By Alec Meer on January 11th, 2012 at 10:01 am.
Razer have taken the lid off the simmering mystery that was ‘Project Fiona’, and everyone who said mouse/keyboard/gamepad or whatever was wrong. So wrong that they should run into the street, take off all their clothes and scream “I AM WRONG IN EVERY POSSIBLE SENSE.”
The truth about Fiona? It’s an Intel Core i7-powered gaming PC built to be a tablet, with a pair of gamepad-y handles affixed to the sides. Um. To be honest, it puts me in mind of one of those machines you used to find in bars that measure made-up signals from your hands to tell you how much of a sex bomb or how strong you were/weren’t.
Here’s a noisy trailer to start off with:
Here are the tech specs Graphics aren’t mentioned, which may mean it’s using the Intel Sandy Bridge integrated graphics. Which can cope with most games at lowest settings, but I wouldn’t say they’re up to the OMGGGGGGGGG levels the video suggests. Alternatively, maybe it’s using something from the upcoming NVIDIA 600 series and they’re not allowed to say what it is as NVIDIA haven’t taken the wraps off that yet. I’m guessing wildly, of course.
Intel® Core™ i7
10.1″ 1280×800 display
Full-screen user interface supporting multi-touch
3-axis gyro, magnetometer, accelerometer
Force feedback
Dolby® 7.1 surround sound
WiFi 802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth® 3.0
There surely must be USB ports too. If this thing can’t be used with a standard keyboard if you want to, I despair.
Update – yep, USB support, so you can use it like a PC of sorts:
And here’s the official line on the controls:
“Adapted from a full featured PC gamepad, Project Fiona’s integrated dual controllers coupled with its advanced multi-touch screen are designed to make complex game navigation ergonomic and intuitive without compromising on the portability of the tablet. You’ll be able to carry out headshots and command troops in-game with ease.”
My thoughts? Well, it’s all jolly clever and I’d love to try one out, but it looks a bit silly and I’m not convinced I need one in my life instead of a laptop. I guess it’s more rivalrous to consoles (or specifically consoles in homes with only one TV and family members/housemates who don’t want to let you hog it) than a gaming PC or laptop. Interesting! Odd. And probably very expensive. And I worry it’d make my arms ache. Maybe it’s only aimed at very muscly PC gamers?
A few more details and piccies here. I’m also reminded of Razer’s last mad project. Where are they getting the money for these crazy things? Do they ever get released?
11/01/2012 at 10:02 Jacques says:
Sometimes I wonder if Razer actually get their target audience at all.
11/01/2012 at 10:07 Mike says:
i think there comes a point where you can no longer add more LEDs to a mouse, and you need to do something else. This is the result of that. I mean they’re doing their best.
11/01/2012 at 10:07 GoliathBro says:
Children with rich parents?
11/01/2012 at 10:14 Jacques says:
Goliath, that seems to be their most likely target market. In that case, the product should probably cost a few thousand $$$.
11/01/2012 at 10:18 Alexander Norris says:
They’re going to struggle to make this cost less than an iPad and it doesn’t have the Apple brand to sell, so I have no idea who they expect the market for this to be.
11/01/2012 at 10:19 Meat Circus says:
Razer will charge $1500 more than anyone is prepared to pay for such an abomination.
i.e., $1500.
11/01/2012 at 10:21 The Sombrero Kid says:
They’re just embarrassing themselves, announcing this disgrace is worse than saying “you know what, we changed our minds that was a stupid idea”. If they’ve got spare R&D money I could literally come up with a better idea in 30 seconds.
11/01/2012 at 10:32 AmateurScience says:
@The Sombrero Kid
Challenge accepted: GO!
11/01/2012 at 10:43 Vanderdecken says:
They call the device Fiona then open with a trailer that has a soundtrack one tiny notch down from Bodies. A little incongruent.
11/01/2012 at 11:10 HexagonalBolts says:
@AmateurScience
A working cheap wireless keyboard.
A cheap notebook that is surprisingly powerful for its price, in the same way that the Eee was a few years ago.
11/01/2012 at 12:03 The Tupper says:
@ AmateurScience
A wireless arse-scratcher. I could REALLY use one o’ them.
11/01/2012 at 16:07 Rhin says:
@Hex Razer is a company built around building gamer-oriented hardware. Why would they care about cheap wireless keyboards or EEEs?
11/01/2012 at 16:14 theleif says:
@AmateurScience
How about a one handed gamepad you could use instead of the keyboard? There has been some attempts to do that, but so far the only ones i have found use a digital stick and not an analog, which makes it kinda pointless.
I’d love to play with an analog game pad in my right hand and aim with my mouse. They could launch such a device at the same time as the (very theoretical) release of Demons Souls for PC, and i’m pretty sure it would be a winner.
11/01/2012 at 16:44 Xerian says:
@Theleif
… They’ve already made that. And its quite useful, I must admit. Especially for RTS & MMO’s. (Tried one of my mates, its rather awesome.)
