The Android console Ouya Android can play certain games, also works with old console games and can stream media. Nutech go hands-on with small console of $ 99 that the power to return. To independent game developers
a trailer in front of the massive exhibition hall of the E3 game exhibition in Los Angeles to find. Ouya The creators of Ouya did not pay thousands of dollars for a stand.
opposite the E3 trailer is a guerrilla action in Ouya fit: quirky, Geinig and above all independent. The crowdfunding project on Kickstarter raised over 8.5 million dollars. The success is due to the design, price and the anticipation of many gamers who all see something in the small game consoles.
Hardware
small Android console is designed by Yves Behhar, designer include Prada, Herman Miller and Samsung. You do not see directly back to the appearance of the Ouya. It is mainly a small angular box with silver and black and the logo on the front Ouya.
Android console is not much bigger than a large coffee mug, weighs surprisingly little and at the top there is a luminous power button. At the back of the cube-shaped console are available, including HDMI, Ethernet, USB, micro USB, and an input for the power.
the various inputs
The device is equipped with a 1.7 GHz Tegra 3 chip, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage, Bluetooth 4.0 and WiFi. That is more than enough to run most Android games but immediately shows why it is so difficult to bring. From a console based smartphone hardware The moment you introduce the specifications, they are obsolete. The powerful Tegra 4 is already used in several devices at the moment and 2GB of memory is increasingly the norm.
Controller
older hardware does not mean that the Ouya is unusable. On the contrary, makes the Android console impression at various points, such as the controller. The sleek two-tone controller – also gray and black – features a convenient trackpad, two thumb buttons, a d-pad, colored action buttons and trigger buttons on the back
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From a distance it seems the controller similar to that of the Xbox 360, which is a good feature. The Ouya controller fits comfortably in your hand, the buttons provide enough feedback and the two AA batteries can be easily replaced via the removable aluminum faceplates. The Ouya controller works namely Bluetooth and is completely wireless.
The controller is used to navigate. both the menu Ouya, the games and Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) The Ouya button on the controller the user between the current game and the Ouya interface. Changes Using a trackpad is a nice change while playing mobile games and comes in handy when users want to go for example to install an apk file of an app or a keyboard, mouse or external controller via Bluetooth deeper into Android 4.1 linking.
at the Ouya
Software
After the user has connected to the controller with the Android Console created an account and credit card information is entered, the Ouya ready for use. The Ouya menu is clean, uncluttered and has only four options. Play, discover, make and manage, especially where gamers play and discover use
The games are displayed in an interface with blocks and when the user pressed a game, be a description, screenshots and some characteristics such as genre and size displayed. Hereinafter referred to as the user has the option to install.
the game
All games on Ouya are free to play, whether the whole game or just a demo. The user can then choose whether the game is nice enough to buy. Many games also use the freemiummodel where the game is free, but there are in-app purchases needed to move forward.
Ouya store contains more than 100 games with mostly retro games, platformers and simple games where the controller goes through one or at most two buttons. However, a few outliers, including Dead Trigger, Canna Balt and Final Fantasy III, give hope for the future.
high quality games play fine on Ouya and familiar with the controller. But it becomes quite clear that the Ouya a game like Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, which is already available for download in both appwinkels for smartphones and tablets, fog. It is not that all games for Android phones are also available on the Ouya.
Android capabilities
current game offerings at Ouya is not even the most interesting thing about the device. The ability to stream media content to run apps and emulate old games to play and so, give the Ouya a great advantage. The user gets namely still a pretty powerful Android device in house with an HDMI cable to the TV is connected.
Thus, users have the ability to set the app-streaming service Netflix -
Conclusion
the creators of Ouya the openness of Android as will embrace the openness of their own gaming platform, the Android Console excellent chance to take the throw. The cost of $ 99 is nothing compared to the possibilities that the Ouya can offer.
The use of all these options still require too much effort from the user, but the Ouya is still more beautiful, more powerful and versatile than a minicomputer as the Raspberry Pi. And then the excellent controller not counting.
By: NU.nl / Daniel Verlaan
