Articles about Razer

A worrying security flaw has been discovered in Razer Synapse software which can be exploited to gain administrator privileges in Windows 10. What is particularly concerning about this vulnerability -- aside from the fact that there is no patch available yet -- is that exploitation is possible by simply plugging in a Razer mouse, keyboard or dongle.

Pretty much the only thing that isn't disturbing about this security hole is that it is a local privilege escalation (LPE) vulnerability, meaning an attacker would need physical access to a system to exploit it. Nonetheless, the zero-day can be taken advantage of by anyone splashing out a few bucks on a cheap Razer peripheral.

Continue reading →

Hardcore gaming laptops are usually big and heavy -- unwieldy beasts with poor battery life and even worse portability. While that is often the case, it is not always. Case in point, today, Razer re-launches its Blade 14 laptop, and while its power is downright godlike, the laptop is surprisingly svelte and light -- it is just .66-inches thin while weighing only 3.92 pounds.

The 2021 edition of the Razer Blade 14 is powered by the insanely powerful 8-core AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX CPU and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 Series mobile GPUs. It comes with a 16GB of (non-upgradeable) DDR4-3200MHz RAM and a 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 x4 SSD. Believe it or not, despite the hardcore specifications, Razer promises up to 12 hours of battery life. Obviously, battery life will vary wildly depending on usage.

Continue reading →

Do you remember Google Glass? It was the search giant's attempt at smart glasses, but it failed spectacularly. Why? Well, they were ugly, overly ambitious, and had a camera that made people nervous. So, yeah, consumers really weren't ready to have a computer on their face.

Razer has some new smart glasses that consumers may actually want, however. Called "Anzu," they feature Bluetooth audio, eye protection, and the ability to summon a smart assistant. Best of all, they resemble regular glasses, so you won't look like a giant nerd -- the way Google Glass made its users appear. Anzu even comes with swappable sunglass lenses, so they can protect your eyes from the sun -- not just a computer monitor.

Continue reading →

Thunderbolt docks are useful devices that make it easy to transform a laptop computer into a desktop while also charging the battery. For years now, manufacturers have been releasing these docks, and while there have been many good ones, none are perfect. And yes, perfection is possible.

Gaming company Razer has announced its all-new "Thunderbolt 4 Dock Chroma," and it probably comes closer to perfection than any other dock I have seen. Unfortunately, it falls short due to a design flaw.

Continue reading →

I'm a big fan of tenkeyless keyboards, which come without the number pad on the right side. Since I don't use those keys (I use the top row of numbers instead), it allows me to save space on my desk. Why have a number pad take up valuable desk space?

Taking things even further, there are "60 percent" keyboards that remove everything from the right of the enter key (arrow keys, insert, print screen, etc). Instead, it maps those as function options on other keys. These keyboards save even more space, all while looking rather cool too. Now, Razer is launching its own 60 percent gaming keyboard. Called "Huntsman Mini" it comes with two options for optical switches -- clicky and linear. And yes, they feature RGB lighting.

Continue reading →

If you are a fan of arcade-style fighting games such as Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, or The King of Fighters, you know that modern game controllers are quite deficient when playing them. Yes, you can get by with a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One controller, but the d-pad and face buttons just aren't ideal. Fans of this genre prefer controllers such as the one that came with the Sega Saturn -- six face buttons and a proper d-pad. I fondly remember buying the ASCII Pad FT for Dreamcast to truly enjoy the great library of fighters.

Now, Razer is delivering a proper fightpad for both the PlayStation 4 and PC. Called "Raion," it features six face buttons -- four of which are labeled with PS4 shapes, such as circle and triangle. I rather like that it is wired too, as nothing is worse for a gamer than running out of battery power in the middle of playing a game.

Continue reading →

If you want a Windows gaming laptop, there are many from which to choose. If you want a thin Windows 10 gaming laptop, however, your options are much more limited.

One of the more popular maker of such svelte gaming laptops is Razer, and today, it upgrades the Blade Pro 17 with an eye-popping new feature -- a 17.3-inch 4K, 3840 x 2160 display with 400 nits brightness! Yes, seriously.

Continue reading →

Razer is a company that is known for its gaming accessories, but also, its gaming-focused notebooks. Its Blade Stealth laptop isn't a gaming machine, but it is quite svelte and beautiful. Seriously, folks, the Blade Stealth is an impressive Windows 10 notebook.

Today, the Razer Blade Stealth gets a massive refresh. It now has a 4K screen option, thinner bezels, a Windows Hello camera, and significantly improved battery life (up to 13 hours). Best of all, you can opt for NVIDIA GeForce MX150 graphics for modest gaming capability. Thanks to Thunderbolt 3, you can also add an eGPU for when even more power is needed.

