Razer Switchblade

[Klaue]

hmm.. buttons with small screens on them on a keyboard.. where did I hear that before?


Wasn't there a keyboard, which shall remain unnamed, that promised this for normal PCs and put out a whole lot of fake CG renderings when it was in concept, went to the edge of vaporware, came back, showed off some in-production-pics and finally delivered a version that was not even half as awesome as what was promised and was way, way too expensive? Well, let's see how this thing turns out when it is actually sold.

 

[Dead1nside]

I bet it's going to cost a lot. It's still a concept (last I checked). I don't think it's competition. If anything, it shows that OP were right to bring out something in a similar market segment.

 

[SNESFAN]

hmm.. buttons with small screens on them on a keyboard.. where did I hear that before?


Wasn't there a keyboard, which shall remain unnamed, that promised this for normal PCs and put out a whole lot of fake CG renderings when it was in concept, went to the edge of vaporware, came back, showed off some in-production-pics and finally delivered a version that was not even half as awesome as what was promised and was way, way too expensive? Well, let's see how this thing turns out when it is actually sold.

stupid expensive but it existed


http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/keyboards-mice/9836/


it's the same technolgy but the people who make it are not the same I don't think so price may not be in the gimmicky range


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimus_Maximus_keyboard


if it's the same technology, that's 10fps animation on the keys... that could be pretty interesting

 

[gadgetoid]

Will be buying. Probably wont use more than twice.

 

[zacaj]

My reaction: AWESOME! Wait- WHERE THE ANALOG INPUT?!?!?

 

[matzesu]

On the Nintendo 3DS this is now the "Cycle Pad"


Meybe whe should give the Nubs a diverent Name, maybe "Slidepad"..

 

[gadgetoid]

Can't wait for the Razer Trouser-Leg mouse to go with this thing. I can't imagine playing WoW on a touch screen, it'd be okay for very, very light gaming, and I similarly can't imagine using a mouse on my lap, or anywhere other than a desk (god knows, I've tried to use a mouse in bed!)


This is, incidentally, the first piece of technology that I've showed my wife and not had her go "meh." It plays frikkin' WoW, it doesn't need to do anything else.


WoW runs pretty poorly on my Samsung NC10, I imagine it'll be better on the Switchblade.

 

[Elanzer]

It's just going to use a newer generation of Atom, newer than your NC10 ofcourse. This also doesn't mean very much. As I remember people at CES were saying it's performance was lackluster (the game it was running there was WoW, and only WoW) and it should be. Even ION2 netbooks can't really run WoW properly, not even remotely close enough to raid on atleast as the CPU is far too much of a bottleneck.


It won't really perform any better than a typical then-generation netbook. The keys don't help you do anything you couldn't do before - you should not be looking at your keyboard while playing at all, and if you want to see your cooldowns and stuff on the keyboard, your hands will be in the way. Because it is touchscreen dependant, you still need a lap or table to use it, because you don't have 2 hands to hold it up and a 3rd to tap the screen with. If you're using it at a table and you need portability, why not just buy a full sized laptop with more GPU power?


All in all, it's just another impractical gimmick that's flashy and not much else.


Atleast the razer CEO made the video worth watching with his overemphasized douchebaggery

 

[second exodous]

hmm.. buttons with small screens on them on a keyboard.. where did I hear that before? Wasn't there a keyboard, which shall remain unnamed, that promised this for normal PCs and put out a whole lot of fake CG renderings when it was in concept, went to the edge of vaporware, came back, showed off some in-production-pics and finally delivered a version that was not even half as awesome as what was promised and was way, way too expensive? Well, let's see how this thing turns out when it is actually sold.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/dV0k1KCQyyI?feature=oembed

It came out but were like 2k or some outrageous price. It is a really good idea but with todays tech not very practical. The guy that has it patented will make money off of the idea when it becomes particle as it is a much much better way to customize keys than just having a touch screen with keys.


EDIT: didn't read johnsongrantr post before I posted. A lot of people say this keyboard was vapor-ware but there were a small number sold and to normal people, not just press.


EDIT: when I got my nook I thought why the heck use LCD displays, why not e-ink displays, it would not leach power and be permanently displayed until the user changed the keys. Also, e-ink is not ready as it can't fit in a key size and might as well wait till color comes out.

 

[Tellurium]

http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/06/razer-switchblade-7-inch-pocket-gaming-concept-blows-our-minds/


http://www.engadget.com/photos/razer-switchblade-7-inch-gaming-tablet-concept-at-ces-2011/#3750252


lame... fail... where's my gaming controls... battery life... windows... etc etc


+1 for the handheld warcraft though


discuss

It was featured in game informer so definately isnt photoshopped.

 

[Batou456]

Well it's certainly a better concept for approaching variable keyboards then just using a second touchscreen. Although it's an open question what need one has for a variable keyboard. Particularly as it's a battery and processor drag to do something like that.

Most powerful portable gaming computer in class? maybe

Given that's a Intel swirl on there, and Intel have ejected nVidia from the chipset market that should be a _no_.

 

[Nintendo]

Bumped for convenience.


By the way...no physical controls = no win over Pandora. no d-pad and analogue nubs = no win over Pandora.

 

[Blue Protoman]

It doesn't even have a real keyboard.

 

[Nintendo]

It does, actually, as it is customizable via interface.


EDIT: It's a keyboard with most of the keys that a keyboard possesses, albeit not a proper one.

 

[beckerzzs]

yes i have a question, can pandora play world of warcraft??? if so pandora will be the greatest thing ever??? !!!!


i think it would be cool and i saw the razorblade thing on g4 at e3 it only plays world of warcraft

 

[moz]

yes i have a question, can pandora play world of warcraft??? if so pandora will be the greatest thing ever??? !!!!


i think it would be cool and i saw the razorblade thing on g4 at e3 it only plays world of warcraft

No the Pandora cannot play world of warcraft, though it has a warcraft port I believe...


EDIT here it is: Link

 

[Nintendo]

And WarCraft II on PlayStation too.

 

[Blue Protoman]

yes i have a question, can pandora play world of warcraft??? if so pandora will be the greatest thing ever??? !!!!


i think it would be cool and i saw the razorblade thing on g4 at e3 it only plays world of warcraft

If you're serious, then you're not going to last long here.

 

[FaeMinx]

And WarCraft II on PlayStation too.

Say what!!? :blink:


OMFG... Why am I always so in the dark? All these months I've been frustrated about the state of WatCraft II in Dosbox... -.-

 

[Nintendo]

It's not the greatest of ports, as the PS wasn't the best for RTS games in the first place anyway, but it's all good.