Hasta La Gadget!

The group of folks bent on crafting a real-life version of Star Trek’s “Holodeck” — a virtual playground, essentially — are getting official support from gaming hardware company Razer. That support means not only access to Razer’s hardware but also the company’s staff of trained professionals. The Project Holodeck team have already implemented Razer’s “Hydra” — a PC-based motion controller that originally shipped with Portal 2 — into their work on Holodeck showcase game, “Wild Skies.”

But that’s not the only big news for Project Holodeck, as the team recently swapped Microsoft’s Kinect motion tech for Sony’s PlayStation Move motion tech. Project lead James Iliff told RoadtoVR.com, “The Kinect hardware is extremely lacking in fidelity. Every point the Kinect tracks is filled with unmanageable jitter, rendering the data useless for anything other than the most simple of interactions. We tried very hard to get around this with several software algorithms we wrote, to get multiple Kinects to communicate with each other, however this did not really make anything more accurate unfortunately.” In place of Kinect, the team strapped a PlayStation Move setup to a Pro-Tec skateboard helmet, and combined that tracking with the Hydra’s motion control and Oculus Rift’s head-mounted display. The result is … well, it’s a person standing in a room with a whole bunch of electronics attached to their person. But also, it allows players to interact in a 3D environment — from perception to engagement. The team’s still got plenty of work ahead of them, as evidenced by their latest video (below), but it sounds like things are coming together more cohesively than before.

Continue reading Project Holodeck gets help from Razer, swaps Kinect for Move tracking

Filed under: Gaming

Project Holodeck gets help from Razer, swaps Kinect for Move tracking originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Sep 2012 13:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We have seen companies offer gaming laptops from time to time, and these tend to be huge behemoths in their own right. Well, they definitely are not to blame of course, considering the fact that you need enough physical space to be able to cram in all the necessary powerful parts and components of a gaming machine in a portable format. PAX Prime saw the rise of another next generation gaming laptop, continuing from where the original Razer Blade left off. This new model is said to sport extreme performance while coming in an ultra-portable form factor, where we will give it a closer scrutiny right after the jump.

When the original Razer Blade was revealed to the world in August last year, it basically blew expectations on what a gaming laptop should look and perform like. Well, this new model is set to break new ground as well, pushing performance limits without compromising on its ultra-thin form factor. Folks who are interested and have enough faith in Razer’s R&D team would be able to drop $2,499 for a pre-order of the machine, where shipping to folks living in North America will commence on September 30th.

In order to make sure the new Razer Blade will run nice and cool, it ditched the predecessor’s thermal system, went back to the drawing board and re-engineered what you see from custom-crafted parts with larger vents and specially designed heat pipes so that additional airflow will be able to make its way to the unit’s extreme components. Touted to carry one of the most innovative thermal solutions in the industry, we are talking about plenty of power crammed into an ultra-thin form factor that measures all of just 0.88” thin, now how about that? We are talking about more than 50% the thickness of traditional gaming laptops of comparable performance.

The entire shebang tips the scales at under seven pounds, including its ultra-slim power supply, also making it the lightest gaming laptop in its class. A more detailed breakdown of the hardware specifications can be seen below.

• Future platform with 3rd Generation Intel Core Processor
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M with NVIDIA Optimus Technology
• 2GB Dedicated GDDR5 Video Memory
• 8GB 1600 MHz DDR3 Memory
• 17.3-in. LED Backlit Display (1920×1080)
• Built-in HD Webcam
• Integrated 60Wh Battery
• 500GB 7200RPM HDD (Primary Storage)
• 64GB SATA III SSD with NVELO Dataplex Software (Cache Acceleration)
• Wireless Network 802.11 A/G/N + BT4.0

Press Release

[ Next generation Razer Blade offers cutting edge performance copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

The 17-inch behemoths that call themselves gaming notebooks are traditionally quite large, trading extreme performance for substantial bulk. These machines routinely flirt with double digit weigh-ins, and flaunt meaty 1.5-plus inch bezels. They represent a unwieldy reality in portable power that most gamers have learned to expect. Not Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan, however — he’s still chasing the dream: thin, powerful and sleek. Tan caught up with us this week to brief us on the next generation Razer Blade, a rig that still boldly claims to be the “world’s first true gaming laptop.”