11/01/2012 at 18:04 theleif says:
@Xerian
Really? When I looked for such device the last time, the 2 devices I found had both digital, not analog sticks.
Do you recall it’s name?
Cheers
11/01/2012 at 19:16 Fearzone says:
My first reaction to hearing about this was pretty negative. But now that I’ve slept on it, I’m glad Razer is trying stuff like this out. I don’t think PC gamers are going to go for this at all. But console gamers might, depending on the price of this, if they want a mobile console experience and can do without Halo and Gears of War, and also have to buy all their games a second time for the PC. Anyhoo, I don’t think this is the best idea ever, but I do think their might be interest among console users who want something a little better.
11/01/2012 at 19:26 Fearzone says:
@Amateur Science:
A keyboard/gaming-keypad/mouse(or trackball) combo that all sits comfortably on my lap for when I’m gaming on the TV in my living room.
11/01/2012 at 19:26 Ergates_Antius says:
@@AmateurScience
A gaming trackball
11/01/2012 at 23:18 Odeon says:
This has probably already been said in another comment somewhere in the four pages of them, but I didn’t bother looking through them all. I’m far too busy (pronounced “lazy”) to check for sure.
Captain Intense (as seen at Razer’s last mad project) says this thing will probably cost about a grand on Spike TV’s CES coverage show thingy – assuming there’s enough actual demand to warrant them producing such a thing.
I like how the dude playing with one on the right already looks like he has arm fatigue from holding it up. I’ve seen similar “lean back as far as possible to hold up something heavy” at a number of stein holding contests at Oktoberfest celebrations.
12/01/2012 at 10:00 islisis says:
@Theleif
I tried bringing up this subject when I used joystick plus mouse movement with Quake engine games. To this day not many biters, it seems
One overpowered way you could do this is with Razer’s own Hydra controller – two single handed analog sticks plus motion sensing… >.>
http://store.razerzone.com/store/razerusa/en_US/pd/productID.228849000
An underpowered option would be to use a nunchuck+Wiimote…
The Zeemote JS1 looks ideal but would require some mouse to joystick hacking to work on the PC
http://www.zeemote.com/
And back in the day I used QuickShot-style sticks planted on the desk.
The problem with all of these options is probably lack of buttons compared to a keyboard, for weapon switching etc
Possibly mitigated by these mods of the Belkin N52te and Razor Nostromo
http://www.xim3.com/community/index.php?topic=7745.0
11/01/2012 at 10:03 Network Crayon says:
Uhhh….?
11/01/2012 at 10:09 Meat Circus says:
Dear Razer,
You are fucking idiots.
Love,
PC Gamers
PS: HAHAHAHA.
11/01/2012 at 10:41 President Weasel says:
I wholeheartedly endorse the post above.
11/01/2012 at 12:25 Monchberter says:
It’s horrific.
11/01/2012 at 10:04 N says:
” We here at Razer truly strive to push the boundaries of retardation ever farther.”
11/01/2012 at 13:39 Ninja Foodstuff says:
Clearly PC gaming is dead.
11/01/2012 at 10:06 sonofsanta says:
Well that looks to be about the most ergonomically awkward form factor for a while. Not exactly conducive to 4 hour gaming sessions without a chiropractor on hand to sort your neck out afterwards, is it?
I suppose you could prevent the neck ache from staring at your crotch by holding it out in front of you like a steering wheel, assuming you have triceps knitted from iron and don’t mind looking like a twat. Although the target market for such a device pretty much consists only of “people who don’t mind looking like a twat”.
11/01/2012 at 10:07 sonofsanta says:
Also: surround sound? Honestly? The onboard chip might be capable of it, but I think you’re pushing credulity a bit to claim that your tablet comes with surround sound.
11/01/2012 at 10:32 Optimaximal says:
What they basically mean is ‘we stuck 3 speakers on it and Realtek’s audio driver does the rest’.
11/01/2012 at 11:37 Voxel_Music_Man says:
Hello, I’m going to be an annoying internet person and say that to hold it out in front of you like that you’d need front delts of iron, not triceps of iron.
11/01/2012 at 12:05 sonofsanta says:
@Voxel_Music_Man: given that years of computing, both professionally and pleasurably, has left me with a body more akin to cotton wool, iron-anything as a prerequisite is basically a problem.
11/01/2012 at 13:29 Ninja Foodstuff says:
I can’t wait to see someone with one of those on the tube.
11/01/2012 at 15:32 Skabooga says:
@ the surround sound issue: If someone were thinking of making heavy use of this feature, would it not be better for them to use that shipping container full of money to buy a nice desktop instead? Because, well, surround sound does not really mix with portability. But maybe they’re just referring to head phones (I know nothing about sound systems).
11/01/2012 at 19:29 mrwout says:
“Not exactly conducive to 4 hour gaming sessions”
That’s not really a problem, seeing that battery will probably only last 2 hours.
11/01/2012 at 19:41 Shuck says:
@sonofsanta: I think you’ve discovered what this really is, in disguise: an arm-strength building exercise device. That’s pretty much the only way it makes sense to me.
