Razer's prototype gaming tablet has come to reality, with the Razer Edge, an all-in-one gaming experience wrapped up in a tablet.
Our quick take
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It is fairly hefty for a tablet, but given there is a Nvidia GT640M inside, a choice of either an i5 or i7 processor and an SSD going up to 256GB, this is forgivable.
The tablet has been crowdsource developed, meaning gamers and fans played a huge part in its development. The result is that it is very gaming centric. It does run a full version of Windows 8, but this is a device that you will want to game with and little else. The matte effect on the back is great and the usual Razer build quality is there.
The tablet sports a 10.1 inch 1366 x 768 display which, while not being full HD, is definitely bright. All the screen and processing power does however mean you don't get a huge amount of gaming time from the device, around only two hours at full wack.
We played Dishonored, which ticked along nicely at 60fps, the back of the Razer was good and hot though, but it's difficult to ignore just how good it feels playing a game like that on a tablet.
The attached controller dock makes a massive difference to the Edge. It comes as part of the numerous bundles the tablet will ship in. They are backlit, which is especially cool, and the whole thing rumbles. It feels weird having the two sticks split on either side of the screen initially, but a bit of playing later and we were used to it. The controller accessory will cost $249 when it ships.
As for connectivity, there is a USB 3.0 port on the tablet as well as Bluetooth 4.0. These connectivity options can be bolstered with an additional dock that features a HDMI port and 3 USB 3.0 ports, mic and audio out. This was hooked up to a TV and let us use the Razer to game on the big screen with a controller plugged into its USB port. The dock will cost $99
As for options with the Edge, it starts at $999 for the 1.7GHz 8GB RAM-packing i5 version and $1,299 for the 1.9GHz i7 Pro. Adding more memory to the SSD will up the price further. Everything can be preordered at Razer's website.
As tablets go, its an unusual one. This is a gaming device through and through and makes for arguably the most top-of-the-line tablet gaming experience there is. For conventional tablet use, however, it really is a touch too big compared to some of the other Windows devices or the iPad. But then you wouldn't be picking up a $999 tablet like this unless you were serious about gaming.