Razer’s first laptop hit shelves earlier this year, packing a 2.8GHz Core i7-2650M CPU and a GeForce GT 555M GPU into a svelte 0.8-inch aluminum shell. Tan explained that the rig’s attractive hull hadn’t changed much, but its internals sure have. “The Blade was our first laptop, and we’ve taken feedback really seriously since then,” the CEO told us. “We’ve been listing to gamers and made a chart of all the pros to keep, and all the cons to address. Every single one of them.” That chart eventually mapped out the refreshed rig’s internals, which include an unannounced Core i7 processor, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M graphics, 8GB of 1600MHz DDR3 RAM, a 500GB 7200RPM hard drive and 64GB of fast-booting solid state storage. All this comes in the same aluminum shell as the first Blade, of course, sporting a 17.3-inch high definition display and the firm’s exclusive multitouch LCD Switchblade interface. Tan says the new build addresses some of our own complaints too, noting that the sticky hinge that plagued our review unit has been tweaked to bend to a lighter touch. The machine’s internal speakers have been upgraded as well, and are said to be 250% louder with no distortion.

The new Blade’s sharpened specs will come with a price cut, ringing in at a penny under $2,500 — and gamers who picked up its predecessor (which will be getting its own price cut, to $2,299), we were told, can snag one for $500 less. Pre-orders are slated to start on September 2nd, and should ship within 30 days. The new laptop is being unveiled for the first time at PAX Prime this weekend. Not in Seattle for Labor Day? Check out the official press release after the break.

Continue reading Second generation Razer Blade laptop sharpens its edge with GTX 660M, unannounced Core i7 CPU

Filed under: Gaming, Laptops

Second generation Razer Blade laptop sharpens its edge with GTX 660M, unannounced Core i7 CPU originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 18:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One of the things I really like about gaming peripheral maker Razer is that not only do their products perform, but they look really cool to boot. The company is back with a new gaming headset that has an aviation themed design called the BlackShark. This is one of the best looking gaming headsets I’ve seen in a long time.

The headset uses shiny black ear cups with black vinyl and little bits of green trim. The overall design is very attractive, and the headset looks comfortable. It does, in fact, look like something the pilot of a Cessna would be wearing as he taxied across the runway. The headset is a Razer-branded version of the Battlefield 3 BlackShark release earlier this year at E3.

The headset has noise canceling properties, and the microphone boom can be removed for use on the go. The headset will connect any device has a 3.5 mm audio jack. Features of the headset included stereo sound with enhanced bass. The ear cups are designed to isolate the user from outside sounds and are comfortable with memory foam ear cushions.

The drivers the headphones uses are 40 mm neodymium magnets with copper-clad aluminum voice coils. Frequency response for the headset is 20 Hz to 20 kHz, and impedance is 29 ohms. The cable is 1.3 m long, and the microphone can be adjusted to a position comfortable for the user. The headset will ship in September in the US and worldwide for $119.99.

Razer unveils aviation themed BlackShark gaming headset is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

I have mentioned many times in the past before, concerning gamers who are extremely particular with their gaming peripherals. For those who are looking for a decent gaming keyboard to help them frag their way to the top, then I am quite sure that you cannot go wrong with the Razer DeathStalker Ultimate, where it is touted to come with the all new Switchblade user interface.

The Switchblade user interface found on the Razer DeathStalker Ultimate is similar to the acclaimed, customizable LCD trackpad and LED keypad combo which was first introduced on the Razer Switchblade concept a couple of years ago. Apart from that, it can currently be found in production on the Razer Blade gaming laptop, in addition to the Star Wars: The Old Republic gaming keyboard, so this is not exactly new. Let us take a closer look at the Razer DeathStalker Ultimate gaming keyboard right after the jump.

This particular interface will be able to turn gaming keyboard functionality into a customizable control panel that is accompanied by 10 dynamic, adaptive tactile keys which you are able to bind commands, macros, skills and spells in order to experience an unparalleled in-game competitive advantage. Individual keys are able to display any image thanks to Razer’s Synapse 2.0 software, allowing you to enjoy what Razer deems to be the “smartest keyboard on the market”.

As for the LCD panel that is located right below the keys, it can play nice in a couple of modes – the first setting will show off critical in-game information, ranging from damage dealt and heals-per-second on the new Star Wars: The Old Republic Battle Logger application, or countdown timers that are able to keep track of in-game events with the Razer Gamer Timer application.

As for the second mode of the panel, it will be able to function as a highly sensitive, multi-touch trackpad with intuitive gestures built-in, delivering an alternative method of navigating games or PC desktops. The list of Razer apps include Trackpad, Numpad, Macro Recorder, Gaming Mode, Browser, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, Clock, Screenshot, and Game Timer amongst others. It will retail for $79.99 a pop, while those living across the pond will have to pay €79.99.

Press Release

[ Razer DeathStalker Ultimate comes with all-new Switchblade user interface copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]