11/01/2012 at 20:11 Bart Stewart says:
This reminds me (and others here, it seems) of the notion of touch-screen monitors.
About which, there is the classic Jargon File entry on “gorilla arm”: http://catb.org/jargon/html/G/gorilla-arm.html — use one of these things long enough and you’d wind up with an arm like a great ape.
Maybe Razer is thinking of cross-promoting these as exercise equipment? They do come with gyro and accelerometer, after all….
11/01/2012 at 10:06 sinister agent says:
I … don’t quite know who would be very interested in this. It’s hard to see how it’d really work without giving it a go in person.
They’d better have some bloody good marketing people behind this one. I’m not saying it’s a bad idea, but something tells me it might struggle to find a strong reception.
11/01/2012 at 12:42 Nihil says:
“I’m not saying it’s a bad idea”
I am.
11/01/2012 at 13:25 Ninja Foodstuff says:
I’ll take a dozen! And I shall walk down the streets with them, shouting in peoples faces that PC gaming is not dead!
11/01/2012 at 14:57 Ignorant Texan says:
Um, this looks as if it was designed by the marketing people. With that in mind, perhaps the advertising campaign with be run by the engineers.
11/01/2012 at 10:07 Dolar says:
So will this be overpriced like that laptop was? I am guessing so. I am betting this will be around $2k. 1500 more then most would even think of paying.
11/01/2012 at 10:07 Kaira- says:
So… it’s an overpriced handheld console with touch screen which will be largely unused because you have the controllers. I don’t know who thought that this might be a good idea.
And since we are on the subject of tablets as controllers here, I think they might be very suitable for slow-paced RTS and turn-based games. I absolutely loved the video of RUSE played on touchscreen, it just seems to flow so naturally.
11/01/2012 at 11:24 RF says:
It has to be the only tablet who’s touch screen you’ll need to use your nose to touch.
11/01/2012 at 13:51 Berzee says:
Revolutionary Eskimo-kisses Simulator
11/01/2012 at 13:55 noom says:
Well, I can think of one other thing you might use. Leaves gamers of the fairer sex at a bit of a disadvantage though.
Bet you’re glad I’ve put that image in your head, aren’t you?
11/01/2012 at 20:28 TailSwallower says:
@Berzee
I think you mean nose bangin’.
12/01/2012 at 02:39 Matt says:
Why do you think they named it Fiona?
11/01/2012 at 10:11 Wonko the Sane says:
Hardcore gaming mouse company decides that people would be better off playing on a PS3 controller cut in half with a tablet in the middle? FAIL.
Sorry: mouse, cold, dead fingers, FPS, all that. This is not a good control scheme for playing the games that I want to play, and I already have a computer.
11/01/2012 at 10:11 Skusey says:
This is far more interesting than I expected it to be. If the controllers are detachable and the gpu is half decent it could be a really fun little tablet. And yes, it can be used with a keyboard, although I can’t tell what connector it’s using: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX6jy4U30Qw&feature=watch_response
11/01/2012 at 10:14 roryok says:
My guess is USB into some kind of proprietary dongle
11/01/2012 at 17:32 DrGonzo says:
@frightlever
But then you could play Android games. I have no interest in Android games.
If this was reasonably priced, £200 for example it would be fantastic. I would snap one up and use it on the train, and as a tablet around the house.
But it’s Razor so it will cost a grand and be entirely pointless.
11/01/2012 at 10:12 Llewyn says:
Surely the handles should be angled around 25 degrees up from the screen rather than parallel to it. As it is it looks like a guaranteed short course to RSI.
Of course, this might be the least of its failings.
11/01/2012 at 19:42 Xerian says:
Ah, but you see, this is a prototype, barely a tech-demo really. They wont finish the design nor thing if people arent interested.
11/01/2012 at 10:12 roryok says:
I watched a preview video on engadget with the CEO, he said he thought they could “build” it for $1000.
11/01/2012 at 10:14 Joe Duck says:
Why do they want to change the format so bad? If they want to expand into other types of hardware, shouldn’t they be doing stuff that have a purpose, like monitors, TrackIRs, routers and such?
This is very baffling.
11/01/2012 at 10:56 Chaz says:
Yeah like a gaming monitor with touch screen stuff or something, and yes a competitor device to Track IR and Kinect would have been a good idea too.
Looks like what they’ve done there is taken the concepts of the handheld gaming device like a DS or PSP and tried to mate it with the tablet concept. However I’m not sure there’s really a market for that kind of thing. Surely if you want to do PC gaming on the go you get a gaming laptop and if you want something more compact you get a small handheld. It’d be no good for the UK’s overcrowded public transport, where often you barely have enough room to get a phone out of your pocket. Not that I’d be seen dead using that thing in public anyway.
11/01/2012 at 11:23 RF says:
Shit, Chaz, that monitor idea is actually pretty good. Of course, that means Razer will never do it but eh.
