In addition to the refreshed Blade Pro laptop, Razer introduced on Thursday during its special press event the mystery device behind its "dime" teaser video released earlier this week: The Blade. The company says it's the world's thinnest gaming laptop, and here is where the dime reference comes into play: it's a mere 0.66 inches thin, slightly shorter in height when compared to a 0.7 inch dime standing upright. Clever, but a bit misleading.
Razer boasts that this new laptop packs more power-per-cubic inch than any other laptop in the world, cramming a future fourth-generation Intel Core "Haswell" processor, the latest Nvidia GeForce GTX 765M GPU, and a SSD into a rigid all-aluminum chassis. Crowning this portable gaming monster is a 14 inch LED-backlit HD+ display, a custom-designed trackpad and a backlit gaming-grade keyboard.
"We’ve designed and built the thinnest, most powerful 14 inch laptop in the world," says Min-Liang Tan, Razer co-founder, CEO and creative director. "Thinner than a dime and more powerful than other traditional desktop replacements today, we’ve created an entirely new category of thin and powerful laptops that is generations ahead of other PCs."
As with the previous Blade Pro laptop, pricing depends on the amount of storage provided by the SSD. The 128 GB model presumably costs $1,799 USD, but unfortunately Razer isn't providing prices for the 256 GB and 512 GB models. Pre-orders will begin on June 3, so that will be a good time to check back for additional pricing. Expects price increase increments of $200 at the least.
On the specs level, Razer can't really reveal what Haswell processor powers this device until the fourth-generation series is properly introduced by Intel next month. However the list reveals 8 GB of DDR3L 1600 MHz memory, a built-in 70Wh rechargeable Lithium-Ion polymer battery, 2 GB of GDDR5 VRAM set aside for the GeForce GTX 765M GPU, and Killer Wireless-N 1202 connectivity (Wireless N and Bluetooth 4.0).
As for the actual dimensions, the laptop measures 13.6 x 9.3 x 0.66 inches, and weighs 4.1 pounds. Gallery shots reveal HDMI output, three USB 3.0 ports, a possible Kingston Lock, and a 3.5 mm microphone/headphone combo jack. The display has a 1600 x 900 resolution, and like the previous laptop, this portable rig likely features built-in speakers supporting Dolby Home Theatre v4.
"Incredible innovation is happening across the computing landscape, and the new mobile gaming experience Razer is delivering with the Edge, and now its Blade, is remarkable," says Navin Shenoy, vice president and general manager of Intel's Mobile Client Platforms. "Powered by a future 4th gen Intel Core processor, people can expect the highest level performance from the Blade for the most discerning gamer."
Pre-orders for the Razer Blade laptop begin June 3.