Continue reading →

If you are a fan of mechanical keyboards, you are probably in heaven these days. After all, there are many manufacturers producing quality products. Unfortunately, many of these models are designed for gaming, meaning they are ostentatious, with RGB lighting and funky teen-friendly style. They often have noisy keys, too -- great for the user, but annoying to those around them. If you want a more conservative mechanical keyboard, your options are a bit limited.

Today, Razer launches a very beautiful mechanical gaming keyboard that looks very sophisticated rather than childish. The "BlackWidow Lite," as it is called, has regular white back-lighting and forgoes a number pad, making it very compact. Best of all, Razer's own orange switches are silent, meaning you won't bother family or coworkers when gaming or typing. It is reasonably priced too.

Continue reading →

A couple of days ago, Google unveiled its 3rd generation of Pixel phones. And you know what? Many consumers don't really seem to care. Let's be honest, the search giant's flagship devices are usually reserved for only the most hardcore Android lovers -- most consumers prefer Samsung. Sadly, even the Google faithful seem unimpressed by the terribly ugly Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. These devices are beyond uninspired, and the notch on the XL variant is shockingly large.

Thankfully, there is another phone that should wash the filthy Pixel 3 taste out of your mouth -- the Razer Phone 2. Yes, the popular gaming company is back with a second generation phone. The device is still focused on gaming, and this time it has a faster processor which delivers an impressive performance boost. It also gets a glass back which helps enable Qi wireless charging -- a must in 2018. And since this is a gaming device, it now has customizable RGB lighting -- for the rear Razer logo.

Continue reading →

Gaming is a huge business these days, and no, I am not just talking about PC and consoles. Believe it or not, many people are playing legit games -- such as Fortnite -- on mobile devices too. Regardless of platform, there is one common theme -- online gaming. Yes, these days, gaming online is probably more popular than playing with one's self offline. And so, having a quality Wi-Fi router is a must.

Today, popular company Razer announces its own router (designed with Design Labs, maker of the "Portal Mesh Wi-Fi Router") and it is sexy as hell. Called "Sila," it leverages an impressive nine internal antennas. The design is basic -- a rectangle, more or less -- but there is beauty and elegance in its simplicity. It will look great in a teen's bedroom next to an Xbox, for instance, but also, it will fit perfectly in a family living room.

Continue reading →

Gaming hardware and accessories often feature very over-the-top designs, making them look like futuristic alien technology. While this is cool for some folks, others prefer more basic products with more conservative designs.

Today, Razer launches the Abyssus Essential optical gaming mouse which features a classic design. Razer calls the mouse "no-frills" and this is quite correct -- because of its ambidextrous design, there are no side buttons.

Continue reading →

Razer may be a smartphone maker nowadays, but don't think for a second the company has forgotten its roots. True, Razer is branching out to other businesses, but it is still a gaming peripheral company at its core.

To drive that point home, today, Razer unveils two new hardcore PC gaming peripherals -- the "Naga Trinity" gaming mouse and "Tartarus V2" gaming keypad. These are two very intriguing products -- evolutions of prior peripheral generations -- both of which focus heavily on complicated multiplayer games, such as MOBA and MMO. The mouse has a replaceable left side, which can give optimized thumb controls based on the game and user preference. The keypad is designed to make many keyboard keys accessible to one hand, making it a more comfortable and streamlined control experience. After all, traditional keyboards were designed for typing -- not gaming.

Continue reading →

About nine months ago, Razer bought smartphone-maker Nextbit. To be honest, at the time, I thought it was a terrible idea. It felt like Razer was getting involved in too many projects, losing its focus as a gaming peripheral and accessory maker. Not to mention, Nextbit seemed like a poor acquisition, since its design philosophy was cute, colorful, and whimsical, whereas Razer is all about being dark.

Today we finally see the fruit of this marriage, and oh my -- it looks amazing. The "Razer Phone," as it is called, is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 and is packing a monstrous 8GB of RAM. It will undoubtedly handle all apps and games you throw at it without breaking a sweat. It even has dual rear 12MP cameras and a huge 4,000 mAh battery with Quick Charge 4+. So, yeah, the specs are great, but that is only part of the story. It is also jaw-droppingly gorgeous! I guess the Nextbit purchase was smart after all...

Continue reading →

Video games are big business nowadays. Not only are consoles and gaming PCs quite expensive, but so too are the games -- especially when you factor in DLC. Not only that, but hardcore gamers are even spending big bucks on "professional" accessories too, such as mice, keyboards, headsets, and more.

Today, Razer unveils what it calls a professional grade controller for Xbox One and PC. The "Wolverine Ultimate," as it is called, is a wired affair -- there is no wireless to be found. Since it is a gaming product, it even features customizable RGB lighting -- we must put lights in all the things! Of course, as you can expect, the controller is quite expensive. Believe it or not, Wolverine Ultimate costs more than Microsoft's "Wireless Elite" controller.

Continue reading →