New Razer Switchblade holy moly

[famousringo]

ameratsu said:

famousringo said:

Ehhhh. Don't get too excited.

It's a worthy concept, but there are reasons why they're showing a CG concept video instead of actual hardware with a price tag or ship date.

Here's a keyboard which actually shipped with individual displays for keys:

http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/keyboards-mice/9836/

Note the pricetag. $1600 just for a keyboard alone. Razer's vapourware won't have as many keys, and OLED prices have dropped since the Optimus shipped, but you're still looking at a huge premium of roughly $500 to build the interface for this device.

Then you run into power concerns, which are always an issue in mobile. OLEDs are fairly efficient, but a keyboard that emits photons will always chew more juice than one that doesn't.

The Razer concept doesn't use individual screens though. Only one multitouch display is used for the keyboard.

Engadget said:

Little is known about the device itself, but Razer has imagined it using a pair of 7-inch multitouch displays as well as a layer of tactile, dynamic keys on the lower screen. Much like the Optimus Maximus of yesteryear, this keyboard would enable gamers to place different screens underneath depending on title, and even within a game, you could imagine the keys shifting to account for different POVs, levels, scenarios, etc. 

http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/06/razer-switchblade-7-inch-pocket-gaming-concept-blows-our-minds/

Thanks for the link. I was definitely too hard on this device. It's not as vapourous as I suggested it was if they actually had a prototype on the show floor, and using a single display will definitely reduce cost. 

It'll still cost $100-200 more and drink more power than a similar netbook with, in Baalzamon's words, "normal stupid keys," but the idea doesn't seem so problematic anymore.