At CES 2012, Razer revealed "Project Fiona" -- a high-end tablet specifically designed for gamers. If you're not familiar with the company, Razer makes some of the best gaming mice, keyboards, and headphones around. It offers premium products and focuses on the high-end market. With that in mind, of course this tablet does not pack a typical portable processor. Instead it will use a high-end Intel i7 chip. All of this power comes at a price. Project Fiona will be available in Q4 2012 at a price under $999. Read on for more details, thoughts, a video, and several pictures of Razer's Project Fiona.
Project Fiona looks like a typical tablet PC adorned with controller wings. Each wing houses an analog stick and digital buttons. Razer claims that its tablet will run any gamepad-compatible PC game out-of-the-box. The tablet also features accelerometers and a multi-touch screen.
According to Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan:
While multi-touch screens have become the de facto user interface for tablets, they are not the right interface for serious PC gaming. The user interface we have designed for Project Fiona allows all existing PC games to be played right out of the box and also provides game developers new opportunities as they develop next-gen games on a highly-intuitive platform. Both developers and gamers are going to love the new user interface that combines the best of a gamepad, multi-touch screen and accelerometers for an all-new gaming experience on-the-go.
My initial thought is that this isn't a tablet at all -- not in the way people have been using the term since Apple redefined the market with the iPad. This is a full-on and extremely powerful Windows 8 machine with an emphasis on portable gaming. I love the sheer boldness of this product. Project Fiona is an aggressive move by Razer and it's one of the most unique tablet computers I've ever seen. However, is this something that the market was asking for and something that consumers will flock to?
I'll be seeing Project Fiona and meeting with Razer later today. Enjoy some additional photos of the tablet below. Be sure to check back soon for more impressions and a video interview on Project Fiona. For now, let me know what you think of Razer's gambit. Is Project Fiona something you're interested in buying?
