We got an email about this device and while I’m not super sure it’s even a thing that actually exists (yet?), it’s still a pretty neat concept that seemed worth discussing. It’s called the “PGS" which stands for the incredibly unique and creative name, “Portable Game System." They’ve got a pretty fancy web site (which seems to only work well in Chrome) with loads of different renders of the device and a surprising amount of system specs to look at. The basic idea is that it’s a dual-screen hybrid device which is both a portable PC that runs Windows 10 and an Android smartphone. It’s got an Intel Atom X7 processor, which includes Intel HD graphics for games.
Not much makes sense about the PGS, as while I suppose what they’re promising is technically possible, the Nintendo Switch has done a fantastic job of illustrating just how hard playing “real" games absolutely rocks your battery. Their (now cancelled) Kickstarter video claims five hours of gameplay, which feels unbelievably optimistic:
Stranger yet is the device is available for preoder and ranges from $259 to $319 for the “Lite" and “Hardcore," respectively. There’s also a “Hardcore Titanium" which features a titanium case for $599. We’re not really sure what to make of this, as again, it seems like a neat concept, but it’s making loads of promises and seems like it’s oddly cheap for what they’re claiming it can do. I’d advise extreme caution when it comes to actually ordering anything until we can verify this is a product that exists.
Apparently the PGS will be playable at E3, so if we can’t get some sort of preview unit to fiddle with before then, we’ll check it out while we’re there.
Update: Jeez, this project seems like an even bigger mess than we thought it was. Definitely dive into the comments of this story. Additionally, if my incredible skepticism of this device wasn’t enough, it’s worth reiterating that it doesn’t seem very smart to preorder this right now. I’ve removed the preorder link in case anyone randomly stumbles across this story and is like “Oh, hey, I’ll buy that." I really just posted this to have something to link back to if we do/don’t see it at E3!
