Gaming giant Razer has unveiled the Switchblade concept mobile PC gaming device that replaces the traditional mouse and keyboard with a multi-touch screen, dynamic tactile keyboard and intelligent user interface. The bold move by a company most associated with gaming mice and keyboards, uses Intels Atom, and claims to port the full mouse and keyboard experience onto a console type device, although it is still at the concept stage. Whether this proves to be the answer to the dreams of first person shooter addicts who like their mouse or RTS aficionados remains to be seen, but the principle is intriguing. World of Warcraft is featured heavily in the gallery for the new product at http://www2.razerzone.com/switchblade/, and the appeal of that MMO behemoth on a portable device is certainly going to attract interest. The main problem with mobile PC gaming so far is that no one has been able to port the full mouse and keyboard experience onto a small size portable solution, said Min-Liang Tan, CEO and Creative Director, Razer. By combining adaptive on-the-fly controls and display, we managed to maintain the full tactile keyboard in a miniature computer while saving valuable screen estate. Intels Brad Graff believes that the platform has promise, stating: The Intel Atom processor, combined with Razers expertise in bringing gaming solutions to market, will help make it possible for consumers to have a powerful gaming experience in mobile devices. With our established focus on human interface devices, moving the mouse and keyboard experience to the next level was a natural step. Razer isnt just about bringing innovation to the PC, but creating products that will change the future of gaming. The Razer Switchblade is one such product.
I like the idea of the adaptive keyboard which changes it's icons/controls depending on what you're doing or playing. Although I really can't see myself playing any FPS games on this device. If it requires you to sit to a table/desk and use a mouse then I may as well just use my laptop. The beauty of the iPhone is that it has great FPS controls and you don't need to sit to a desk to play FPS games.
The PC has always been the king of first-person shooters and its always been because of the mouse. If they can a mobile device to accurately mimic the mouse then this thing could be a big hit.
The only reason you would get this would be the adaptive keyboard. I really don't want to carry around a mouse and a power adapter.
This looks awesome -- and also really expensive. I didn't see any specs, but I'm guessing dual-core Atom with nVidia mobile graphics, so older games will probably be fine, but I wouldn't expect Fallout 3 or Crysis to be playable on it. This thing is probably going to cost a packet, too, depending on how they did the keys. I'm thinking it's one solid screen under the keys, rather than the Optimus method of individual screens per key, which would help keep costs down -- but it still won't be cheap. Still, it's definitely a revival of the palmtop PC, and it'll be interesting to see if they can pull this off for under a grand.
looks cool, just cool. many challenged ds before, but no one made it. Nintendo is a really unique company with really talented designers. you could win from the hardware, but to the core of game, you are always one step behind. saluting to Miyamoto!
It depends on what type of games you like. I couldn't care less about any Japanese games like the ones that come from Square Enix, Capcom, Konami etc. That's just one of my many reasons for preferring the iPhone to the DS.
My two worries right now are the battery life and the price. Im thinking it will cost roughly around the same as the m11x.
The design of those keys looks horrific to me. Not in looks, but feel and comfort. In fact as clever as the whole thing is, they need someone to work on a better design.
When I look at this it reminds me of the pandora everytime http://www.openpandora.org/ I think I'd rather have the pandora in honestly though even with it being a little dated now. Interestingly enough though I just read the PSP2 is being claimed by Sony themselves to be as powerful as the PS3 so games not over yet. http://www.techspot.com/news/41965-sony-psp2-is-as-powerful-as-the-playstation-3.html I can't wait to see what it's actually capable of in screenshots and videos.
