The Razer Switchblade is a concept design of a portable gaming device developed by

Razer Razer may refer to: * Razer (Canadian TV channel), former name of MTV2, a Canadian digital television specialty service * Razer Inc., a Singaporean-American computer peripherals manufacturer specializing in PC gaming * Razer Phone, a smartphone desi ...

. It was first unveiled on January 5, 2011 at the

Consumer Electronics Show CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event typi ...

(CES). The Switchblade won The Best of CES 2011 People's Voice award. The Switchblade's main goal is to provide gamers with the functionality of a

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

computer, combined with the portability of a handheld device. It features a multitouch LCD screen and an adaptive keyboard that changes keys depending on the game being played.

Development

In 2009,

sec hired a team of engineers who used to work for

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

, HP, and

Dell Dell is an American based technology company. It develops, sells, repairs, and supports computers and related products and services. Dell is owned by its parent company, Dell Technologies. Dell sells personal computers (PCs), servers, data ...

. They started a project, codenamed the "Switchblade", which is a portable gaming device that "would revolutionize the future of gaming". When asked about the development of the Switchblade, Razer's CEO,

Min-Liang Tan Min-Liang Tan or Tan Min Liang (born 5 November 1977) is a Singaporean businessman, internet entrepreneur and former lawyer. He is the co-founder, chairman, chief executive officer (CEO) and creative director of the gaming hardware company Razer ...

, believed that the development of the Switchblade started from a small gaming peripheral company, into a well-known corporation that would develop the first full portable PC gaming console. He said "Razer isn't just about bringing innovation to the PC, but creating products that will change the future of gaming. The Razer Switchblade is one such product." Although the current development of the Switchblade hinted that it might be priced about 250-600 Dollars, Razer says that the final product might not look anything like its current prototype. As of 2023, Razer doesn't support app development of Switchblade UI.

Features

External appearance

The

Switchblade has a traditional

netbook Netbook was a commonly used term that identified a product class of small and inexpensive laptops which were sold from 2007 to around 2013. These machines were designed primarily as cost-effective tools for consumers to access the Inte ...

form factor. When compared to a standard

Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...

the Switchblade's dimensions are only slightly larger. When the lid is folded, the Switchblade is 172mm x 115mm x 25 mm. The Razer Switchblade is about 7mm thicker than the

MacBook Air The MacBook Air is a line of ultrabook computers developed and manufactured by Apple Inc. It consists of a full-size keyboard, a machined aluminum case, and, in the more modern versions, a thin light structure. The Air was originally positioned ...

when folded. On the outside, the Switchblade is completely black except for the green

logo in the middle. The weight of the product is currently unknown to the public.

Internal appearance

The Switchblade opens up and closes like a

notebook A notebook (also known as a notepad, writing pad, drawing pad, or legal pad) is a book or stack of paper pages that are often ruled and used for purposes such as note-taking, journaling or other writing, drawing, or scrapbooking. History ...

computer. The monitor is a multitouch LCD screen and is measured 7 inches across diagonally. On the right edge of the Switchblade is an AC input and mini

HDMI High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a proprietary audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed video data and compressed or uncompressed digital audio data from an HDMI-compliant source device, such as a display controller, ...

output port, which is able to connect to a monitor for display with an

HDMI cable High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a proprietary hardware, proprietary audio/video Interface (computing), interface for transmitting uncompressed video data and compressed or uncompressed digital audio data from an HDMI-compliant s ...

. On the left edge is a standard full sized

USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad ...

3.0 port. On the bottom of the keyboard are standard headphone and microphone jacks. The top of the monitor is embedded with a built in webcam.

Keyboard

The famed component of the Switchblade is its revolutionary keyboard. The Switchblade's keyboard is standard to a 7-inch

, meaning that not a lot of keys are able to fit on the keyboard. However, each transparent plastic key has tiny

OLED An organic light-emitting diode (OLED or organic LED), also known as organic electroluminescent (organic EL) diode, is a light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compound that emits light i ...

screens under it, similar to the idea conceptualized by the

Optimus Maximus keyboard The Optimus Maximus keyboard, previously just "Optimus keyboard", is a keyboard developed by the Art. Lebedev Studio, a Russian design studio headed by Artemy Lebedev. Each of its keys is a display which can dynamically change to adapt to the keyb ...

. Its dynamic interface changes key binds depending on what game the user is playing. When a video game is executed, the Switchblade intelligently recognizes the game's interface, such as the controls, colour schemes, and command icons. It implements this information right into the keys itself, allowing for multiple profiles and setups for the same game. The user may choose which setup to use for different situations and remove keys that the user does not use. This adaptability compensates for the small number of keys on the Switchblade, allowing for a nearly infinite number of possible keyboard layouts.

Software and usage

The Switchblade will be running

Windows 7 Windows 7 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and became generally available on October 22, 2009. It is the successor to Windows Vista, released nearly ...

with

x86 architecture x86 (also known as 80x86 or the 8086 family) is a family of complex instruction set computer (CISC) instruction set architectures initially developed by Intel based on the Intel 8086 microprocessor and its 8088 variant. The 8086 was introd ...

