Razer unveils Project Fiona gaming tablet
Razer's Project Fiona joins the Blade laptop and Switchblade hand-held system as the company branches out.
Unveiled in prototype form at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the Fiona takes the form of a Windows-based 10.1in tablet with a 1280x800 resolution multi-touch display. Packing an Intel Core i7 chip under the hood - likely the same low-power model found in the top-end Ultrabooks - the system claims to offer a hybrid user interface that allows it to be used as a gaming device as well as a general-purpose tablet.
Featuring dual pistol-grip controllers, each of which offers multiple buttons and an analogue stick, either side of the screen, Razer claims the Fiona is capable of playing any game for which gamepad control is possible; and in these days of console-led development cycles, that's pretty much any game. Each controller also includes force feedback technology, while audio is taken care of by a THX-certified speaker system with - presumably virtualised - Dolby 7.1 Surround Sound capabilities.
As well as the clever controllers, the Fiona includes all the usual tablet features: connectivity is taken care of by 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 3.0, while the tablet includes three-axis gyroscope, accelerometer, and magnetometer; missing from the list, however, is a GPS receiver.
Details of the device are scarce, but Razer claims it is both real and in active development with a view to launch a retail version as soon as possible priced at around $1,000 (about £652, excluding tax.) A small amount - and we mean small amount - of additional information is available on the official microsite.
Do you think Razer might be on to a winner with Project Fiona, or does it look a bit unwieldy for everyday gaming use? Share your thoughts over in the forums.
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Discuss in the forums ReplyRazor Blade
Did either of these ever make it to market?
Razor Fiona
Will this?
Nice bit of link-bait Razor, I'm sure this vapour ware will help you whore yourself out and sell a few more mice.
Totally. It's too much of a niche product to justify the price tag. Not really good enough for home gaming, where you can slough in front of a big screen with surround sound instead, and too big for casual mobile gaming. Unless the controllers are detachable, so you essentially have a multipurpose tablet with an added gaming perk, it is not going to sell.
Razer harp on about 'PC gaming is not dead', yet they try to turn it into some kind of overpriced console-ified iPad wannabe. Do they actually know what PC gaming is, what it's about, or what separates it from console gaming, aside from the elitism?
I don't think they have a clue; And this kind of crap only contributes to the perception of the PC as a struggling platform, but then again; Razer's mantra is just telling us what we already know, so that's no surprise from them.
I can't comment on faults with their products or the quality I've only ever owned one product and it was fine whilst it worked however if you want specialised PC gaming only perihperals I would recommend other brands.
you know your not supposed to pound on your keyboard? My blackwidow as survived since launch. Same with both my mice. And the mouse pad is still spotless and imperfection free. So piss, if you cant take care of your crap, don't whine that it breaks.
I will give them credit for an interesting idea, but it probably should have stayed there.
How do you break a Black Widow in a week?
It's a pretty solid bit of kit in my experience.
I looked at this and think its a great idea, and 650 ain't too step if it is in the formfactor especially when ultrabooks etc are 1k. I would be interested to hear of the battery life, as can't think it would be that long for gaming.
And even that way it would most likely still bomb, I doubt battery life will be anywhere near decent.
Can you honestly see yourself or anyone else playing BF3 on this for an hour, much less 3?
Oh, and it does not appear that the handles come off.
what's interesting is the Droid RAZR Maxx with an 3300mAh bat in it , an Smart phone that will work for more then 1-2 days (or 21hrs voice use) of medium to heavy use
http://consumerist.com/2012/01/how-heavy-is-a-phone-that-promises-up-to-215-hours-of-continuous-talk-time.html
my HTC desire looks like an brick with the double bat i use for it (norm bat just does not last an day of idle use)
pmsl!
+1 ....from a devoted pc only gamer.
I'd imagine that the upper-managers at these companies would faint if they saw a breakdown of brand names in an average gamer's rig: Gigabyte mobo! Asus graphics card! Kingston RAM! Antec PSU! Coolermaster HSF!
Good god, man! All those little bits of profit going to different companies! The accounting ledgers and spreadsheets would look so *messy*!
Based on the pictures I looked at, it won't be easy to change that. The handle itself is part of the body and plus you have the wires inside to deal with. I'm sure it could be done, but it won't be very clean unless you have some pretty impressive equipment and skills.