GameStop-Branded Tablet Hitting Stores in 2012 (ContributorNetwork)

You may have heard that GameStop retail stores are now taking iPod and iPad trade-ins, and selling used Apple devices. But did you know that GameStop is also making its own tablet?

The tablet in question is going to be a rebranded version of an existing Android device; GameStop hasn't yet said which one it will be. But it will be a "GameStop certified gaming platform," and will be available sometime in 2012.

Here's what we know about it so far, along with a handful of guesses.

Hardware preview

This one's the easy part. GameStop's rebranding the tablet, not making a new one. That limits it to the Android tablets that are on the market right now, or at least to the ones that will be on the market in 2012. And those tablets are uncannily similar to each other, because they're all trying to ape Apple's iPad.

Specs? It'll have specs, alright. The first tablets with quad-core processors and NVIDIA graphics are coming out this year, so by 2012 that'll probably be the standard. Expect a price somewhere in the vicinity of $400 to $500; GameStop could obviously skimp on hardware to make the thing cheaper, but it probably won't in the areas of graphics or processor speed. Maybe flash memory, so that GameStop can push certified memory cards and streaming online games.

Speaking of which ...

OnLive-style streaming games

Remember the Deux Ex / OnLive scandal at GameStop? Apparently GameStop employees were opening up game boxes and pulling out vouchers for free OnLive trials. The company's since apologized, but the reason they did that in the first place is because GameStop's working on its own streaming service, one that will compete with OnLive.

So what does that mean? It means the tablet will either ship with a controller, or have one available as an option. And you'll be able to use it to play PC and PS3/XBox 360 games, after buying them from this service.

It probably also means you won't be able to play OnLive games on it, but hey, Android hackers are good at getting around this kind of stuff.

"Certified gaming platform"

What does it mean that it's GameStop certified? Are the XBox 360 and PlayStation 3 not "certified" enough for GameStop?

What this probably means is that the tablet will tie in to GameStop's digital content store, the same one that sells PC games right now. Will it be able to buy games from the Android Market as well? Probably, since there are thousands and thousands of games there already.

On the other hand

If GameStop decides that Google certification is too onerous for it -- if it pulls an Amazon or Barnes and Noble, in other words -- it might try to just remake the tablet as a tablet-shaped game console. That means no Google apps and no Android market, but an all-new game store and a more streamlined, console-style user experience.

Whether or not GameStop is planning such a thing -- or is actually up to the task -- is anyone's guess. In the meantime, gaming on Android looks scheduled to get a major boost.

Jared Spurbeck is an open-source software enthusiast, who uses an Android phone and an Ubuntu laptop PC. He has been writing about technology and electronics since 2008.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20110917/us_ac/9139317_gamestopbranded_tablet_hitting_stores_in2012

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