. This allows for a wide variety of programs to be compatible with the Switchblade, such as word processing (

Microsoft Word Microsoft Word is a word processing software developed by Microsoft. It was first released on October 25, 1983, under the name ''Multi-Tool Word'' for Xenix systems. Subsequent versions were later written for several other platforms includin ...

), internet browsing (

Internet Explorer Internet Explorer (formerly Microsoft Internet Explorer and Windows Internet Explorer, commonly abbreviated IE or MSIE) is a series of graphical user interface, graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft which was used in the Microsoft Wind ...

), etc. Furthermore, the Switchblade features a touchscreen monitor which allows for the functionality of a tablet, making multimedia and web browsing experiences even better. This also eliminates the need for a

touchpad A touchpad or trackpad is a pointing device featuring a tactile sensor, a specialized surface that can translate the motion and position of a user's fingers to a relative position on the operating system that is made output to the screen. Touchp ...

or mouse. Gaming is the Switchblade's forte. Since it runs on

, multiple games have been already played for demonstration such as Quake, WoW, and ''

Defense of the Ancients ''Defense of the Ancients'' (''DotA'') is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) mod for the video game '' Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos'' (2002) and its expansion, '' The Frozen Throne''. The objective of the game is for each team to destroy ...

''. It is programmed to serve the needs of all genres of games. Razer quotes, "The combination of the new dynamic tactile keyboard, a multi-touch-screen and, if required, a mobile gaming mouse, allows for the full desktop PC gaming experience and more." The Switchblade will most likely be equipped standard with 802.11 WiFi and

Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...

, while more expensive models will have 3G network compatibility.

Criticism

The Switchblade is currently still in the prototype stage. Razer is constantly adding and removing features to the Switchblade. However, critics have high hopes for the Switchblade. Brad Graff, director of gaming platforms for

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...

's Ultra Mobility group says that "PC gaming continues to attract innovation with rich 3D graphics, high-definition video, and lifelike animation...The

Intel Atom Intel Atom is the brand name for a line of IA-32 and x86-64 instruction set ultra-low-voltage processors by Intel Corporation designed to reduce electric consumption and power dissipation in comparison with ordinary processors of the Intel Cor ...

processor, combined with Razer's expertise in bringing gaming solutions to market, will help make it possible for consumers to have a powerful gaming experience in mobile devices." Scott Stein of

CNet ''CNET'' (short for "Computer Network") is an American media website that publishes reviews, news, articles, blogs, podcasts, and videos on technology and consumer electronics globally. ''CNET'' originally produced content for radio and televi ...

says that "We'd like to be optimistic or the future of the Switchblade but we've haven't yet seen an

Atom Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. Only the most common variety of hydrogen has no neutrons. Every solid, liquid, gas, and ...

Netbook that's offered anything close to the experience of a regular PC gaming laptop. The 11.6-inch

Alienware Alienware is an American computer hardware subsidiary of Dell. Their product range is dedicated to gaming computers which can be identified by their alien-themed designs. Alienware was founded in 1996 by Nelson Gonzalez and Alex Aguila, and is ...

M11x came close, but also utilized

Nvidia GeForce GeForce is a brand of graphics processing units (GPUs) designed by Nvidia. As of the GeForce 40 series, there have been eighteen iterations of the design. The first GeForce products were discrete GPUs designed for add-on graphics boards, inten ...

graphics and a midlevel Intel Core

CULV Consumer Ultra-Low Voltage (CULV) is a computing platform developed by Intel. The first public display of the Switchblade is in the Razer booth at CES. Despite the fact that the Switchblade's development has been revealed to the public for only a couple of months, it has already won the CES 2011 People's Voice Award. Gaming enthusiasts are rather sceptical of the future of the Switchblade. They say that online gaming is not as efficient without an

ethernet Ethernet () is a family of wired computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN). It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in 198 ...

port. The lack of multiple

ports may also prove to be a problem as only one other wired peripheral can be connected to the Switchblade at a time. Users who wanted to connect a wired mouse and keyboard at the same time would need to purchase an additional

USB hub Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad v ...

. However, built-in Bluetooth connectivity would mitigate this limitation as any devices connected this way would not use a USB port.

Specifications

* Available Colours: Black * Size: 172 × 115 × 25 mm * Weight: Currently Unknown * Battery Life: 4-6 Hours of Gameplayhttp://www.pcworld.com/article/ * Maximum Resolution: 1024 × 600 (Limited by Atom processor) * Ports: 1

USB 3.0 USB 3.0, released in November 2008, is the third major version of the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard for interfacing computers and electronic devices. Among other improvements, USB 3.0 adds the new transfer rate referred to as '' ...

, 1 Headphone, 1 Microphone, 1 AC power Input, 1 mini HDMI Output * Integrated Features: Integrated

Webcam A webcam is a video camera which is designed to record or stream to a computer or computer network. They are primarily used in videotelephony, livestreaming and social media, and security. Webcams can be built-in computer hardware or peripheral d ...

, Built-In 802.11 Wifi,

, 3G

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.razer.com/legacy-products Handheld personal computers Upcoming products