CESpotlight 2015: Razer

Gaming peripherals giant Razer has a few goodies of their own for CES 2015, and some of them can be game-changers.

Advertisement

Razer has been synonymous to high-end gaming and premium products. Whether it’s a gaming mouse with a slew of extra buttons for added control and personalization, to full mechanical and rainbow-colored backlit keyboards and beyond, Razer is poised to make a move from your dark desktop table into the living room–and even to the great outdoors–with their offerings at CES 2015.

Forge TV

There has been a quiet rumble of tech talk lately: moving from playing games in your room to playing games in your living room. Big screen 4K TVs are making waves, but Razer has something that sweetens the deal a bit: a microconsole that allows you to play Android games, PC games, and even movies all on a TV for up to four players. A quad-core Snapdragon 805 CPU, Adreno 420 GPU, 2GB RAM, and 16GB storage run under the hood of the little device, allowing you to play the latest Android games on your TV. The Forge TV can also stream your PC games via 802.11ac Wi-Fi, a big step up from games you find off of Google Play. Razer rounds off the experience with Bluetooth peripherals, like the Serval gaming controller (which looks like a teched-out Xbox controller) and the Turret gaming mouse and lapboard (think keyboard on your lap). All these combine to give gamers a low-latency and less laggy gaming experience. The Forge TV and Serval combo retails for $149.99 and is now available.

Open-Source Virtual Reality

Razer has also partnered with virtual reality leader Sensics to develop an open source VR platform for games called the Open-Source Virtual Reality ecosystem. The platform aims to work with other existing VR devices like the popular Oculus DK 2 and the Totem headset, to allow a standardized interface for virtual reality devices, be it for games or another purpose. Razer has developed the OSVR Hacker Dev Kit to aid programmers with tinkering with the platform, priced at $199.99 available in Q2.

Nabu X

Razer’s Nabu fitness tracker made news last year, and while it does set the impression that gamers have active lifestyles too, it was just a tad too expensive. Enter the Nabu X, a less wallet-busting option. The Nabu X features three colored LED indicators and several vibration combinations for discreet alerts, smartphone connectivity, and the usual activity monitors. Steps, calories, sleep, and distance can all be monitored on the Nabu X and band-to-band communication. It also has a private message screen to display a preview of a notification. The thing we love about the Nabu X is how you exchange information with someone who is also wearing a Nabu X: via high fives.