I’ll share the facts before I chime in with my two cents. Project Fiona has an Intel Core i7 CPU, a 10.1″ 1280×800 touchscreen, Dolby 7.1 surround sound, sensors in the form of an accelerometer, magnetometer and a 3-axis gyro, controllers with force-feedback, as well as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity.

Despite the Wii/Move-like controllers, Project Fiona still looks mostly like a tablet, right? But don’t be fooled –  it is capable of playing full-fledged PC games and possibly even run a desktop flavor of Windows. I’m not too sure but I think it’s running Warhammer: Space Marine in the video below.

Now my cents one and two. I actually like Project Fiona more than the Razer Blade, despite the latter having a much better name. But I like Project Fiona not because it can be a great tablet for PC gamers but because it can be a great tablet for tablet gamers. PC games are (ideally) made with keyboard and mouse controls in mind. Even if Fiona had a Core i7000 CPU and its controllers had 300 buttons, what it doesn’t have is a keyboard and a mouse. The only way games will work well on Fiona is if developers ensured that they had Fiona-friendly controls, and that’s a tall order.

Sure you could dock it with a keyboard as shown in the video, but then that makes the tablet even more pointless. Among the different kinds of gamers, PC gamers are the ones who are most demanding hardware-wise. If you’re going to give them PC games to play and then offer a keyboard dock that they can only use while sitting down anyway, why would they settle for a small monitor, with tiny speakers and with an undoubtedly less powerful GPU? The only way I can see Project Fiona being attractive for traditional PC gamers is if older PC games were re-released for it, in the same way that the PSP became popular as an emulator’s dream portable.

Now as for tablet gaming, a tablet like Project Fiona – one that’s been designed from the start to have hardware buttons and joysticks – will be awesome. I honestly wish my iPad had these controllers (though they’d be much better if they were detachable).  This solution is way better than any stick-on or Bluetooth gamepad and certainly way better than virtual buttons.  The fact of the matter is that tablets are getting more powerful and tablet games are diversifying from swipe based controls to ones with more complicated schemes. But without a standard hardware controller for developers to base their controls on, tablet gaming will be stuck with the scattered and inadequate solutions that we have today.

As for Project Fiona and the Blade’s original goals? If you want to target PC gamers, I’d rather place my bet on a traditional laptop with insane battery life and competitive pricing. But that’s just me.

[via I Heart Chaos & Razer]

The Blade is certainly a worthwhile option to consider if you’re in the market for a gaming laptop. Alienware has kind of lost its edge, and the XPS laptops are fine, but this baby looks pretty sleek. Its case milled from aluminum, the Blade is less than an inch thick and weighs under 7 pounds. The most distinguishing feature is the set of 10 adaptive and programmable keypad buttons and the multi-touch LCD trackpad, which doubles as a small screen. The laptop itself has a 17.3-inch screen with 1080p resolution.

The Blade costs $2,800 (USD), so it’s about the same price as the MacBook Pro 17 all decked out (MBP17 come with the 2.3GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7 for that price). This one comes with a 2.8GHz Intel Core i7 2640M processor (dual-core), 8GB of RAM (1333MHz DDR3), two graphics cards (NVIDIa GeForce GT 555M with 2GB of GDDR VRAM and an integrated GPU), a 320GB 7200 RPM hard drive, and a webcam. Will it make me switch from my MacBook Pro 17? No, but the Razer Blade sure is a sleek package for gamers looking for a new laptop.

[Razer Blade]

After the first twenty minutes though, I was hooked.

The third movie in the Transformers franchise, Dark of the Moon, is now out in theaters. To commemorate the release, Razer themselves rolled out some colorful, Transformers-themed versions of their precision DeathAdder mouse. The specs are exactly the same as the versions that rolled out earlier, with the exception of the design, of course.

True-blue Transformers fans might either find these computer mice to die for–or to gag over, depending on their personal tastes, of course. I personally like the silver one the best.

Each of these mice is priced at $69.99 (USD). Aside from the DeathAdder mouse, Razer has also released dual-sided mouse mats that go for $44.99 and laptop sleeves priced at $49.99, all to celebrate Transformers 3.

[via Engadget via Slippery Brick]

Razer’s Old Republic keyboard is the real winner among the bunch, with its built-in multitouch track pad, and a cool color LCD screen underneath it. It’s also got 10 color LCD buttons right above it. They can be mapped or programmed with macros. Each of the buttons can have custom graphics. The keyboard also offers multi-color LED lighting around the perimeter.

The keyboard looks pretty awesome, assuming it works with other applications and games and isn’t too expensive.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The mouse is a Jedi-themed variant of Razer’s Naga MMO mouse, including 12 programmable buttons on the side. Razer will also sell a headset, which looks a bit odd with its hexagon-shaped headphones.

All three of these peripherals will come with alternative decorative plates, so you can be either a Sith or a Jedi.

