Last year, Razer had a good run at reinventing PC gaming hardware as we knew it. I don't think the Blade ever took off as it might have deserved, but the dual-screen technology was a smart and effective way of solving some of the problems PC gamers might have with their interface. Unlike console gamers, those who play on their computers generally use hardware that wasn't designed for the kind of activity they're undertaking. The guts of their portal to the game-verse may be more powerful than any other, but they're still hammering away on keys and buttons meant for typing words and clicking links. Most don't seem to mind, but there have got to be continued ways to bridge the gap between use and design. Razer seems to be interested in building those bridges.

 

The company has just unleashed their newest creation: a touchscreen tablet designed especially for gaming. You might claim that all tablets are gaming tablets; after all, you can get your Plants vs. Zombies and Angry Birds on just fine there on your iPad. But we're not talking time-wasting, cute 2D characters gaming. We mean game games--games with three-dimensional polygons and realistic environments and guns and blood and guts and what have you. Games that require more than the guts of an iPad to render prettily. Razer's Project Fiona boasts the sort of internal processing power that would make real portable gaming a reality. It's got an Intel Core i7 processor lurking inside its slim frame. When it launches, it'll be running Windows 8, not a cell phone operating system with an expanded resolution. Presumably, the graphics card inside will match its claims to real gaming fame. 

 

Admittedly, the thing looks a little funny, like an iPad with a Wiimote attached on either side. But Fiona's creators insist the design makes for a more engaging, ergonomic experience. With the controller attached to the screen, there's no more division of sight and touch. You're grappling with the very thing you're looking at to play. 

 

Razer is trying to get the Fiona PC to retail for under a grand when it drops. Anywhere near a grand seems a little steep for a portable gaming system, but it seems like the company is trying to combine markets by targeting those who like a powerful machine but also like to leave their house every once in a while. Hopefully there are enough of those people in the world to make this little invention worthwhile.