Razer Edge: Hands-On With The x86 Gaming Tablet At CES 2013

[cleeve]

Razer continued developing Project Fiona, which we saw at E3 last year, and it's turning into the Edge. We spent some time with it at CES, and are ready with some first impressions, along with a report on the hardware and accessories Razer plans to sell.

Razer Edge: Hands-On With The x86 Gaming Tablet At CES 2013 : Read more

 

[mayankleoboy1]

But as with most innovative ideas, I'm more excited about what the Edge might become in a couple of generations as Intel and Nvidia further improve performance at lower power ceilings.

Precisely. And this is why Razer Edge is going to fail on release.

 

[obsama1]

It would have been better if they had waited and put in a Haswell CPU in it.

 

[roninx]

I'm a gamer, and I do a lot of business travel, so the Edge appeals to me for use on airline flights. My only concerns are about the battery life and whether its comfortable to hold with the game controller for extended periods of time.

I wonder whether someone could build a device that was only a 7" or 10" screen attached to a game controller with HDMI and USB connections. Combine that with a gaming laptop and a huge battery that could fit in a laptop case under the seat in front of you. Then you would get both light weight and extending gaming time. Obviously, you're not going to fit an M18x down there, but something like a W110ER with a 200 watt-hour battery could work nicely.

 

[DarkSable]

Hmm. I'd never, never buy one of these, but I sincerely hope it succeeds.

Why? Simple. If it does, then there will be more people wanting to play split screen games on the windows OS. That means that there will be more of said games made, which means I win.

 

[Guest]

I dont understand. Is the batterylife extended with 2 hours gaming with the additional batterypack, or is it extended with one hour of gaming?

Both batterys are the same size, but all reports about batterylife says different things.
Usually its 1-2hours of gaming with 6-8 hours non gaming tablet use.
But does this mean 2-4 hours of gaming and 12-14 hours of normal use with the extended battery pack, or does it mean 30 minutes to one hour of gaming and 3-4 hours of normal use without the extra battery?

I also want to know how easy it is to pause the game, pop out the tablet from the mobile controller dock, change battery in the dock, and pop the tablet back.
If this is easy to do, and if the batterylife of one battery is 1-2 hours of gaming and 6-8 normal use, i will not see batterylife as a problem. I will just buy some extra batteries for 5-10 hours of gaming and 30 - 40 hours of tablet use. But i will skip this machine if batterylife of one battery is 30min -1 hour of gaming, and instead hope others will buy and wait for the second generation razer edge.

 

[sna]

I like it .. and all people who say negative things about it , like Battery life , and wait for next CPU .. wake UP

this thing STILL HAS HD4000 , and you CAN shutdown the 640M GPU , and use the HD4000 for battery life like any tablet in the market.

and when there is a POWER source near you ... plug it and use the 640M , like in Trains , Planes , etc ...

but I tell you somthing , some people who "want it" and cat have it , are ....

 

[cleeve]

[citation][nom]Gabriel Tarde[/nom]I dont understand. Is the batterylife extended with 2 hours gaming with the additional batterypack, or is it extended with one hour of gaming?[/citation]

Depends on the game.

But demanding games will be 1 hour of battery life out of the package, and 2 hours with the extended battery.

 

[cknobman]

[citation][nom]Cleeve[/nom]Depends on the game. But demanding games will be 1 hour of battery life out of the package, and 2 hours with the extended battery.[/citation]

Sorry but that is just not going to cut it especially for the mobile gaming market (which what this appears to be targeting).

This is a great idea but technology and pricing just are not quite there yet. This needs to be capable of gaming on the standard batter for ~3hours and they need to be able to package the thing with the gaming dock for $1000

 

[cleeve]

[citation][nom]cknobman[/nom]This is a great idea but technology and pricing just are not quite there yet. This needs to be capable of gaming on the standard batter for ~3hours and they need to be able to package the thing with the gaming dock for $1000[/citation]

Sounds like our conclusion.

 

[lordravage]

"the Edge drove Uncharted at 1920x1080 with no performance issues."

