(Credit:
Razer)
Raise your hand if you find that gaming mouse designs are becoming increasingly complicated. Now raise both arms if you think any more than three mouse buttons on a mouse are redundant. If both hands are up in the air, you are a prime candidate for the Razer Abyssus.
The Abyssus hails back to a time when a mouse was just a mouse, with two buttons and a scroll. However, under the hood it's all 2009 technology with a 3,500dpi infrared sensor, on-the-fly sensitivity adjustment, and 1ms response rate. It is also suitable for both right- and left-handers, which can't be said for most of its competitors.
The Razer Abyssus will be available worldwide in time for the holiday season for $49.99.
(Source: Crave Asia)
Update: Congratulations to Charles D. (aka weese1) of West Grove, PA. Your prize is on its way. Thanks to everyone for participating, to Razer for providing the bag, and stay tuned for the next giveaway.
(Credit:
Sarah Tew/CNET)
For this week's installment of the weekly Crave giveaway, we have a Razer Messenger Bag Sling Edition emblazoned with a limited-edition Starcraft II graphic.
In addition to the StarCraft II art, the bag is made out of 100 percent nylon, with Velcro fastening and an adjustable shoulder strap. And it has an internal pocket to secure a laptop.
Razer charges $80 for the standard edition of this messenger bag, with the StarCraft II logo adding a special bonus for fans. Here's your chance to win the thing for free.
How to enter? Read on, read carefully.
- Register as a CNET user. Go to the top of this page and hit the "Join CNET" link to start the registration process. If you're already registered, no need to register again.
- Leave a comment below. You can leave whatever comment you want. If it's funny or insightful it won't help you win, but we're trying to have fun here, so anything entertaining is appreciated.
- Leave only one comment. You may enter this specific giveaway only once. If you enter more than one comment, you will be automatically disqualified.
- The winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive one (1) Razer Messenger Bag Sling Edition with a limited edition Starcraft II graphic. Approximate retail value is $80.
- If you are chosen, you will be notified via e-mail. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.
- Entries can be submitted until Tuesday, September 8, at noon EDT.
And here's the disclaimer, per our legal department:
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENT OF ONE OF THE 50 UNITED STATES OR D.C., 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER AT DATE OF ENTRY INTO SWEEPSTAKES. VOID IN PUERTO RICO, ALL U.S. TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS AND WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. Sweepstakes ends at 12 PM EDT on September 8, 2009. See official rules for details.
Good luck.
In non-Logitech or Microsoft mouse news, we have to hand it to Razer for its ability to read an audience. If you've played World of Warcraft, Warhammer Online, Eve Online, or other MMOs, you've most likely felt overwhelmed by the number of hot keys required to attack, communicate, and manage your inventory.
Razer's new Naga gaming mouse targets MMO gamers by incorporating a 12-button keypad into the side of the device.
The Razer Naga gaming mouse targets MMO gamers with a built-in 12-button keypad.
(Credit: Razer)Aside from the keypad, the Naga looks like a wired version of the Razer Mamba from earlier this year. Like the Mamba, the Naga has all of the speeds and feeds common to high-end gaming mice, including a 5,600 dpi laser sensor and 1,000MHz polling rate. You won't really need those high-precision settings to master the assisted targeting and timed-attack mechanics in a MMO, but it's hard to find a gaming mouse these days without such crazy settings, so you might as well have them.
Razer also boasts in-game configuration add-ons for World of Warcraft and Warhammer Online for the Naga, which will hopefully simplify mapping the various key commands. And if the Naga is reasonably comfortable and intuitive to use, we can see how it might appeal to other gamers, digital media artists, or users of any other hot key-heavy software.
Razer lists the Naga for $79.99 on its Web site, and says it will be available online "soon."
On the heel's of Logitech's announcement of its own new PC gaming peripherals, Razer brings word this morning of new PC gaming mouse and a audio headset. The $130 Mamba mouse hits stores in February and the $80 Carcharias (a family of sharks) headset is set to debut at retail this month.
The Mamba mouse includes many of Razer's hallmark features, plus a few that are new. ...
Read the full post at CNET's CES 2009 blog.
On Sale Now: $65.99 - $70.99
View the latest prices for Razer Carcharias PC Headset
(Credit:
Razer)
Razer is a gaming brand, and as such, it markets its Moray headphones as in-ear noise-isolating "gaming" earphones. And while there really isn't anything that distinguishes them from other soft earbud-style headphones in their price class, they do indeed pair up quite nicely with the PSP, DS, and MP3 players.
Razer describes the Morays, which come in white and black, as having "powerful bass-driven stereo sound and mid-/high-range clarity." That's a somewhat accurate statement, but if you're used to listening to your music through high-end earbud headphones, like those offered by Shure and Etymotic, you'll find the bass more restrained and the clarity not quite as detailed. With heavier bass tracks, you get some distortion at higher volumes, but all in all they hold together fairly well. We're talking about headphones that cost a little more than $30--compared with ones that cost from $100 to $200--so you can't expect the world out of these little guys.
