Razer Unveils High-End Gaming Tablet

adeelarshad82 writes "A year after Razer tantalized us all with a concept device codenamed Project Fiona, the company has unveiled the Razer Edge, the world's first tablet designed exclusively for high-end gaming. With the help of crowdsourcing endeavor of tapping into Razer's fanbase for input on everything from chipset to physical dimensions, 'Project Fiona' has morphed from concept to full-blown reality. The Razer Edge is a 10.1-inch device which weighs a shade under 2 pounds and measures 0.8-inches thick. The device comes in two models: Base and Pro. The Base model sports an Intel Core i5 CPU, 4GB RAM, and a 64GB SSD, whereas the Pro comes configured with a beefier Intel Core i7 CPU, 8GB RAM, and the option for either a 128GB or 256GB SSD. Both models feature a USB 3.0 port, and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, and both run on a full version of Windows 8 with Intel architecture, in turn allowing PC games to run natively on the Edge without the need to be ported or optimized."

Comments

The problem isn't looks.

[Macthorpe]

Battery life - 4 minutes.

Relevant Penny Arcade: http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/09/16

Re:The problem isn't looks.

[Baloroth]

Battery life and cost. The damned thing is $999. I can buy quite a decent laptop for that, with similar or better specs, better battery life, and a lot more usability (since it's an actual laptop).

Re:The problem isn't looks.

[h4rr4r]

Yet, someone will buy this. Not everyone buys the cheapest or most practical thing. I could buy a new keyboard for $10, instead I buy a used Model M for $50 when I need another one.

Re:The problem isn't looks.

[dnahelicase]

Yet another poorly thought out tablet aimed at cashing in on the market. The problem is it seems to be aimed at "hardcore gamers", which rarely ends well. Most of us already have tablets to browse & play touch based games, so I don't see what this will add other than a hole in your bank account.

This one actually had a lot of input from the market it is aiming for.

Since when does hardware aimed at hardcore gamers rarely end well? Razer does alright at that. I would not like using a Razer Naga Epic here at work, but I don't want anything else for an MMO at home.

This has some features not available in any other form, and for that reason I think it could sell. A full PC in a tablet size that has several input configurations (making it like a laptop, a tablet, or a gameboy-style device) and two different ways to hang on an additional, removable battery. It's pretty nice for the market and the purpose it was designed.

If you aren't a hardcore gamer, why would you think you would like it, if it was being made for you to play your basic tablet touch-based games?

Re:The problem isn't looks.

[beelsebob]

But that's because the model M is actually better. Typically everyone buys the most practical thing for them. This is unlikely to be practical for anyone.

Re:The problem isn't looks.

[blackest_k]

Ok put price aside for a moment, why do you think a Laptop is better than a tablet?

There honestly doesnt seem to be that much difference other than a hinge and a built in keyboard.

With the tablet you have an onscreen keyboard a small portable keyboard of varying sizes a full size keyboard a mouse, a trackball, a graphics tablet, a games controller or two wired wireless what ever you like.
you can have the screen standing or lying flat, being used for pen input if you want. while using a full size monitor with hdmi.

The only situation where a laptop actually is better is when you have it perched on your lap and its not that great an experience. How often do you do that?

In a case a tablet is practically the same as a Laptop a tablet is simply more versatile and there are very few things that can be plugged into a laptop or even a desktop that will not have a version that can't be plugged into a tablet.

A laptop is not as flexible as a tablet in different use cases. It's almost a games console but a portable one that can be used anywhere. Possibly it's best and worse features is it runs windows but a dual boot and virtualbox mix would work for me.

Price is a bit high but over all not a bad concept at all.

 

Re:The problem isn't looks.

[rtb61]

Gaming on a 24" screen versus, what, are you fucking joking, aimed at hardcore gamers. More like a gimmick to suck gaming noobs with inflated egos out of their money.

Only 128GB or 256GB SSD options?

[VGPowerlord]

Games tend to be particularly oinky for disk space... newer "big budget" games seem to be around 12 GiB (12.88GB) standard a piece these days.

Also, how big is Windows 8?

Re:Only 128GB or 256GB SSD options?

[sexconker]

Games tend to be particularly oinky for disk space... newer "big budget" games seem to be around 12 GiB (12.88GB) standard a piece these days.

Also, how big is Windows 8?

The PC version of Max Payne 3 is over 30 GB.

The answer to a question no one asked?

[crazyjj]

Hey, why doesn't someone make a gaming PC, but without all the pesky mouse and keyboard to get in the way?

Re:The answer to a question no one asked?

[dpidcoe]

I'm waiting for a PC stuffed into a small form factor that I can keep in a backpack and interface with it via goggles and a virtual keyboard (motion tracking gloves with tactile feedback?).

Re:The answer to a question no one asked?