Did I read correctly that you were playing Uncharted on a PC?

 

[Guest]

Wonder why i got the dislikes...

Thanx for your answer Cleeve!

If batterylife of one battery is not going below one hour when i stress the hardware in a demanding game, i will surely by the pro version and some extra batteries. Im starting to look forward to this. What im actually is going to use it for is connecting it with the home console dock, and use it to perform digital improvisational music live at different places. Easy to bring around, and it has a cpu that handles heavy audio processing. I can also connect a portable projector and show visuals. I will use a razer hydra for live modulation of sounds. It will be a great portable instrument that i also can game on, make notes and surf the web while on the go. At home i can connect it to a good keyboard and use it to type texts, more like an office computer, and i will also use it as a htpc/console for my telly. I guess its a not so bad move from the weak first generation atom netbook i use for everything right now.

Did you notice if it was difficult to change batteries on the dock?
Im hoping its as easy as changing tapes on a ghetto blaster

 

[cleeve]

[citation][nom]lordravage[/nom]Did I read correctly that you were playing Uncharted on a PC?[/citation]

Derp Derp! It was Dishonored. Fixed.

Sorry, I transcribed it directly from the audio recording I took during the demo. Someone in the Razer demo room misnamed the game in the interview.

 

[cleeve]

[citation][nom]G Tarde[/nom]Did you notice if it was difficult to change batteries on the dock?[/citation]

it's not hard to change the battery, but the battery requires the Mobile Console (gamepad attachment) to sit in.

I suppose in theory you could have a couple of batteries with you, but at $80 a pop for each extra hour, that's going to get heavy and expensive fast...

 

[warezme]

[citation][nom]lordravage[/nom]"the Edge drove Uncharted at 1920x1080 with no performance issues."Did I read correctly that you were playing Uncharted on a PC?[/citation]odd, I read that an immediately thought, dishonored.

 

[cats_Paw]

I think Alienware X11 beats this in general.

 

[hoofhearted]

Why not partner with someone and build a battery into a laptop bag (maybe Slappa hardbody) made to fit? I am on an m14x, which is great, but you can't exactly walk into the shitter at work with it. A Vita or 3ds fits nicely into a pocket and a tablet, well at least you'll be perceived as doing something productive. I like to game while in the car while my wife drives, so hopefully the draw won't blow my car outlet fuses. Don't really want to game on battery, but as long as I can take it to the gym and watch movies while I do my cardio, this would be the device for me.

 

[loops]

What I'd like to see is a tablet that allows me to plug in an external gpu of my liking. It would be nice to have a tablet/hybrid to take to work every day and bring home, dock, plug in a gtx 670 or 7950 and game away.

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/lucid-gpu-graphics-thunderbolt-external,17520.html + tablet plz.

 

[iceclock]

i do like the idea of handheld gaming, but the price is a bit too steep for me to consider purchasing, ill be looking prob at the nvidia based tegra4 handheld system,

 

[hixbot]

Can the battery in the tablet be replaced when it stops taking a charge?

 

[g-unit1111]

So is this like an actual legitimate gaming tablet or is it just a Surface with a rubberized gaming controller attached to it?

 

[upgrade_1977]

This is the whole reason I was excited about windows 8 in the first place, cuz of the possibility of PC gaming on different platforms like this. I am really disappointed about the low end specs and the horrible battery life, but I have high hopes for the future generations of these kinds device's. And even though I want one, due to the price, I think I'll stick with Nvidia's shield and a traditional tablet until something else comes along. Hopefully in windows 9 they'll have the start menu back and it'll be more like windows 7, and by then they'll have some better hardware..Then i'll be much more interested in spending the cash. 0_o

 

[sanilmahambre]

Love ya Razor! i was waiting for this

 

[sanilmahambre]

when is it gonna be launched in INDIA

 

[ChilledLJ]

"it's hard to imagine playing first-person shooters with analog sticks. " - not really, millions do it everyday, COD, Halo.
"Connect an Xbox 360-style controller, and you have a game console." - did I miss something?