Switchblade UI, Über Gaming Laptop. Don't Cut Yourself !...

Über gaming laptop devotee’s, a new contender has entered the arena and it has an innovative weapon at your fingetips. Makers of the ultimate hard-core gaming hardware Razer have announced the Razer Blade gaming laptop with its Switchblade UI. The Blade was developed in partnership with Intel, Switchblade is pure Razer. Alienware may have made a name with extravagant and outrageous case designs but one thing that gamers love even more is tactical advantage. Which is exactly what the Blades Switchblade UI promises. By combining an LCD touchscreen with 10 hot keys that actually have in-built screens all mapped to offer the greatest in-game advantage. Razer have made one hell of a first impression with their first attempt at the gamers laptop,the Blade.

Armoured in a full aluminium chassis the Razor is a gaming ninja in a world of heavy weight gaming laptops. At just .88 inches thick and 6.7lbs, like a ninja Razer have kept the Blade light and agile. Managing to find the right balance between speed and weight was helped by working directly with Intel on the laptops internal design. Combining the latest Core i7 – 2.8 Ghz 2640M – and NVIDIA GeForce® GT 555M gives the Blade enough performance to handle all of the latest games but keeps it light enough to be classed a laptop and not a desktop replacement. The Blades spec’s put it firmly in the top end of gaming hardware, 17″ LED backlight display, 8GB DDR3, 320GB hard drive, HD Web Cam all wrap around the Intel Core i7 2.8Ghz CPU and GeForce® GT 555M, with 2GB of DDR5 video memory. The real Razer advantage

“The Switchblade User Interface on the Razer Blade is a revolutionary innovation that truly defines the new standard for gaming experiences on a laptop,” said Min-Liang Tan.

While the Blade’s hardware is gaming specific it’s actually the interface that really sets it apart. Included on the keyboard, where a numeric keypad might be is a touch screen LCD along with 10 keys, each with their own display. The ultimate hot keys that can actually change the image on the key. The LCD screen as able to act as a second display for in-game information or as an additional set of controls using the touch-screen. When using the Blade for day-to-day duties the Switchblade Touchscreen becomes the laptops touchpad. While this may sound a little odd have the mouse controlling touchpad to the side stops those annoying stray taps. The function and layout of Switchblade can be customized and Razer are working with game companies to produce standard sets of controls for each game. Think of Switchblade as a keyboard overlay for the modern era, although nothing was handier than being able to scribble something quickly on the side of a keyboard overlay. If the Switchblade UI works as well as it looks expect Alienware and other Gaming laptop manufacturers to jump on board with their own version of Switchblade.

highpants_razer_blade_switchblade_blip — Razer Blade

Razer has a long history of making extreme gaming hardware for extreme gamers. Founded in 1998 – Carlsbad, California – Razer proudly live by the motto ‘For Gamers By Gamers’. Best known from their gamer specific keyboards, mice and game controllers they have sold almost every kind of gaming interface available. Switchblade represents the logical continuation of their work with gamer specific interfaces. Are Razer providing gamers with the unfair advantage of cutting-edge technology and award-winning design, they certainly hope so.

Razer didn’t just tip toe into the gaming laptop waters either, they endowed the Blade with high-end gaming hardware to keep pace with the best machines on the market. They have embarked on a monumental marketing campaign including full-page ads in the Wall Street Journal, the ‘PC Gaming is not dead’ marketing push and website, then there’s the endless press releases. Obviously PC gaming isn’t dead and Razer wants a serious piece of that pie.

Razer have a battle on their hands, the computer gaming hardware market is already a crowded old market, dominated by big names and even bigger marketing budgets. Then add the ongoing PC versus Console battle to the mix and you realize Razer has stepped into the middle of a three-way war. The Switchblade UI is certainly innovative enough to give Razer an advantage adding to the fact that Razer has quite a reputation amongst gamers. If they can leverage their excellent reputation they must just have a shot. Priced at $2799.99 USD the Blade will be available Q4 2011 for the North American markets initially. Consoles have been garnering a lot of attention over the last few years, with breakthroughs in-game controllers and interfaces console had the limelight. Razer’s Blade is like a spot light shinning back on the PC gaming world, reminding us all that there are untold hours of fun to be had on the old PC yet.

Razer Blade 17 Product Specifications: