Razer Announces Dedicated Gaming Laptop 200
An anonymous reader writes "After recently running a full-page ad in the WSJ saying, 'PC gaming is not dead,' Razer has now announced a new laptop, the Blade, for the express purpose of playing video games. Its most distinctive feature is what they call the 'Switchblade' UI, which is an area next to the keyboard that has a multi-touch LCD screen and 10 dynamic keys. The screen can receive and display information from games, and the keys can show unique icons particular to the game you're playing. The requisite hardware for a gaming laptop makes it weigh almost seven pounds, but it's less than an inch thick. Another distinctive feature is the price — at $2,800, they price a lot of gamers right out of the market. As the article says, 'It's a gamble, but an exciting one.'"
PC gaming is not dead, (Score:5, Insightful)
Laptop gaming has its niche (Score:4, Insightful)
I own and use a gaming laptop. I travel for business on a regular basis, and spend about 20 weeks a year living in various hotels. Being able to play a few rounds of Starcraft or TF2 with my friends in the evening is well worth the $1400/3 yrs I end up spending on hardware.
It's a niche market, to be sure, but I'm glad it's being served. (Although this particular laptop is well outside my price range.)
Re:Hmm, beautiful, but no. (Score:4, Insightful)
Actually, the Blade has a weaker CPU than the MacBook Pro and only a slightly better GPU.
It's hardly a "gaming" notebook by today's standards; they compromised performance to get that sleek design. The trackpad display is interesting, but I can't imagine too many game developers will bother to support it. The custom buttons could be nice for MMOs, but all in all I can't really see why I'd want to spend hundreds more on this over a 17" MacBook Pro.
Still, if it's a quality machine on the inside, I wish them well. It's nice seeing companies break out of the race to the bottom and put out well-built hardware.