When it comes to video gaming, easily the first things that come to mind are personal computers and laptops with premium hardware and gaming consoles like the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or the Nintendo 3DS. So is there room for a relatively unknown handheld gaming device like the Smach Z?
Well, for the most part, there's none considering how the market is pretty much dominated by those mentioned gaming rigs. But then again, the ability of this new device to play a PC game title without the need of the bulky PC is something that's interesting enough to be worthy of consideration.
The device was first officially mentioned during this August's Gamescom in Cologne, Germany and is planned to be released this month. At its initial showcase, it was easy to figure out that the Smach Z was more than just its silly name. Hardware-wise, GameNGuide sees it as something that impresses even though it looks and feels more like a compact device.
The processing power is handled by a quad-core AMD Merlin Falcon RX-421BD chipset, while the two variants, a base and a pro, come equipped with 4 GB and 8 GB of random access memory (RAM), respectively. While most handheld gaming devices are limited in terms of graphics processing units, this one isn't as it comes with the Radeon R7 GPU clocked at 800 MHz.
The Smach Z has a 6-inch LCD touchscreen with full high-definition resolution. With a USB 3.0 Type-C attached to it, connectivity and charging are no longer big issues compared to older handheld gaming devices. There also is a decent front camera for the Pro version while W-Fi is standard for both versions.
Even though little is still known about the actual capabilities of this gaming device, the fact that it has already been tested to run several games for PC, including "Overwatch" and "Dark Souls 3" is testament enough that gaming aficionados will have a new option to contemplate on, not just the usual suspects like Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo.
