Razer came by our offices the other day to show us their first foray into the laptop market, which could have been accomplished in a simple press release, but they’re obviously proud of what they’re dubbing the Razer Blade, and from the look of it, they probably have a reason to be. The funny thing is, even though it was right in front of us, we didn’t get a chance to actually play with it, so we don’t know yet how its unique features feel – but they certainly look cool.
Above: CEO and Creative Director Min-Liang Tan was quite happy to show this thing off
The main claim for the Blade is that it’s not just the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming laptop, but “the world’s first true gaming laptop.” Bold claim, we know. They explained to us what it means: the power of a monster laptop like the ones 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Alienware produces, but without the excessive bulk, which makes typical gaming la🤪ptops not conveniently portable. The Blade has a 17-inch screen, making it basically the same size as a MacBook Pro as far as width and length, but it’s even thinner than the Mac at 0.88 inches. They’ve also managed to shrink the power supply♒ to about half that you’d find in an Alienware, adding to the overall portability.
Above: We told you it was thin
The feature that makes the Blade unique, though, is the Switchblade interface. On the right side of the keyboard is a massive touchpad/screen with mutlitouch capability and gestures for control, and the pad also serves as a second screen. Some of the uses mentioned were being able to train the screen at a different point of the map during a match of League of Legends so you can watch two places at once, or running YouTube on it so you have a video walkthrough handy while playing a game on the big screen. We don’t know how well the touchpad will work for actually controlling a game, say in an FPS, but the huge size of it could make it a viable option, at least in single-player where the pressure of competition isn’t present. Above the pad are ten keys with their own displays, meaning y☂ou can program commands into them and also have backlit icons from the actual game within each key. Certain games will have official support for icons and commands, but 💛users can also generate their own templates and share them with others.
Above: The Switchblade interface
The whole package is damn sexy to look at, but unless we get a chance to actually play some games on it, we don’t know yet how it all handles. It may not be totally competitive with a top-of-the-line desktop, but it’🎉s close. Here are the specs:
· 2.8GHz Intel® Core&tra🙈de; i7 2640M P𓃲rocessor
· 8GB 1333MHz DDR3 Memory
· 17.3" LED Backlit Display (1920x1080)
· NVIDIA GeForce® GT 555M with NVIDIA® Optimus&tra♒de; Technology
· 2GB Dedicated GDDR5 Video Memory
· Built-in HD Webcam
· Integrated 60Wh Battery
· 320GB 7200rpm SATA HDD
· Wireless Network 802.11 b/g/n Compatible
·𝓰; 16.81"꧑ (Width) x 10.9" (Depth) x 0.88" (Height); 6.97lbs (Weight)
Of course, none of this will come cheap. Hold onto your wallets – the Blade clocks in at a retail price of $2799.99. While that is nothing to sneeze at, on paper it’s much more powerful and thinner than a MacBook Pro, so it’s in theory competitively priced. We’re als♋o curious to see how the Switchblade interface works, since it’s something we haven’t see💜n in other laptops. We’ll find out if the Blade can fulfill all of its promises sometime later this year.
Aug 26, 2011
