Walking into the Central Hall at CES, it was easy to first be overwhelmed with the array of tablet devices being showcased at the Intel booth (more about that later). Yet it wasn't all the svelte profile devices without a keyboard that impressed us the most, but instead, it was a pint sized netbook concept from PC accessories manufacturer, Razer, that got the most wide-eyed stares amongst attendees. The Razer Switchblade is an Intel Atom-based device which might make gaming addiction that much more difficult to break, with a keyboard with a tactile keyboard whose layout changes dynamically according to which game is being played.
Take the Optimus Maximus keyboard, mix in an Intel Atom processor with a 7" touchscreen display, and a gaming optimized layout, and you've got the makings of the PC gamer's pocket-sized dream. The idea of tiny, customizable OLED screen keys isn't new, but the netbook specifically designed for gamers whet our appetite for miniaturized online/offline PC style gaming in netbook form (not to mention, future larger full laptop size execution of pro applications such as Photoshop). The Razer Switchblade is just a concept for now, but it was good enough to win the People's Voice award winner at CES 2011.
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Doesn't the Maximus from artlebedev.com do this already?
Indeed it does. I can't believe that you guys went to CES 2011 and you post about a shredder, an air purifier, and a gamer netbook.
Gosh, today I'm disappointed in Unplggd.
What about the new Motorola Xoom that everyone's talking about? (Forgive me for asking for a non-Apple product)
And the Sony 3D TV, without glasses?
Of all the cool stuff you guys could have mentioned...
:(
I think Toshiba had the best non-glasses 3D TV with the 4K TV with parallax barrier technology.
Also, that netbook is using an intel Atom CPU and (probably) Nvidia ION for graphics. The only reason it can do anything is because of the extremely low res screen it will have.
PC gamers (like me) want a certain experience. I have a 28" 1920x1200 monitor, dual graphics cards, gaming headset, mouse, and keyboard. While the switchblade is an interesting concept, the new intel sandybridge CPUs with H67 northbridge are way more interesting.
Valve software CEO Gabe Newell said that the sandybride is what Portal 2 has been designed to work with. Valve is always sensitive to lower cost computers being able to run their games and the sandybridge, which combines gpu and cpu on one die is the biggest revolution in gaming computing (if it performs well enough) since . . . gosh idk . . . I don't want to stampede into a field of hyperbole here, but it's a big deal and probably the biggest innovation since . . . 2003 when 64bit computing was released or . . . the first consumer level dual core processors, which were released 2004-2005. So, maybe it's not that long but 10 years ago my cell phone was a black and white brick that played snake.
smallspacepro: to clarify, Unplggd's focus has never been specifically aimed solely on tech, but devices/solutions connected to improving and seamlessly working with the rest of the home.
Design in conjunction with technology is our primary focus, so some of our spotlights will differ from your typical tech sites (and there are plenty who will cover your spec-heavy devices).
Yeah, I hope I don't sound too critical. I was just talking about some other technologies at CES that I think are in a similar vein as the switchblade but probably do it better.
Honestly, the switchblade looks interesting. It's a neat concept but unless they get the price right I doubt it's going to hit their target audience very well. Also, the Optimus Maximus looked intriguing when it was just concept renders, but when the OLED keys were finally made it was less of a seamless screen of keys and more like tiny crappy screens shoved far apart from one another on an otherwise dumb keyboard. I hope this doesn't turn out like that.
gregory: No foul called here. I grasp what the site is about. I'm willing to bet the people who come here would have liked to hear about (sans glasses) 3D TVs that crept their way into CES this year: Something they might actually use in their homes someday (as the future is shaping up that way).
As for the low-res gamer's netbook. I gotta say what most people at CES were saying: How many gamers feel the need to be mobile? You go to a LAN party, you sit still. It's not something you do on the train. There's a reason people aren't demanding a portable Xbox mini ;)
smallspacepro: we hit 3D displays when they made their way onto the scene last year, and there hasn't been much progress made in reality except for some incremental fine tuning (we sat through several demonstrations again this year).
You'd be surprised how modest of interest 3D sets actually have in the mainstream consumer end (and amongst our readership); there's a very strong sense of wait-and-see for now, pardon the pun. In regards to glass-less 3D systems: these are likely a few generations away from being feasible on the consumer level. We saw yet another round and were only mildly impressed, specifically an LG unit; the effect was more of a 2.5D. When the tech makes some notable strides, we'll definitely be there to report about it.
"How many gamers feel the need to be mobile? You go to a LAN party, you sit still. It's not something you do on the train. There's a reason people aren't demanding a portable Xbox mini"
The popularity of both casual mobile gaming and the possibility of MMORPG in either netbook or tablet form isn't as trivial as I think is implied. I know several hardcore WoW players who drooled at the idea of being able to keep their addiction available on the go, and if an Xbox Mini was feasible (same power in small form factor), it would possibly sell quite well if the price is right, as adventrising noted.
What was more fascinating is the evolutionary promise of more adaptable keyboard and input devices which might bridge between the touchscreen displays and the traditional keyboard experience (thus, the note about Maximus, the 1st device that whet the appetites of technophiles). As someone who uses his keyboard and the shortcut layouts specific to certain apps, the concept was attractive beyond the promise of gaming.