Razer's newly revealed gaming tablet gaming concept raised a lot of eyebrows yesterday. Concept images showed a tablet-like device with controller sticks mounted on handles. Some even wondered if those were removable. The unit's specifications had others scratching their heads as Razer claimed it would feature full PC game compatibility with its Intel Core i7 processor. This prototype is unlike any other tablet we've seen, so many didn't know what to think about it.
We got our hands on a running prototype in a meeting with Razer at CES, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since. My jaw fell open at first glance and stayed that way through the entire meeting. Seeing Fiona running popular PC games at high settings was really surprising. You've never seen anything even close to this quality on a tablet. In fact, I'm not even sure this could be called a tablet.
Whatever it is, I want one.
First off, forget those renders. The Fiona prototype is beautiful, and those renders we shared yesterday do it no justice. Razer told us that after a bit of a search they finally found a great company in Taiwan that was able to make high end prototypes that look like final hardware. Razer liked their work so much that they bought the company up. These guys did a fantastic job, as Fiona really is sleek and sexy, and has a great hand feel and balance. It's not heavy at all, and the analog sticks and buttons fall under the fingers naturally. While just about anyone would consider it thick for a tablet, and the side controllers looked a bit odd at first, seeing it in person really impressed.
Here's what really matters for gaming: Fiona is a beast in the hardware department. This isn't some mobile processor running a mobile OS, folks. Razer packed in a third-generation Intel Core i7 to have this machine running a Windows operating system. The rest of the specs are still under wraps, but what they had inside this prototype was enough to have it running Windows 7, and Razer says that the timing is right to have the final unit running Windows 8.
We first saw Space Marine running at high settings, and it ran so well that it took a long time for my brain to register that I was watching play on a tablet machine. Graphically, Fiona performed flawlessly, and with the game's combat controls mapped to the analog sticks and control buttons, play looked just as perfect. After that we saw The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim running on Fiona, started directly from Steam, just as you would on a PC. The game looked beautiful even on "Ultra High" settings, coming in at around 15 to 20 frames a second. On "High," Skyrim could do 50 or more frames a second at 1280 x 800. Seeing this flat, compact device running the game at such high quality was almost unbelievable.
The neat thing about Fiona is that input can come from the controllers, touchscreen or a combination of the two. The 10.1" touchscreen is perfect for simple games and mobile-type experiences, and the analog sticks and buttons are perfect for core games, but Razer is hoping that developers will create hybrid controls for titles for Fiona in the future. The included accelerometers and force feedback are also available for game creators. For now, any game with gamepad support will work on Fiona's controllers, and tablet games will work fine with its touchscreen.
I'm sure some will question the need for a gaming tablet, putting it up against a dedicated gaming laptop. Razer says that they are not looking to replace the gaming PC with Fiona, saying that portable form factor could actually supplement desktop gaming rigs. Keep in mind that with its touchscreen and dedicated controls, the experience is quite different from laptop gaming. I don't know that I'd call Fiona a tablet. While it's relatively thin and features a touchscreen, it's so much more capable. While they're not sharing all of what's under the hood, Fiona looks and plays more like a flat touchscreen PC with dedicated gaming controls, especially with it running Windows 7.
What's important is that the unique in design and function are aimed squarely at gamers, and that it seems to be a dream device for those craving portable PC gaming. It's really a dedicated, portable PC gaming console. I'm sure its ability to run top PC games, dedicated controls and sub $1,000 price tag would have many gamers choosing this over a PC gaming laptop if it were to come to market. I'm looking forward to seeing where Razer goes with this. But for now, as a prototype, Fiona is incredibly impressive. Again, whatever it is, I want one.
Contest:
9:00 AM on 01.12.2012 | 
Not that I would really play most MMOs on this thing, but one like DCUO sure I would.
seriously, this kind of tech, at the right price point, will totally change how the pc market works. can you imagine taking your high end pc over to your friends house to play some co-op lfd2 under your arm as tho it were a magazine?
people who have lugged their high end rigs to lanning events know my pain.
also, make it so it will work at a lan party and boom. done. sold.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbbfZbYpDxs
One analog stick controlls view, the second controlls movement then all the buttons for your skills.