11/01/2012 at 18:32 Howl says:
I’d settle for an Onza-like wireless controller, in black with blue neon.. like the Mamba, with a convenient docking cradle/wireless receiver.. like the Mamba. Surely this would be simples for them to make and will have a huge target market.
11/01/2012 at 10:15 shadowbadger says:
My guess – this is going to cost hundreds of pounds, the battery life will be shit, the graphics unimpressive and will only play games.
Alternatives with the option to do other things apart from play games:
Travel – Tablet/Laptop
Home – Laptop/Tablet/PC
Not sure where there is a market for it really…
11/01/2012 at 17:02 Stevostin says:
Alternative to play on a train (everything real time) :
.
.
.
.
DS, IPad, IPhone, consoles. I think it’s funny how a lot of people miss the point there, probably because Razer keep speaking about “PC gaming” which really shall be translated here as “people playing iPad clone of COD instead of cute japanese pixelised stuff”. Now if you think about how iPad is more and more sold because it’s a gaming device, you can get how Razer think they have a big potential here. Basically you go to everyone playing on an iPad (check your suburb train : that’s a few people) and ask them : “do you want the same thing with fancier graphics, better controls and a better game library (and hell, it’s a PC, you can still use it to do everything PC as well, including a lot of free better apps that what’s on applestore) ?”
Chances are a few hands raise in the wagon.
So if Razer doesn’t screw up with weight, autonomy and price, they may actually have a promising market here.
Also, if you look at someone playing on an iPad, there’s something happening that reminds me of the first walkman. Everybody thought it was doomed, but it happen to be just great because more than a feature list, walkman brought up a different, more intimate relation with music. I feel the same happen when you’re playing a FPS on an iPad, despite the awful controls. It’s more intimate. I feel a game like skyrim could be especially enjoyable on such a device.
Now the big questions : how much cash, how much battery ? I guess we’ll know at the same type we know the CG : when it’s not a prototype anymore. Right now as they say : “spec may vary”
11/01/2012 at 17:35 DrGonzo says:
I’ve owned many a touch screen device. They are no good for gaming. I really don’t understand how people do it. The 3DS doesn’t do anything for me either, nor the Vita.
If the price point was right and it was functional outside of gaming it would be great.
But as I’ve said before, I’m sure that won’t happen.
11/01/2012 at 22:23 Stevostin says:
I agree there is something wrong about hardcore gaming brand razer doing it. If that was sony announcing this, or even microsoft, the whole planet would be overexcited. But Razer ? Who will play with this, Fatal1ty ?
11/01/2012 at 10:15 Jacques says:
Another thought, how’s the battery life on this thing? Or are you going to have to be plugged in to play?
11/01/2012 at 17:22 Parable says:
Apparently, according to a video/post done by the folks at Engadget + TechnoBuffalo, Min said that he expects to see the final product achieve 2-3 hours of playtime, I’m assuming this is with everything turned on because that battery life is.. Awful.
*edit* Also on pricing “SlashGear reports, however, that the device could “potentially” launch in Q4 2012, with a sub-$1000 price tag.”
11/01/2012 at 17:36 DrGonzo says:
Oh dear.
11/01/2012 at 10:18 CaspianRoach says:
1) How are you supposed to press 1 2 3 4 buttons when you’re using the sticks?
2) I will need a keyboard and a mouse for most of the PC games anyway, that makes it more clunkier than a notebook since I’ll need to carry a keyboard as well.
3) If this has a nice videocard and a processor then it makes me wonder what’s the battery life on it? While playing, of course. Bet it’s “8 hours* (30-60 minutes while playing)”
4) If it doesn’t have shoulder triggers or buttons on the backside then it’s WORSE than a gamepad and that says a lot.
Also here’s a little test for you all, try putting your arms in the air as if you’re holding that device and try to stay still for at least a minute. It’s really uncomfortable.
edit:
> multi-touch screen
Do I need to grow a third arm to use multitouch in addition to dualsticks? What if I hold it in my hands and I want to tap on the screen? It looks heavy and pretty wide and I doubt it’s comfortable holding it in one hand. I’ll also need to shift my other hand lower or I’ll accidentally press a button or move a stick because it will weigh my fingers onto em. This is just dumb, dumb, dumb.
11/01/2012 at 10:34 Milky1985 says:
How are you suppose to press the ABXY buttons on a 360 pad while using the sticks? While i think this thing looks a bit stupid using pressing buttons while using the sticks as somethign against it is a bit silly as its an issue all controllers have really. You use the sticks and triggers and move from stick to button to press in general.
Your probably dead on with the battery life tho :P Does look like its gonna be a plugged in thing as i7′s are a bit power hungry.
Also it does look like a shoulder trigger frmo the pics, but not watched/read much about it so far.
11/01/2012 at 10:36 VelvetFistIronGlove says:
That was my first thought too. You’ll have to remove your thumb from the stick—just as you do on a gamepad, so no big deal there—but the buttons are not in a position your thumb will rotate to. So you’ll either have to bend your thumb really awkwardly or shift your entire hand to press the buttons. Incredible.
