Razer's Project Fiona gets hardware target

December 12, 2012 | 09:51

Tags: #crowdsourcing #gaming-tablet #intel-core-i5 #intel-core-i7 #project-fiona #windows-8 #windows-8-tablet #windows-tablet

Companies: #facebook #razer

Razer's Project Fiona gaming tablet - originally unveiled back in January as a design prototype and then given the green light for production thanks to Facebook demand - now has a target set of specifications.

While Razer had settled on the rough design of the tablet, which packs a 10.1in display into a strange bondage outfit that clips it to a pair of analogue controller sticks with buttons and triggers, it had made no firm decision on the hardware that would be contained therein. Following the overwhelming interest from its Facebook fans as to the creation of the Razer, the company turned to its audience to firm up the internals - and the message is clear: the Razer needs to be the most powerful tablet around if it is to succeed.

Given a choice of various options, from low-end battery-friendly parts to top-of-the-range hardware, voters settled on putting an Intel Core i5 or - better yet - Core i7 processor into the device along with mid-range discrete graphics hardware. As a result, the Fiona tablet should rival mid-priced gaming laptops for performance.

There are trade-offs to be made here, of course: by voting for the high-performance hardware option, fans have told Razer that the weight and size of the device are less important. As a result, the Fiona will be significantly less portable than originally anticipated with the vote settling on allowing it to be around twice the thickness and weight of Apple's iPad in order to make room for the hardware and a battery that might last for more than ten minutes at a time.

The controller pads must be detachable for when you're using the tablet as a tablet, the voters stated - although there's no word that Razer will make them compatible with other 10.1in tablet devices - and pricing should be set somewhere at around $1,300 to $1,500 (around £806 to £930 excluding taxes) - higher than the original target price of $1,000 set at the start of the project.

With the hardware target set, a price point in mind and the first prototype devices already passing through the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) certification process, all that remains is for Razer to set a launch date - and for the armchair hardware designers to translate their Facebook Likes into firm orders.
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