The only issue then becomes Chatting, which lets face it, isnt that important.
Well that's what I meant, is the chatting part. For any game really requiring a keyboard, not just for chatting, is what I intended to ask about. I was wondering if it was a virtual keyboard, and how well it worked with screen space and such.
If they could make a tablet optimized for gaming, though... I couldn't resist that for long.
Currently, all Win 8 tabs are set to be running tegra chips by Nvidea, which is a completely different architecture, requiring completely different code for its software. This, in a Win 8 tab, would be an even more impressive sight, and should be cheaper by that time too.
Also can it run discs? If it can watch dvds, or I can put in battlefield 3, I'm pre-ordering it right now.
How is the heat? How does the keyboard work, if any? What about DVD watching?
That.is.Awesome!!!
Finally a tablet that will function as a full pc. I could take it to class (with a keyboard dock, of course) and use it for model formulation - if it can play games, it's way ahead of my 4-5 year old laptop.
Playing on that tiny screen when a big, bulky, separate PC keyboard and also needing to carry that separate stand for the screen, isn't an acceptable alternative (for me) to the unified and ergonomic form factor of a laptop, which these days have much bigger and nicer displays than a tablet.
Just because it's possible to play PC games on the go with this and it's possible to connect a keyboard and mouse to it doesn't mean it would be ideal or even reasonable to do so.
"Ultra High" settings, coming in at around 15 to 20 frames a second"...unplayable then?
Whiners are gonna whine, no matter what, but what they don't seem to realize is that it's a concept, one that will drive imagination in other developers to make similar concepts.
While I say concept, it seems that Razer is actually going to release this badboy, and personally, while I've never been a PC gamer, it's something that has sparked my interest...
I just hope it gains significant popularity and more developers make tablets with dedicated controllers, as I've never been a fan of "touch screen" gaming....
I've also seen another new concept, I beleive it's called the wikipad, and it basically takes a mini tablet and wraps an xbox 360 controller around it, which is removeable..
Have you seen the wikipad, Dale?
What do you think about that?
Windows 8 is designed to support touchscreen interfaces well, so it will be a perfect fit I would say.
I wonder what Fiona means for the PC market and the game market in general. I can't imagine this particular product becoming a standard itself due to its high price, however I have no doubt in my mind that its form factor will become the new standard for gaming laptops. And, because of the fact that this can be used in tandem with a desktop, Wii U style controls can now head to the PC. Not only that, but now there is a true portable gaming PC (I don't consider laptops to be even close to something like the 3DS or Vita in terms of portability, this Fiona thing is much much better in that regard).
Another result of this product's existence makes me think that traditional consoles, handhelds, and smartphones have only 1 generation left in them, which is not necessarily a bad thing even though I primarily play on consoles. I've always seen the value in a console as a good/cheap way to implement new standards, so that games can be developed with certain features in mind because all the platform owners are guaranteed to have certain pieces of hardware. In the past, consoles have been able to standardize (for the general audience) the controller, L and R buttons, 3D graphics, disc based games, motion controls, the touchscreen (which already occurred on the DS, the Wii U is just bringing that to a home system), and whatnot. But now that consoles have already brought along so many standards, and the fact that I think we are approaching the practical graphical wall (especially if Euclidean is not full of crap), the need for a singular platform to standardize a multitude of things is no longer there. In the 8th generation, I believe the job of consoles' will be fufilled after the Wii U standardizes multi-screen play and touchscreen control for home systems. New standards will come at a slower pace than before because of reduced necessity, and because of this slowed pace PC's will be capable of absorbing new features neatly enough to ensure good support for them. I'm pretty sure I'll still be playing consoles mostly in the 8th generation, but I'm sure that by the 9th generation I'll mainly be playing on a PC similar to the Fiona (just with a much lower price than sub-1000$) next to a desktop.
I just want someone show me guile super move without too much effort in a d pad.
Question: I assume the controllers on the side are detachable, right?
Brazil Rules: The sticks on fighting game cabinets are different to analogue sticks. They are digital (only 8-directions like a d-pad) and are to be held rather than pushed with thumbs.