Razer Switchblade impressions: It's a 7" gaming PC with an LCD keyboard

Razer may be best known for its well-regarded line of angular, extreme gaming peripherals for the core PC gaming set – think mice, keyboards, mouse pads and yes, motion controllers – but the San Diego-based company is looking to branch out into an area you may not have expected: efficient (and graphically anemic) netbook computers.

While it's an unusual move for the peripheral maker, it's not a departure from their core competency. Gaming laptops may have whittled down the bulk required for a high-end gaming experience but they're still far from portable. Inversely, netbooks are steadily becoming increasingly capable laptop replacements, but fall short when performing the most demanding tasks ... like video gaming.

So Razer's been working behind-the-scenes for some years, having hired many of the people from portable computing pioneers OQO, waiting for the intersection of minimum specs necessary for an acceptable, low-end gaming experience. And now, at CES 2011, it's finally ready to share the fruit of its labors: the Switchblade, a "concept design" with no price, no launch window, and no guarantee we'll ever see it on store shelves. But that doesn't mean it's vaporware; Razer didn't spend time and money on a flashy (and functional!) prototype with no intent on productizing it. It's just not clear what the final product will look like.

But we do know what the Switchblade looks like. We had a chance to play with it at Razer's CES booth and came away very impressed with what we saw. In short the Switchblade is a netbook running Windows 7 on Intel hardware. Up top is a 1024x600 7" multitouch display; on the bottom is a pretty fancy keyboard featuring an LCD screen covered in a touchscreen layer and transparent keyboard keys. That keyboard offers two significant features: 1) the ability to create custom, game-specific controls and 2) the transfer of UI elements from the already small screen to the far more functional keyboard.

While in Windows, a slick UI skin occupies the top screen and a traditional QWERTY keyboard layout takes up the bottom "screen" – boot up a game (we were shown Warcraft 3) and you get those game-specific keys. Sometimes those are parts of the game's UI, other times it could be a stylized keyboard, with a Warcraft-y alphabet.

The diminutive Switchblade doesn't offer much in the way of physical connectivity – along the right side, you'll find a small AC port, and a mini-HDMI output. On the left side you'll find a single USB 2.0 port (for hooking up a Razer mouse, no doubt). As far as invisible ports go, the Switchblade packs Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and though the unit we saw didn't have it, Razer is hoping to add 3G to the mix as well. The prospect of effortlessly bringing your WoW experience on the go, anywhere cellular data is available, is certainly thrilling to both WoW players and Razer execs.

And that's the pitch for the Switchblade. When asked (repeatedly) about the cost or release date, a Razer rep told us that they were targeting a netbook price range since, simply, that's the competition. They can't price it much higher and can't afford to price it much lower, so we imagine a target tag of rougly $300 to $500. As for when we'll see it on store shelves, he was much cagier. This unit is a prototype and even the name "Switchblade" is a codename (you can tell since it doesn't follow Razer's increasingly goofy "deadly predators" naming convention). Razer will undoubtedly have more to share at E3, but we're guessing a 2011 launch is out of the question. But until things are a little more official, we can all imagine a future where miniature gaming PCs abound ... and where MMO junkies leave their gaming caves.
Source:Joystiq

Razer Hydra impressions: Super-precise motion controllers make it to PC, Portal 2 support in tow

Sixense was back at CES this year, showing off its TrueMotion-powered gaming wands. While a partnership with computer gaming peripheral maker Razer was announced at last year's CES, the fruit of that partnership was on display this year, with a brand name (meet the Razer Hydra), some industrial design, and some new Valve-created content for the hardware in the form of custom Portal 2 tech.

During our hands-off tour of the still-prototype hardware, we were consistently impressed with the controller's accuracy. Imagine dual-wielding two PlayStation Move controllers except – in place of the relatively cumbersome process of requiring a PlayStation Eye to track a glowing sphere to position the controllers in 3D space – the Hydra uses a small base station that creates an electromagnetic field with a radius of about six feet. That's it. That base station serves double duty as a stand to rest the presently wired controllers on. Worry not, wire-haters, a wireless model is in the works but, much like Razer's other hardware, it's going to perfect the technology with a wired release first before chasing the wireless solution.While there's no release date or price yet, we were told to expect them early next year which, considering it will be released in a special bundle with the April-released Portal 2 packed in makes sense. As for price, Razer's targeting a sub-$100 tag or, roughly what two PlayStation Move controllers would run you. That Portal 2 bundle will include a special version of the game, that includes not only native support for the Hydra controllers, but new maps and puzzle mechanics built exclusively for Hydra. In our brief tour, we saw "scalable cubes" which can be stretched along the x-axis. Stretch one side, rotate, stretch another side, rotate again. In one puzzle, a scalable cube was stretched into a bridge; in another, it was stretched on all sides until it was large enough (the mass increases as well, conservation of mass be damned!) to shatter a glass floor below.