11/01/2012 at 11:00 SiHy_ says:
I suggest they look at current console gamepads a bit more. You know, the gamepads that have gone through decades of evolution and have had countless hours of R&D into ergonomics thrown into them.
For instance there’s a reason current gamepads are angled inwards where you grip them.
11/01/2012 at 12:20 cafe says:
@Caspian Roach
I’m sure the battery life is about 60 minutes… did anybody else notice the brightness of the screen change when that guy plugged in that cable in the second video. This device seems to have every feature of a laptop that I hate plus weird controllers on the sides and a lack of a keyboard and a mouse (the only input devices that are usable for pc’s, ever – I wonder when the devs will see that)
11/01/2012 at 12:53 Mana_Garmr says:
Actually, looking at the position of the connectors between the pads and the screen, I think pushing the buttons will be easier than using the thumb-sticks without damaging your wrists.
11/01/2012 at 10:18 Gunrun says:
The lack of a GPU means it’s going to run most games currently out really poorly, and any future games even worse. Why even bother.
11/01/2012 at 10:18 Shar_ds says:
It’s not often that I read a story and actually say out load “What the F@*k is that?!”
Erm.. it’s a PS Vita crossed with an iPad??
11/01/2012 at 10:26 Eclipse says:
ok Razer, sell it for $200 and I’ll take one
11/01/2012 at 11:47 kregg says:
Razer replied:
PFFFFFFFHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…
…Oh… you were being serious? I’m sorry, but you’ll need several thousand dollars more to purchase it.
11/01/2012 at 11:54 SiHy_ says:
Actually I don’t think they were being serious. $200 is far too much. /snark
Seriously though, I wish Razer all the luck in the world. If they carry on this way they’re going to need it.
11/01/2012 at 10:31 AmateurScience says:
This looks like a one way ticket to physiotherapy. They’re basically suggesting I should play supporting what is effectively most of a laptop between my hands a foot apart. Nein danke.
Also are the gamepad bits detachable? Because if not then it’s going to be pretty untransportable.
11/01/2012 at 10:31 Jorum says:
The control sticks are level with the top of screen – have Razer not noticed that since, um, forever, controllers have always set or held below the screen and maybe there’s a good reason for that.
11/01/2012 at 15:22 ulix says:
You mean like on a PS Vita, PSP or DS? Or the original GBA (not SP), or the Gameboy Micro, the Sega Game Gear (yeah I know some of them only had digital pads, but still)?
11/01/2012 at 10:31 mr.ioes says:
Looks cool actually.
But does it come with a predefined lifetime like their mice too?
11/01/2012 at 10:33 Jacques says:
Couple of months?
11/01/2012 at 10:39 Dana says:
My Diamondback is 2 years old now, and still working ok.
11/01/2012 at 11:46 Apples says:
Their mice are actually good – at least my DeathAdder is, and whatever the material is on the top is much nicer than the rubbish cheap plastic most mice have. They might be overpriced, but it’s hard to find anywhere else that has a mouse with high DPI that doesn’t look awful. Their keyboards, on the other hand, are flimsy crap.
11/01/2012 at 12:36 Jacques says:
Their mice are pretty good. I was hugely pissed off that I couldn’t buy any replacement Teflon feet for my Lachesis though.
In hindsight, after using a Cyborg Rat 7 for a few months, there’s a lot that Razer could improve on.
11/01/2012 at 15:39 jon_hill987 says:
My Habu is at least 5 years old now.
11/01/2012 at 15:52 iniudan says:
Actually for their keyboard the Blackwidow is good, the normal edition is one of the cheapest mechanical keyboard you can find in the world, while the ultimate edition is one of the few mechanical keyboard which is backlit.
I admit it don’t have the best build of all mechanical keyboard, but the key themselves will most likely outlast anything from Logitech, anyway if you want the best of best for a keyboard you go Topre.
11/01/2012 at 10:34 Lord Byte says:
Come on razer, just sell the little touch-screen button thingy separately from the Switchblade!
11/01/2012 at 15:40 jon_hill987 says:
That I would buy.
11/01/2012 at 10:34 mondomau says:
I can only wonder how much money Razer make from the sale of their gaming peripherals that they can afford to piss (tens of) thousands away on such ridiculous and impractical products.
11/01/2012 at 10:37 Jacques says:
Or on hiring idiots that think this shit will sell.
11/01/2012 at 12:15 Ultra Superior says:
Delusional ideas like this come always from the people who are hiring.
” Hey, I have iPad. I love iPad. My kids love iPad. My wife Fiona plays Angry Birds on iPad. PC is so dead. You know what I hate about my iPad? It has no fucking handles! Lets make iPad with handles! its gonna be BIG.”
I believe your average Razer employee is slightly ashamed of Fiona.
11/01/2012 at 10:38 Dana says:
I predict an epic failure.
11/01/2012 at 10:39 Vanderdecken says:
You’re early for April, Razer.