[HeckRuler]

uuuuhhhhh, a tablet can't fit in a backpack? How about a smartphone you can fit in your pocket. The issue is not the form factor of the computer, they're (more or less) powerful enough and plenty small enough. The issue is not the connectivity, bluetooth and wifi can connect it to peripherals and the internet.

It's the goggles. They do nothing.

Re:The answer to a question no one asked?

[cbhacking]

FWIW, there are touchscreen games for Win8. Completely leaving aside the Windows Store games (some of which are pretty fun, but which play more like oversized smartphone games than "serious" PC games), there are some other games which explicitly support touch on Win8. The first one that comes to mind is Civilization 5, which has an explicitly touch-enabled-and-friendly UI option which is intended for use on Win8 touchscreen devices.

That said, I understand that this is /. and all, but assuming that it's touchscreen-based gaming just because the description uses the word "tablet" is stupid. "Read" the article (i.e. look at the picture) and you'll see that it's not targeting touchscreen gaming at all. The thing has grips with hardware controls (buttons/analog sticks/probably triggers) on the sides, intended to effectively substitute for a gaming controller or joystick. Additionally, it can use Xbox 360 or PS3 (or probably Wii) controllers without any trouble (as any Windows system with USB ports and Bluetooth can do), and many PC games are designed to be playable with such a gamepad (unsurprising, considering how many are console ports).

Re:Integration of controller a great idea

[poetmatt]

uh, no. It's already on a platform - windows. The concept of having handles on a tablet is not new, alternate, or creative. It's incredibly retarded. Which isn't exactly a surprise that Razer doesn't understand the market anymore after their response to the "you must have your mouse connected to the internet" problems of a few weeks ago. This is a shit product, at a shit price, with shit design. I'd be surprised if they sell at all, considering a $999 price tag. That's even more than surface's crazy price in the first place.

Razer has no idea what they're doing - they keep wanting to foray into gaming, but they really should just double down on making great mice and keyboards instead of these continual failure products. First they had that "gaming laptop" thing which was crap, now this.

Games?

[DoofusOfDeath]

So what games to you play on a high-end gaming tablet? " Insanely Incandescently Pissed-off birds"?

Nah! You just need an addon...

[DarthVain]

Mobile Power Unit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_generator

God, you're a grumpy bunch.

[goldcd]

It's just something a bit different.
An option we'll all shortly have, we didn't have before.
Of course it's not going to be wanted by 99% of us - but surely you can find it in your heart to be glad that somebody out there is at least trying to innovate.
Razer, who were previously just an accessory maker of random gaming bits actually seem to be trying to push the boundary and putting some investment into creating interesting products - and then actually bringing them to market.

Full Disclosure: I own one of their mouse-mats - and it's the finest mouse mat I've ever seen/used.

Re:Build it and the software will come?

[ZombieBraintrust]

allowing PC games to run natively on the Edge

Man I can't read. Says its windows 8 in summary.

Ha

[Type44Q]

I read that as "Razer Unveils High-End Gaming Toilet" and did a double take...

About Time!

[organgtool]

No more playing Angry Birds at a mere 500 fps like a damn cave man!

So it's a laptop?

[Dunge]

I bought a laptop with the exact same specs and price last year. 1080p screen and a keyboard included! They don't mention if it's a touchscreen, that would be the only advantage.

Re:So it's a laptop?

[oodaloop]

They don't mention if it's a touchscreen, that would be the only advantage.

Uh, yeah. It's a non-touch screen tablet. Basically a thousand-dollar hand-held monitor with no built-in interface except for the power button and volume control. It's amazing it took this long for someone to come up with the idea.

Re:This is a joke

[oodaloop]

Battery Life Storage Windows 8

Is that a new version of Windows 8? It's so hard to keep track of all the different versions.

Re:*barfs*

[spazdor]

You mean, the summary? Agreed.

adeelarshad82 meant to write "designed specifically for high-end gaming", not "exclusively", given that it wasn't designed to actually exclude non-gaming functions. I can barely even parse "With the help of crowdsourcing endeavor of tapping into Razer's fanbase", which seems to express the same concept twice redundantly without a preposition, and God only knows where the hyphen in "0.8-inches thick" came from or what it was meant to express. Absent these other issues, it would perhaps be forgivable that he saw fit to specify "Windows 8 with Intel architecture" even though he's already told us what CPU options we have (which are both Intel architecture) but it's a mediocre conclusion to that trainwreck of a summary.

2/10, would not read again.

Re:Dead in the water

[webmistressrachel]

This device could form part of his rehabilitation. ;-)

Re:Integration of controller a great idea

[kiriath]

I'd buy this... I think it is a brilliant idea, especially with the Steam 'Big Picture' which I think would look splendid on a touch device. Controller based gameplay is not going away anytime soon, and to be able to integrate a controller in way that is functional yet doesn't melt your hands is awesome in my book.

Why do people have to spread so much hate?

So you don't want it... awesome, you don't have to buy it thank goodness.