In order to manipulate the cubes, you enter 1:1 mode by pressing '1' on the right stick, which locks free-look on the right controller and remaps it to control the object. You can then rotate, move, and place the object with an impressive amount of accuracy. Remember that PlayStation Move multitouch demo from the Engadget Show? Adjusting the size of a scalable cube is pretty much that. You're also able to rotate and reposition portals. Instead of simply reshooting a portal to another position, you can grab it, move it, and even twist it. The exit velocity of anything thrown into a portal will carry through, meaning some Hydra-based puzzles may take advantage of your ability to twist and re-align portals.

While Valve's Left 4 Dead 2 was shown off last year with 1:1 sword controls, the Sixense rep we spoke with couldn't confirm if that would ever be released. He did, however, share a video of Call of Duty: Black Ops being played with Sixense, using the Sixense MotionCreator tool, which remaps traditional keyboard/mouse controls to the twin motion sticks. You can also see apps like Boxee being controlled with Sixense, though with a 6' radius, you may need to park that electromagnetic base station on your coffee table for proper couch navigation. Since that range is wholly dependent on the size of the electromagnetic coil and power provided to it, it's possible we may see a larger range if consumer demand is there. Also not included in this launch release: Mac support. With Razer working to make its entire product line compatible with Apple's OS, we'd imagine some consumer demand there would go a long way.
In short, Sixense technology and the Razer Hydra product are very impressive. If you're not inclined to believe us, that's fine, but we'd also point out the tacit endorsement of Valve, not only one of the most talented FPS developers in the industry but one of PC gaming's most successful and influential supporters.

Could This Be the Perfect Portable Gaming PC?

Perhaps the most innovative bit of gaming tech at this year's Consumer Electronics Show is a palm-sized, touch-screen gaming PC that comes packed with a keyboard that can transform on the fly.

But Razer isn't even sure they're going to be able to sell the Switchblade micro laptop.

Robert Krakoff, president of the computer accessory company, tells Kotaku that a lot is still up in the air about the slick prototype that's garnering a lot of buzz at this week's Vegas show.

Razer hasn't settled on the system specs of the Intel Atom chip laptop, or the price, or if they'll be able to solve a heat issue they're running into.

If the hurdles can be overcome, the device looks like it could be the perfect traveling companion for the PC gamer on the go.

The device, about the size of a small hardback when folded up, opens to show a 7-inch touchscreen and a smallish keyboard. The keys on the keyboard can all change on the fly to show anything from a standard text English-language keyboard to gaming icons to anything picture a modder whats to slap into a key.

Instead of relying on an expensive array of tiny LCD screens built into each button, the Switchblade has a second 7-inch LCD located under the keyboard buttons. The LCD can show a different picture for each button, which is projected up into the surface of the button, delivering the same effect as the mini-LCD approach.

Krakoff said they haven't decided yet if the device will be upgradable or have fixed system specs, but judging by the complexity of the design, I suspect it will shipped with a fixed chipset and memory. We know it will have an Atom CPU, perhaps in the 2Ghz range, but we don't know how much memory yet.

Krakoff added that the device will have USB ports for a mouse, if someone wants to use one to game with. It will likely also have Bluetooth support, WiFi and perhaps built-in mobile broadband support.

It also seems that Krakoff wants to make sure the Razer device has significant support within the gaming industry before they launch it. I asked if there was potential for the device, which runs on Windows 7 and has a custom user interface, to be branded. For instance, could there be a World of Warcraft or Blizzard Switchblade in the future, or perhaps a Switchblade that comes preloaded with Valve's game-download service Steam.

Krakoff says they haven't cut any deals yet, but that they're showing it around.

Valve's Gabe Newell seems extremely impressed with the devices potential, he said. The famed developer wanted to know if the device really worked, if it was doable.

Krakoff says that they're shooting for a system that will be able to play most games when it hits, but likely not something as high end as the latest Crysis.

Another significant question is how much Razer will sell the device for. Krakoff wouldn't say, but with Netbooks hovering in the sub-$500 range, I'd think the Switchblade would have to be in there too.

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