11/01/2012 at 10:39 Hoaxfish says:
“It hurts to live”
11/01/2012 at 10:42 Toberoth says:
What is the point of this?
11/01/2012 at 10:42 noproblem says:
No razor… Just no…
11/01/2012 at 10:42 Synchrony says:
Any one come up with any reason at all to get this over a ps vita or even an android tablet with an onlive controller, considering you can probably buy both of these and still have paid much less than razer will charge for this
11/01/2012 at 10:48 v21 says:
It looks good to me
11/01/2012 at 16:10 DigitalSignalX says:
Yeah, but can you control robots with it?
11/01/2012 at 10:49 Quizboy says:
No mention of the WiiU controller, which this… well, I was going to say ‘resembles’, but honestly it’s more like ‘is’.
11/01/2012 at 12:07 sneetch says:
I was wondering how far down the first WiiU comparison would be, that’s just what I was thinking.
11/01/2012 at 10:52 thestage says:
problem 1: how the hell are you supposed to hit those buttons
problem 2: this is a Wii U, only probably five times more expensive
11/01/2012 at 10:53 povu says:
Thank you Razer, obviously this thing is going to save PC Gaming from certain death.
11/01/2012 at 12:07 Ultra Superior says:
It’s not magical.
It’s not practical.
It’s just bad.
Ass.
11/01/2012 at 10:55 SiHy_ says:
Did anyone else notice the rather sub-par FPS on the very first in-game shot of Assassins Creed? And also later when he’s doing a bit of stabby stabby?
I don’t mean to pick on a product that hasn’t even been released (as ridiculous as it is) but why on earth would you show that in your trailer?
11/01/2012 at 10:57 Avish says:
The technical specs is missing a few minor stuff like GPU, memory and hard-drive capacity.
I know those things are irrelevant for PC gaming, but it would be nice to know. For fun.
11/01/2012 at 11:08 felisc says:
Force feedback on a uberexpensive tablet isnt very reassuring, is it ? First explosion in bf3 and zaAAaam there goes your fancy toy flying across the room.
11/01/2012 at 11:09 Teddy Leach says:
OK then.
11/01/2012 at 11:10 mollemannen says:
remember people this is just a prototype! i can see some games like fighters and hack and slasher being more friendly on this platform than shooters and rtses. i kinda like the price of 1k though if it means that theres actually hardware in there for that money. knowing razer though… :/
11/01/2012 at 11:23 BigJonno says:
You know that time you were having that discussion about gaming on a tablet? When someone said that they absolutely, positively wouldn’t play any kind of game on a touch screen? (Which happens in every discussion about gaming on tablets.) Someone was listening.
11/01/2012 at 11:37 Ephaelon says:
If this becomes a roaring success, I imagine a generation of children with massive upper-body strength.
11/01/2012 at 11:47 aircool says:
I think certain internet sites have had that one covered for a good ten years now ¬_¬
11/01/2012 at 12:09 sneetch says:
Yes, children who can hold a fully grown man in a headlock and then crush their skulls using their thumbs! Heed the warning people!
11/01/2012 at 11:48 sicbanana says:
I found it quite hilarious that they showed Terraria in the last few seconds of the trailer.
I mean, seriously… they are just mocking themselves there. How the hell is that supposed to work? xD
Well, I guess they will be losing a looot of money with this “thing”…
11/01/2012 at 11:52 Gap Gen says:
People may laugh, but Nintendo are basically trying the same thing with their next console, only theirs looks even more stupid. Except they have a bigger marketing department and a large audience already.
11/01/2012 at 12:07 SiHy_ says:
But that large audience is the key. Like Apple, Nintendo have a legion of fans who would buy a brick-in-a-box™ if they said it was the next big thing. They’d also buy next year’s model brick-in-a-box lite™ containing a slightly smaller brick.
I don’t think Razer has anywhere near that sort of consumer devotion.
11/01/2012 at 12:09 Mo says:
Not really. The Wii U’s tablet controller is a “dumb client”, so it just has a touchscreen, battery, speaker, and wireless card in it. The CPU, GPU, RAM, etc are the in the Wii U console itself. This means the tablet is light, and will reasonable battery life.
This …. thing is basically a computer in a tablet. It’ll weigh *at least* two pounds! There’s a touchscreen, so presumably Razer expects customers to hold it with one hand as well? Did anyone at Razer think this through? Oh, and the battery life will be awful.
Nintendo are successful because they put out good products, plain and simple.
11/01/2012 at 18:09 mickygor says:
Let’s not forget that the Wii U is also well targeted to the Japanese market, where they rarely have more than one TV in a house.
11/01/2012 at 11:58 cafe says:
Damn I was hoping for that chinese guy from the last video…
11/01/2012 at 12:04 Ultra Superior says:
Don’t be so negative. Try to think of a situation, where you could really benefit from such device. Hmm, having both hands on handles nailed to a glossy and heavy screen inbetween…
I can’t think of any.
