Recently unveiled at CES 2012, Razer’s Project Fiona hasbeen turning heads for the tablet’s ability to playcore PC games like Warhammer 40,000: Space Marines ratherthan being relegated to casual games like AngryBirds. While the idea of playing full blown PC games on a touchscreentablet is appealing and unimaginable at the moment, I still have somereservations about the system’s viability, especially in its current prototypeform.
It’s Way Too Bulky
The 10-inch screen itself isn’t that big of an issue – theiPad and Motorolla XOOM series both are ten inch tablets as well. Thecontrollers on the side, however, not only expand the tablet considerably, butmakes for unnecessary bulkiness. Unlike an ordinary laptop or tablet that onlycontains a flat surface, Project Fiona and its controller add-ons will likely becomea nuisance in any backpack. At most, it will need a special carrying case orfeature detachable controllers, both options of which I find cumbersome incomparison to carrying a gaming laptop around.
Tablets and HardcoreGames are Incompatible
Like smartphones, tablets appeal most to people who are onthe go. Tablets specifically cater more to people who aren’t computer savvy. Thetarget audience isn’t exactly composed of the hardcore gamers that would wantto play core games on the go. Even worse, there’s no benefit that tablets couldbring to these genres either – anything that Project Fiona could allow thesegames to do, the 3DS or PSV have probably already done. With action adventuregames, the tablet and controllers may be adequate, but FPS fans willundoubtedly pine for mouse and keyboard over the tablet’s offerings.
Short ForeseeableBattery Life
With an Intel i7 processor inside the tablet, I’m nothopeful for Project Fiona’s battery life. If the tablet does have a massivebattery, then it may stand a chance. A low battery life will inherently hurtany gameplay experience, cutting play time dramatically. Obviously with thetypes of titles that gamers are looking to play with Project Fiona, games thatwill undoubtedly eat away at and use the tablet’s processor, they will want acharger and outlet nearby throughout gameplay.
It Won’t be Cheap
There’s several reasons why we already know it won’t becheap. For one, Razer isn’t known for making cheap products – that’s not to saytheir products are a rip off, but they definitely burn holes in gamers’wallets. While we don’t know what exact processor the device will use, the i7still hovers at around high 200s to mid 300s on Newegg. On top of that, tabletsthemselves don’t come cheap right now either. The ASUS EP121 Tablet PC, whichruns Windows 7 and features an i5 processor at 1.33 GHz with no dedicated videocard. Razer hasn’t said anything about dedicated video cards yet, but it’s safeto assume that Project Fiona will have it if it’s meant for gaming. With that,an Intel i7 processor, and a projected Windows 8 OS, the tablet is looking moreand more exclusive.
You Can Always JustBuy a Laptop
This option will always come up when one ponders the meritsof buying a tablet. In this case, it’s even more imperative to compare the practicalityof a tablet to that of a laptop. All of the reasons mentioned above seem tofavor a laptop purchase over that of a tablet. For gaming, a laptop will have akeyboard. Even a 17-inch laptop would fit better in a backpack than a tabletwith controllers hanging out. Most laptops also have extendable batteriesavailable. While a gaming laptop with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M will probablyrun gamers around $1200, they can be assured it will be compatible with gamesfor a long time to come. At the moment though, this is all speculation and wehave quite a while to see how the Razer’s price and specs will compare withtraditional gaming laptops. But until then, I won’t be holding my breath forsomething that may turn out to be just a novelty.
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