Razer Blade Owner's Lounge

[thoughtmatrix]

When I first saw the laptop, I thought, wow, nice, something I might consider. Then I saw the price tag...

I just think it was rushed to market.

To be fair it is an awesome device and very competitive to the MacBook Pro on a few levels. If they:

- Dropped the price to $2500
- Dropped the switchblade
- Cleared up warranty misinformation and priced it competitively to Dell.

I would buy it again.

[saturnotaku]

I just think it was rushed to market.

I don't think that was the case at all. IMO, the Blade's design and marketing were simply (very) badly misguided. The notebook should have kept the same components and visual/tactile aesthetics but been released in a 14-inch form factor. Make the only screen 1600x900 matte, have an mSATA SSD for the OS and spinner HDD for programs/games, and drop the price a grand. Offer the touchpad as a separate peripheral at a discounted price when purchased with the Blade, then make it for sale to the general public. Perhaps offer some perks to those who buy them together - a beta testing program for new software, or access to profiles before everyone else.

Edit: HT - it could have been worse. Remember when the original plan was to launch the Blade at its current SRP with a standard platter hard drive?

[HTWingNut]

To be fair it is an awesome device and very competitive to the MacBook Pro on a few levels. If they:

- Dropped the price to $2500
- Dropped the switchblade
- Cleared up warranty misinformation and priced it competitively to Dell.

I would buy it again.

I think $2000 would be a fair cost without the switchblade. Coming new into the market, it's difficult to command a high cost just because someone else does. Apple has made a name for themselves. I don't see anything special about this machine making it worth more than $2k. But after hearing about their return policy I would stray away.

I don't think that was the case at all. IMO, the Blade's design and marketing were simply (very) badly misguided. The notebook should have kept the same components and visual/tactile aesthetics but been released in a 14-inch form factor. Make the only screen 1600x900 matte, have an mSATA SSD for the OS and spinner HDD for programs/games, and drop the price a grand. Offer the touchpad as a separate peripheral at a discounted price when purchased with the Blade, then make it for sale to the general public. Perhaps offer some perks to those who buy them together - a beta testing program for new software, or access to profiles before everyone else.

Edit: HT - it could have been worse. Remember when the original plan was to launch the Blade at its current SRP with a standard platter hard drive?

The 14" machine makes a lot more sense, more a competitor to the M14x, but pricing should be < $2000, preferably $1500. Yeah, $2800 for a machine with a platter... mmm, no.

[thoughtmatrix]

I think $2000 would be a fair cost without the switchblade. Coming new into the market, it's difficult to command a high cost just because someone else does. Apple has made a name for themselves. I don't see anything special about this machine making it worth more than $2k.

Not sure I agree. I consider the primary competitor is the MacBook Pro. I mean once you use the unibody with a matte display it's perfection. Where they failed is the switchblade is no Apple trackpad.

But if you stack the $2800 against a similar spec'ed MacBook pro 17" it's extremely competitive. Maybe not for the 99% but neither is the MBP. Razer wants to be more like Apple, not Dell.

[saturnotaku]

Razer wants to be more like Apple, not Dell.

Which is/was their biggest mistake. They're supposed to be targeting this at gamers. They cross shop Alienware, MSI, and Sager/Clevo against each other, not Apple.

[thoughtmatrix]

Which is/was their biggest mistake. They're supposed to be targeting this at gamers. They cross shop Alienware, MSI, and Sager/Clevo against each other, not Apple.

I agree. In fact with iPad's and smaller devices selling like crazy I'm surprised anyone would consider coming out in the laptop market at all when almost every other manufacturer is trying to figure out how to get out while still selling us ink cartridges.

[imelectronic]

I got my Blade!

What does it take to crash the switchblade UI? I want to try to to see what all is affected. Maybe some replicable steps for us other Blade owners to test out?

[thoughtmatrix]

I got my Blade!

What does it take to crash the switchblade UI? I want to try to to see what all is affected. Maybe some replicable steps for us other Blade owners to test out?

Grats! To crash switchblade all you have to do is use it. :P

No seriously play some games and enjoy it. You'll see a few of the issues fairly quickly and decide if you can tolerate them or not.

[saturnotaku]

The 14" machine makes a lot more sense, more a competitor to the M14x

Even if it were a few hundred dollars more than an M14x, a 14-inch Blade as I described it would have been put on my credit card the instant I could order one.

[thoughtmatrix]

Even if it were a few hundred dollars more than an M14x, a 14-inch Blade as I described it would have been put on my credit card the instant I could order one.

Yeah some people want a 14". I only want a 17".