11/01/2012 at 12:06 Grubblik says:
I had a girlfriend called Fiona. She had a flat face and handles too, didn’t play with that much, can’t see this changing anything
11/01/2012 at 12:17 Ultra Superior says:
Fiona Apple.
Its Apple product, right?
11/01/2012 at 12:10 JKjoker says:
carrying this must be a freaking nightmare, it looks longer than any laptop, the controls will probably tangle with every cable they can find and i doubt the analog sticks will survive for long if they stick out as much as they seem in the pictures
wouldnt it make more sense to make the controls bluetooth compatible and just building some kind of stand for table support instead of having to hold it ? something tells me this is not very light, the dude in the video looks uncomfortable
and i freaking hate proprietary dongles to use usb, cut the freaking middle man, dont make me buy and carry a 50$ piece of plastic with just a bunch of wires inside that i will lose or forget whenever i really need it, this really pissed me off the last time i went to check out tablets and phones
11/01/2012 at 12:15 sneetch says:
You know if the controls were built in to the tablet (like they are in the WiiU tablet, PSP, Vivo (edit: Vita, not Vivo), various DS varieties and just about every handheld ever) rather than stuck to the edges like they are I’d think this was pretty cool. As it is they seem a bit… awkward and so the whole thing looks stupid.
In fact a better design would be to have the removable/swappable controls so you can clip them in and remove them but they would be a neat extension and not look like someone put handles on a tablet like this. That way on one side you could have a stick and some buttons on the other side you could have multiple buttons like a hotbar so it could be used for different game types.
No word on RAM, storage or graphics cards makes me think this is a looooooooooooooooooong way off (if it ever appears).
11/01/2012 at 12:20 karmatentacle says:
pessimism is fun aint it, although i doubt i would be an early adopter it aint all that bad considering it’s a *concept* !
if that split in half gamepad was detachable and telescopic so it folds away alright, you’re talking about a tablet with windows on. and all the hackery that comes with it, linux dualboot? plus having a touchscreen peripheral for your normal pc wouldn’t be bad, especially if it came with a stylus and decent drivers for using it as an art tablet.
As long as the gamepad is detachable and they get inventive with addon hardware or features for linking it in with a desktop… and the price is low enough, I’d consider it! : /
11/01/2012 at 12:39 Sauceror says:
The frame is sure to break really fast. Look at it, it’s so clunky.
11/01/2012 at 12:54 Network Crayon says:
“I wonder what this tea tray would like with a screen in it?”
11/01/2012 at 13:09 CaspianRoach says:
-edit-
11/01/2012 at 13:14 Knufinke says:
This seems to be “inspired” by Nintendos upcoming WiiU. You know what?
Someone should buy it, plug a Kinect in, play a dancing games and record it all for future generations.
What a terrible, terrible idea.
11/01/2012 at 13:29 jhng says:
Those handles look like they have rubber insulation over them so it might work well as a baking tray. Alternatively, by holding it up in front of your face you could pretend to be a Cyberman, which would be cool.
11/01/2012 at 13:33 Radiant says:
I WANT A MOUSE PAD SIZE TOUCH SCREEN THAT MIRRORS MY DESKTOP.
Thanks.
11/01/2012 at 13:35 Radiant says:
Also I was told I was 80 percent gay according to those bar paddles.
I didn’t know what to do with myself.
…I went home, watched some straight porn and cured myself.
11/01/2012 at 14:31 Ultra Superior says:
One of the few games I played on touchscreen is you, Radiant. :D
11/01/2012 at 17:07 Soon says:
There must be an LCD graphics tablet that allows touch & pen…
Probably fantastically expensive, though.
11/01/2012 at 13:36 Bishop149 says:
As a tablet PC: You managed to cram an i7 in there, that’s quite impressive. . . super hand held number cruncher.
As a gaming device: Rather pointless really isn’t it? Get a separate GPU in as well, and price it around a cost of a console and it might be interesting. . . as it is HELL NO!
11/01/2012 at 13:52 Chibithor says:
Next up
Sony: “Console gaming is not dead”, announces a desktop PC.
11/01/2012 at 13:59 standardman says:
That is an amazing step forward in square wheel tech.
11/01/2012 at 14:39 Jackablade says:
My carpal tunnels hurt just looking at that thing.
11/01/2012 at 14:58 ninjapirate says:
Good grief.
I wish they would put their resources into something useful for the PC gaming world.
11/01/2012 at 15:00 Ultra Superior says:
Like better graphic cards.
11/01/2012 at 15:11 johnpeat says:
Just Lol
That thing must radiate heat like a mad thing – when they can’t sell them we can give them to old people to avoid them dying of hypothermia…
Seriously tho – it’s not April 1 – what are they thinking!?
11/01/2012 at 15:16 InternetBatman says:
Did the last Razer touchscreen thing or full computer sell well enough to justify this? I’m wondering where they get the money.
11/01/2012 at 15:38 deadly.by.design says:
Finally, what all PC gamers have been waiting for…
…a tablet with dual analog sticks.
???