That said, if you care about audio quality you can get considerably better-sounding earbuds--such as the V-Moda Bass Freq or the Sennheiser CX 300--for the same price or slightly more.
(Credit:
Razer)
It seems that our friends in the Middle Kingdom are getting some serious Razer love as the peripheral maker has just announced an entry-level gaming keyboard that will be sold only in China.
And don't let the term "entry-level" fool you. The Razer Aurantia is about as functional as one can get, with 104 macro programmable keys, special function buttons for gaming mode, profile switching, and 10 software profiles. The main differences from its more expensive Lycosa brethren are anti-ghosting capabilities and backlight illumination, features that are nice to have but not essential.
Priced at 399 yuan (about $58), the Aurantia will be shipping mid-July in China. As an interesting aside, we noticed that the keyboard did not have any Chinese labels. According to Razer, this omission is due to the fact that users on the mainland use the romanized pin yin system to type, and only the Taiwanese require their keyboards to have Chinese characters.
(Source: Crave Asia)
(Credit:
Razer)
Well that was a yawn. Here we got all excited over that teaser page for a new mouse from Razer, mostly because we've seen it come up with some pretty neat stuff in the past. This time, not so much.
First of all, its name--"Salmosa"--sounds like a cross between a cocktail and a pet amphibian, when Razer usually comes up with more menacing monikers appropriate for its game gear, like "Diamondback," "Mako," and our all-time favorite, "DeathAdder." Second, and most important, it's an entry-level gaming mouse. There's nothing wrong with that, of course, but it hardly seems worth the suspense.
Razer does say the Salmosa is "the lightest and most compact mice of its class" for "finger-tip grip gamers who seek both speed and control" (hence the "Speed of the Light" teaser theme, apparently). The product itself may be fine, but to us it's like a marketing version of crying wolf.
(Credit:
Speedoflight.com)
If the gadget pictured with this item is difficult to make out, that's exactly the point. The flash ad was so fast that we were barely able to grab this screenshot.
It had been awhile since we'd seen a mystery product campaign, the latest being Sony's OLED TV, B&O's "Serenata" phone, and IBM's "Reserve Edition" ThinkPad. But we knew another would come out before too long.
This latest teaser campaign reportedly comes from game gear maker Razer to tout a new mouse called the "Salmosa." The ad can be found at Speedoflight.com and features what appears to be a mouse zooming by. That wouldn't be a huge surprise because Razer prides itself on its specialty mice in particular, though it makes plenty of other high-end gaming equipment as well.
Whatever it is, this latest product will be unveiled on March 4, according to the scant information provided on the teaser page, which includes a countdown clock but almost nothing else. But if it is indeed a mouse, it faces a huge challenge to live up to the standards of the Black Adder.
This ain't your grandma's SpeedPad.
(Credit: Belkin)Belkin has announced the successor to the n52 SpeedPad, the n52te. What does the "te" stand for, you ask? Tournament Edition. This professional-grade SpeedPad promises to improve your response time in PC games like first-person shooters, real-time strategy games, and MMORPGs.
Teaming up with elite gaming peripheral manufacturer Razer, the n52te carries with it a customizable software suite allowing players to completely modify their gaming experience. The device will support multiple player profiles in addition to Razer Synapse onboard memory, which allows for plug-and-play functionality without the need to install additional software wherever you take it. Also new to the SpeedPad is a fully backlit keyboard and scroll wheel.
In celebration of the n52te release, Belkin has launched a monthlong contest where gamers submit their best frag sessions caught on tape. The "Proud to PWN" submission deadline is November 4, where the 50 best videos will be awarded a new n52te. Check out www.playtopwn.com for all contest details.
The n52te is scheduled for a November 2007 release and will retail for $70.
Razer just announced two new gaming products at the World Cyber Games 2007 grand final in Seattle. The gaming peripheral maker revealed the Lycosa, a new gaming keyboard, and the Piranha, a new gaming headset. Once again, Razer keeps its themes of naming its mice after snakes, its keyboards after spiders, and its audio equipment after fish.
The Lycosa keyboard takes characteristics from both the Razer Tarantula and the Microsoft Reclusa (built with Razer technology) and combines them. Like the Tarantula, the Lycosa features Razer's claimed Ultrapolling 1ms response time and like the Reclusa, the Lycosa's keys light up. You can reprogram, remap, and macro the keyboard, and store up to 10 customizable profiles for quick switching between games. It also comes with a USB port and headphone/microphone jacks, so you can easily plug in your headset or USB key without reaching for your hub or the back of your computer.
Razer's Piranha presents the company's second gaming headset. Unlike Razer's first headset offering, the Barracuda, the Piranha loses the noise-canceling ear cups in favor of a sleeker design. The headset includes an in-like remote control so you can crank up or mute the noise quickly, and Razer claims that the headphones offer a range of 18 to 22,000 Hz. It sports a boom microphone, and is compatible with VoIP software like Skype and TeamSpeak.
The Razer Piranha ships later this month, and the Lycosa ships in November. Both devices will retail for about $80.