[via CrunchGear]

The system is called the Razer Hydra and it is a motion controller that has two handheld grips with an analog stick on one side and buttons on the other. The controller offers six degree-of-freedom magnetic motion controlling. The controllers have rapid-fire triggers, a slip-free grip and lots more. Razer says the Hydra will work with over 125 games right out of the box, though Valve developed special functionality and bonus levels for Portal 2. Here’s some demo footage showing how the Hydra is used to play both Portal 2 and Bulletstorm:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

You can get the Hydra and Portal 2 bundle for $139.99 (USD) with shipping set to start in June. Razer should start taking pre-orders in May.

The Chimaera headphones come in standard stereo version and a 5.1 surround sound version. Both of the offerings need no wires from the base station to the headphones and use rechargeable batteries inside. The Stereo version uses 2.4GHz wireless tech and the 5.1 version uses 5.8GHz. Both of the offerings also have a mic that can be flipped up out of the way. Sound is pumped out using large 50mm neodymium drivers.

The headsets are made to work out of the box with the Xbox 360 and with and optional RCA to 3.5mm cable the headphones will work with PC. The battery life in the stereo set is up to 12 hours and the battery life for the 5.1 pair is up to 8-hours. The 5.1 set can also connect via an optical cable for true digital sound. Expect the 5.1 set to ship in April for $199.99 (USD) and the stereo set will ship this month for $129.99.

Razer trotted out a new speaker system today called the Ferox that is aimed at portable gaming on your smartphone and for listening to music on the go. The speakers are small, measuring in at about 2.75″ across and 2.5″ high, and are designed to be easy to take with you on the go.

They have omnidirectional drivers with a frequency response range of 150Hz – 20KHz. They will connect to any device that has a 3.5mm headphone port and will also connect to your PC via USB. Razer ships them with a carry case and the battery inside is good for about 12 hours of play per charge. The Ferox speakers are $59.99 (USD) per set and are shipping right now.

The new controller is called the Onza and it has two versions including the standard and the Tournament edition. The two versions share many of the same basic features like “Hyperesponse” action buttons which let you press buttons faster, enhanced ergonomics, dual programmable buttons, and a 15-foot long braided cable. Both of the things also have a precision D-pad.

The difference between the two comes in the tournament versions have a non-slip rubberized coating and adjustable resistance on the analog sticks. The Tournament versions goes for $49.99 (USD), while the standard version sells for $39.99. Pre-orders are already sold out, but hopefully they’ll be back soon.

The Switchblade concept is a small device created in conjunction with Intel and Razer engineers that uses the Atom processor and Windows for PC gaming in a portable form factor. The device has multitouch screen, along with a tactile keyboard that dynamically adapts to the game you’re currently playing.

The Switchblade supports 3D graphics and HD video according to Razer and it looks really cool. I have no idea if this will ever leave the concept world and become something we can buy. If Intel worked on it with Razer, it may well get real some day.

While it doesn’t have quite the luster of the real Razer Orochi mice, everything else is spot on. It’s even got an awesome “Dragon’s Blood” scent (not that I know what their blood smells like). Digitalsoaps originally made a batch as a prize in a Razer contest, but she decided to make and sell 50 more.

You can get the Razer Orochi Mouse at Digitalsoaps’ Etsy shop for just $10 (USD). Unfortunately as of this writing there’s only one left, so be quick with your real mouse and click the link now if you want it.

[via Engadget]

If you somehow forgot something this cool, it’s a gaming mouse with an ambidextrous design and a 5600 dpi laser sensor. The mouse has seven buttons and a braided 7-foot long cable. But you really want this thing for the integrated light effects and sounds from the movie.

The blue backlighting is sort of a standard Razer thing, so no other colors are offered at this time. You can order one up to ship today for $99.99 (USD).

You can map those buttons to anything you want. The thumb D-Pad can be mapped to directional controls if you want or can be used as a modifier to increase the number of commands that can be bound to the keypad.

The key mapping can be changed on the fly and programming software for the Nostromo is included with the device. The shape of the Nostromo is ergonomic for comfort with extended gaming sessions and the macros that can be bound to the keypad can have an unlimited number of characters. The new Nostromo will ship on 11/29 for $69.99 (USD), and you can order one over at the Razer website.

Among those tie ins will be the inevitable toys and action figures along with a plethora of Tron gaming controllers for consoles. Razer is also offering up Tron gaming peripherals for PC gamers. The new Tron collection sports the glowing blue lines that are required for anything Tron.

The peripherals include a keyboard with programmable keys and macro recording capability. The keyboard also sports a detachable number pad. Razer is also going to offer a gaming mouse with a 3.5G gaming sensor and 5600 dpi sensitivity. The gear will cost $79 to $139 (USD) when it lands later this year.

The Megalodon headphones come with a remote control for adjusting volume (I’m not sure if I understood its tech specs correctly but it seems to like you can tweak the volume of the virtual speaker separately), microphone sensitivity, levels and mute for both mic and speakers. The remote control also lets you easily switch from 7.1 surround to 2.0 for less demanding audio needs.

The Megalodon is priced at $150 USD. It won’t be available until June 30, but you can pre-order it now at Razer’s website. It’s for PC users only (Windows XP onwards), but I don’t think anyone actually expects gaming headphones for the Mac.

[via EverythingUSB]