Hasta La Gadget!

Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan has been dreaming about building a true PC gaming portable for years. He’s cooked up prototype clamshells, controller-toting tablets, and built two top of the line gaming laptops along the way — but now his dream is almost ready: the Razer Edge. Look familiar? It should. It’s been handled, teased and even redesigned at the behest of Razer’s social legions. It’s Project Fiona evolved. Hoping to keep pace with community feedback, Razer is kitting out the Edge with a 3rd gen Intel Core processor, a 10.1-inch 1,366 x 768 display, an NVIDIA GT640M LE GPU, 4 to 8GB of DDR3 RAM, USB 3.0 and a 64, 128 or 256GB SSD, depending on the SKU. Min translated the slate’s build into some digestible framerates: 59 fps in Dishonored, he told us, and 41 fps in DiRT Showdown. Sound intriguing? It gets better — the baseline 1.7Ghz Core i5 variant of the Edge will sell for $999 and the beefed up 1.9GHz Core i7 Pro model will run for $1299, keeping the device well below the community’s $1,300 to $1,500 price expectations. Even better, the whole shebang is going to be available in the first quarter of this year.

Razer had to change more than Project Fiona’s name to stay under budget, of course — the prototype’s handlebar controllers have migrated to an optional gamepad dock. It’s a win and a loss — fans in Razer’s social media campaign demanded detachable controllers, but their absence makes obtaining the complete “Edge experience” a bit more of a chore — one that will cost $249 on top of the price of the slate itself. Even so, the move to modular is a good thing, and allowed Razer to develop other accessories: a keyboard dock, life-giving 40Wh battery packs ($69) and a $99 docking station, replete with three USB 2.0 ports, plus stereo and HDMI output for a “home console” experience. Razer says the Edge has specific “modes” based around these accessories — the tablet alone features the obvious multi-touch tricks of Windows 8, and the keyboard dock gives PC gamers access to the familiar WASD controls they’re used to. The launcher we saw at CES 2012 is still there too, giving the docking station a pseudo-console interface befitting of your television (and Steam Big Picture Mode, of course). As we said, collecting the whole set is a tall order, but Razer is hoping to make the task a little easier for gamers after the Pro model — offering the i7 tablet and controller dock for a bundled price of $1499 ($50 less than if purchased separately). Completionists will need to wait until Q3 to pick up the keyboard dock though, as its form and price still aren’t finalized.

Continue reading Project Fiona becomes Razer Edge, starts at $999, sans controller

Filed under: Gaming, Tablets

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The problem I always had using a full-size keyboard for gaming with games that have a lot of commands bound to keystrokes was remembering which of those keys activated the commands I was looking for. I often felt that using a smaller keyboard or even a keypad was better because it was easier to remember where macros and commands were set up. If you feel the same way, Razer has just unveiled a new gaming keypad called the Orbweaver.

The Orbweaver is designed to be used with your left hand in place of a standard keyboard, while you still use your right hand to control the mouse. The device has 20 fully programmable keys and all of them are mechanical. Gamers love the clicky nature of mechanical keys and they also tend to last longer than cheaper keyboards. Thanks to the programmable keys and Razer’s Synapse 2.0 software, macros can be bound to any of the keys and can have unlimited length. It’s also got an 8-way directional pad that sits perfectly under your thumb.

The Orbweaver also has eight key maps that can be changed instantly and include adjustable hand, thumb, and palm rests for comfort. All the keys are backlit for gaming in the dark and the keypad measures 2.17-inches deep by 6.06-inches wide by 7.95-inches high and weighs a bit more than half a pound. The Orbweaver is available right now for $129.99 (USD).

Gaming peripheral maker Razer has announced a new addition to its lineup called the Orbweaver. The device is a small, one-handed gaming keypad like those we’ve seen from other manufacturers, such as Belkin, in the past. The idea is for the smaller and easier to manage keypad to replace the keyboard when gaming on the PC.

One of the most interesting features about the Orbweaver is that it has full mechanical keys with 50 Gs of actuation force. The 20 keys on the keypad are all programmable and it has an adjustable thumb, palm, and wrist rest module. The device also has an eight-way directional thumb pad built-in.

Gamers can bind macros of unlimited length to any the programmable buttons and the keypad supports switching between eight different key maps. The Orbweaver measures 6.06-inches by 7.95-inches by 2.17-inches and weighs a little more than half a pound. The keys are all backlit for easy viewing in the dark.

The mechanical keys have an actuation distance of 2 mm. The keypad is designed to use the Razer Synapse 2.0 software. The Orbweaver is shipping now for $129.99.

Razer Orbweaver mechanical gaming keypad gives one-handed control is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
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Razer’s Onza Xbox 360 controller is very, very nice. Sure, it’s got an unbelievably long, non-detachable wire sticking out of it, but its build quality is top notch and its ultra-clicky face buttons are a pleasure to use. In the company’s second Xbox 360 controller — the Sabertooth — Razer’s focusing on the tournament gaming crowd rather than simply outfitting its Onza with “Tournament Edition” specs. That aside, the Sabertooth retains the quality we’ve come to expect from Razer products. Oh, and that crazy long wire is thankfully detachable!

It’s apparent from first glance that the Sabertooth is intended as such, given the six extra (programmable) buttons found on the shoulders and back of the controller, and the tiny OLED screen found along the bottom (allowing for the programming of said buttons). Considering that a regular Xbox 360 controller comprises 12 (!!) buttons not counting the d-pad, adding another six and an OLED screen is … intense, to say the least. While we didn’t have occasion to test the programmability, we can definitively say that the Sabertooth’s other functions are just as solid as with the Onza. The analog sticks are as good or better than a standard Xbox 360 controller, the d-pad is an improvement over the Onza (which was already an improvement over the dismal d-pad included on most Xbox 360 controllers), and the triggers / shoulder buttons are appropriately springy and responsive. There’s even a silly backlight for several face buttons, should you be playing video games in a cave (you can opt to turn off the backlight, too — we certainly did).

Continue reading Razer Sabertooth Xbox 360 controller ups the ante on tourney gaming, we go hands-on

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals, HD, Microsoft

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Razer has unveiled a new gaming headset designed for long-wearing comfort and high-quality sound. This headset will work for both the Xbox 360 and PC. The headset is called the Razer Carcharias and is available now to pre-order for $69.99(USD).

The headphones have a padded headrest and interchangeable ear pads for comfort. They headphones use 40 mm drivers and the microphone has voice cancellation technology. The microphone boom can be pushed out of the way when not needed, and users can also adjust the volume of game audio and voice chat independently using the in-line volume control.

Razer says that the headsets will ship in 5 to 7 business days, which should mean it should arrive just barely in time for holiday gift-giving. If you have a ardent gamer in your home, trust me when I say a set of high-quality headphones is as much a gift for you as for the gamer since you longer have to hear the in-game audio.