for the Lenovo Legion Go and allows users to easily access their game platforms, view locally installed games, and even purchase games through the Legion Game Store, in collaboration with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. With each Lenovo Legion Go, users receive a complimentary 3-month membership that provides access to hundreds of high-quality games. Additionally, the Gamesplanet store offers deep discounts on select games for users with a Lenovo ID.

Legion Space allows all supported game launchers to be grouped together, making it easy for gamers to jump straight into the action. Additionally, users can quickly adjust settings such as resolution, refresh rate, brightness, and more on the fly.

Final Thoughts: A New Era for Portable Gaming

After spending time with the Legion Go, it became evident that this device is more than just a typical handheld. Lenovo has set out to revolutionize the way we perceive portable gaming by integrating power and portability, style and substance, and performance and affordability seamlessly.

To summarize, the Lenovo Legion Go is not only a product but also a declaration. Lenovo is ready to compete and has brought its best to the table. With its impending release, one thing is certain: the landscape of portable gaming will never be the same.

The Lenovo Legion Go will be available on Lenovo.com, Best Buy, Micro Center, and select retail partners from October 2023. Its price will start at $699. The Lenovo Legion Glasses will also be available from October 2023 and will start at $329. Additionally, the Lenovo Legion E510 7.1 RGB Gaming In-Ear Headphones will be available at a starting price of $49.99 in October 2023.

The post Lenovo Legion Go Gaming Handheld Hands-on: The World of Portable Gaming Revolutionized first appeared on Yanko Design.

Nintendo SNES-inspired handheld console runs Android 11 to let you play mobile games

Posted on by

It looks like a SNES controller with a screen in the middle, but this right here is, in fact, the perfect platform for mobile gaming. With an ergonomic design that feels absolutely nostalgic to hold, and controllers on each side that let you navigate your games like you would on an Xbox, PlayStation, or Switch, the Anbernic RG353P retro handheld is a versatile gaming device that allows you to play both Android and Linux games. It’s got an operating system that’s both Android 11 and Linux-compatible, giving you the ability to play a vast library of Android-based games on it, along with support for emulators and apps that let you squeeze the most out of the device.

Designer: Anbernic

Click Here to Buy Now

There’s something truly comforting about the RG353P’s design. Sitting wonderfully in your adult palms the way a SNES controller would in the same teenage palms, the RG353P feels like a modern classic. It comes with the D-Pad and action buttons, as well as two joysticks, four shoulder buttons, and even two MicroSD card slots for expanding its 32GB internal storage to up to 512GB. It also offers 2.4/5G Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity, making it easy to connect to other devices.

Available in grey and translucent black versions, the Anbernic RG353P is a compact little device with a 3.5-inch IPS touchscreen (and a 640×480 resolution) that runs both Android 11 as well as Linux on its quad-core 64-bit RK3566 processor with built-in LPDDR4 2GB RAM for a pretty buttery-smooth experience. That’s also including the fact that the RG353P doesn’t have apps running in the background the way your phone does.

On the inside, a 3500mAh battery gives the RG353P a solid 6 hours of gaming time, allowing you to play all your favorite Android games or even popular GameBoy, PSP, SNES, NES, and Atari Lynx titles through emulators (with support for loads of other consoles). Built-in speakers offer high-quality sound, although there’s even a 3.5mm headphone jack for hooking a pair of earphones to the RG353P for that nostalgic backseat-gaming-while-parents-are-talking touch. Ah, the good old days!

Click Here to Buy Now

The post Nintendo SNES-inspired handheld console runs Android 11 to let you play mobile games first appeared on Yanko Design.

Android gaming handheld is a throwback to the venerable Nintendo DS

Posted on by

It seems to be the age of gaming handhelds once again. With the continued success of the Nintendo Switch, all sorts of portable gaming devices have popped up, ranging from PCs like the Steam Deck to dedicated Android gaming devices like the Logitech G Cloud and the new Razer Edge. Although they have actually been around far longer than these, more obscure handhelds have become more prominent because of this industry trend. Some require you to do the work of cobbling up the pieces together, while others sell a more finished product instead. The latter is the case for the latest device to hit the market, one that eschews the trending Switch form factor for something that gives a nod to Nintendo’s previous top-selling portable.

Designer: Retroid Pocket

The Nintendo DS had a very good run in the gaming market, replacing the iconic Game Boy with a portable machine that got on with the times. It featured a revolutionary (for that time) dual-screen clamshell design that truly felt like a new breed rather than a Game Boy just folded in half. Almost two decades later, that design has become antiquated, but it’s exactly that nostalgia that this look-alike is aiming for.

Granted, the Retroid Pocket Flip is more like a cross between the DS and the GBA SP, having a single screen only and with a more horizontal clamshell design. It almost has the best of both worlds, with a more conventional and more comfortable form factor and a wide screen that is more common with games today. Despite its old-fashioned looks, it does stick to modern gaming features, including the basic set of controls, such as both bumper and trigger buttons.

One advantage that a clamshell design has over something like the Nintendo Switch is that you can set the angle of the screen independently of your hands. You also automatically have a protective case for the device and don’t have to worry about the screen getting scratched and the controls snagging in your bag. The design also tends to be more compact, though it does get thicker compared to a flat handheld device.

That said, the Retroid Pocket Flip is pretty much an Android device, so you might have to debate whether having a dedicated gaming device separate from your phone is worth the cost. Not all Android games are also controller-friendly, and using the touch screen, in this case, is ironically more cumbersome. Still, if you’re an avid Android gamer that uses a controller most of the time, this charming throwback could be something worth adding to your collection.

The post Android gaming handheld is a throwback to the venerable Nintendo DS first appeared on Yanko Design.

Tiny handheld gaming console concept offers a Game Boy-style 4:3 display with 2GB of RAM

Posted on by

Unlike a Game Boy, however, the Tingting GO is built with a Unisoc T618 processor and a whopping 2GB of RAM for a competition-crushing gameplay experience.

I honestly don’t know why the handheld gaming market is so stagnated. Never has there been a better time for handheld gaming, but all we really have is the Switch and the Steam Deck – and they’re both commercial successes. Designed as a conceptual competitor to them, the Tingting GO comes with a Game Boy Classic-style vertical-device format but features better hardware, full-fledged controls, and a nifty 4:3 display to let you play all popular games.

Designer: Frederik Berisha

The handheld console’s design feels instantly familiar to most seasoned gamers, with a format that requires no learning curve. The UI feels fairly intuitive too, although one could speculate whether the screen has touch capabilities or not. The controls are fairly comprehensive. You’ve got the D-pad, action buttons, and even shoulder buttons on the top left and right. An Apple Watch Ultra-esque orange button on the bottom lets you power or lock your console. There’s also a front-firing speaker that immerses you in gameplay audio – although the absence of a 3.5mm audio input is really being felt here…

The Tingting Go’s design feels more serious than playful, following the Steam Deck playbook instead of the Nintendo Switch Lite one. It’s predominantly matte black with glossy accents (MKBHD much?), although that does a good job of making the display stand out. There’s a 2500mAh battery on the inside, which is a bit smaller than the one on the Switch, although you’re also working with a tinier screen, which doesn’t guzzle as much juice during gameplay. I don’t see a charging port on the concept, although it would probably be safe to assume that there’s a USB-C port somewhere.

The compact design makes it a perfect alternative to a Nintendo Switch, giving you a familiar mobile-style form factor that people love.

The post Tiny handheld gaming console concept offers a Game Boy-style 4:3 display with 2GB of RAM first appeared on Yanko Design.