11/01/2012 at 15:55 vecordae says:
Finally, the power of Staple-On technology has been unveiled. That gamepad tablet thing he’s using? Earlier in the day that was a generic television remote. Then we stapled some crap onto it. Now it’s a gaming machine. Pure genius.
11/01/2012 at 16:16 Brun says:
Sad to see Razer falling into the same trap as Nintendo – trying to cash in on the tablet computer fad rather than being truly creative. I expect them to fail just as hard as Nintendo will.
11/01/2012 at 16:17 Ic4ruz says:
Why is everyone one so overly negative ?
11/01/2012 at 16:43 vecordae says:
Because even though this particular product has some interesting potential, the general perception is that it is a high-priced toy that isn’t as capable as the more traditional systems we already own. It’s rather like the company that sells jewel-encrusted apple laptops for about £320,000 but slightly less pretentious.
Oh, and that company actually exists: http://stuarthughes.com/newdawn/product_info.php?products_id=93
11/01/2012 at 17:04 sicbanana says:
Hahaa! The sad thing about this world is that these gold and platinum covered Apple gadgets will most certainly have many buyers amongst the so called “wealthier people”. *cough*
That being said… I still think Fiona won’t sell jack. :D
11/01/2012 at 16:58 akaleus says:
I love the idea of a high end tablet computer built for gaming… but why are the controllers even attached to the device at all. It just looks uncomfortable to use for any amount of time, not to mention you can’t really twist your wrist without moving the entire display.
On another note, in order to run a full i7 processor and a high end graphics card they’ll have to sale mobile battery packs you have to cart around with you to get more than 10 minutes use out of this. I supose they could make a Razer gaming cart system… one of those luggage carts with a battery pack strapped to it and such. lol.
11/01/2012 at 17:21 Raiyan 1.0 says:
…
Are they trying to ride WiiU controller popularity wave? Which in itself isn’t that popular to begin with?
11/01/2012 at 18:06 dogsolitude_uk says:
I should imagine that there are a number of rather nervous marketing types quietly brazening it out in meetings with the directors, mentally blaming this on the other members of the brainstorming committee that cobbled together this manifestation of groupthink.
It’s what happens when you lock a bunch of people in a room together to brainstorm an idea without having someone play devil’s advocate, or otherwise putting the brakes on sillier ideas, you get something a bit odd and, well, crappy looking.
Dunno why they didn’t make a gaming tablet with removable ‘handles’. If you could take them off, a high spec windows tablet could potentially be used as, erm, a tablet.
*Facepalm* Dammit, that’s what it reminds me of! My mother’s heated serving tray! We use it for takeaways and stuff!
11/01/2012 at 18:26 Muzman says:
I’m no marketing strategist but is (old) Metal + Black etc the best way to promote your gaming Macalike portable called Fiona?
That’ll be competing with shiny Ultrabooks?
Just sayin.
11/01/2012 at 19:31 Ergates_Antius says:
You’d have thought with all their R/D money they could have afforded a book on ergonomics.
11/01/2012 at 19:37 Fearzone says:
I have one question for Razer: what happens if one of the analog sticks breaks?
11/01/2012 at 21:47 vecordae says:
Then the skies will part like a scroll. A trumpeting will be heard in the heavens. For, is it not written “and, lo, when the rod of control is broken and the tablet of effort shall be broken, thus will be the end of days”?. There’s some other bits about naked ladies and sea monsters, but that’s the relevant verse right there.
12/01/2012 at 00:39 Notsane says:
What is this? Is this the PC gaming’s revival? If so, this is absolutely stupid. PC gaming is all about customization,freedom of moddability and other non-sense we all cherish so dearly. With this I highly doubt any of the above statements can be possible. Even to game on it, you’d probably need a constant and frankly ‘static’ power source. There goes the mobile section of your device out of the window.
Also what the hell is with Fiona? Couldn’t you find a better name than it to drag down to the pits of hell with your product?
12/01/2012 at 01:07 Hmm-Hmm. says:
Well, I certainly don’t see where this would come in handy, but if there’s one thing I know it’s that I’m not the only person in the world and a lot of people have very different opinions.
Also, this seems more like a gateway drug for console gamers or a toy for rich folk than anything for pc gamers. Who, after all, use pcs. Not some silly pad with controllers.
12/01/2012 at 02:50 gwathdring says:
I think their last project was not funded at all, but rather run by the sheer power of wordplay.
12/01/2012 at 03:08 noilly says:
Cross this product with a shake weight and you have a winner! Tone your forearms while charging the 5-minute battery while playing games–a marketer’s trifecta!
12/01/2012 at 03:50 DOLBYdigital says:
…..almost speechless…. I agree with others, I would’ve been happy with a trackball based controller setup or a one handed gamepad with a decent thumbstick and lots of easily placed buttons or other ideas around controllers/mini-keyboards that work with mice (like nostromo n52s)
16/01/2012 at 14:10 Chufty says:
I’ve heard, and this may be just a rumour, that you don’t actually have to buy it if you don’t want it.