Razer Switchblade: Handheld PC Gaming

Image via Engadget

Ever wish you could play your computer games on a portable handheld device? Handheld gaming has been limited to handheld consoles (PSP, DS, etc.) until now! Razer is working on a mini netbook that should be able to play PC games. It's only in concept state right now, but the people over at Engadget predict it may be out within the next year.

Image via Engadget

What caught my eye initially was the fact that they used the game World of Warcraft as an example in the article, pictures, and video. I play WoW, and I'm actually the leader of a guild (group of people, similar to a club) there, so for me, it would be convenient if I could log on even when I'm not at my computer.

Image via Engadget

The thing I'm most excited about is the keyboard. The keys are LCD, and can actually change for games that have a keyboard morphing profile. So if you're playing World of Warcraft, your spells will actually show up on the keyboard! How cool is that? I think I'd have a lot of fun with that. Plus, it could save you some screen space (which is precious when on such a small device), because you can get rid of the icons there.

Image via Engadget

I doubt I'd be able to afford anything like this, but I'm still excited about the concept of it, and I'll love to see where else this technology goes in the future.

You can read the full article and watch a video about it at Engadget, and they also have a second article about Ed Fries, a former video game creator and devoloper for Atari and Xbox, joining Razer, possibly to help with the development of the Switchblade.

Video Games at Bus Stops

Image via PSFK.

Yahoo, Clear Channel, and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency teamed up to put giant touch screens in 20 different bus stops in San Francisco. These touch screens allow people, who would normally be stuck waiting for the bus, to play online games against the people at other bus stops. As if getting to play a video game (rather than sitting on a cold bench making awkward conversation with the weirdo next to you) wasn't awesome enough, there is a prize involved. Players get to choose which neighborhood they want to represent, and whichever one has the most points at the end of the promotion will get to host a block party with the band OK Go.

Although this is actually an advertising ploy from Yahoo, I think it's a great thing because they're doing something fun, and non-traditional. What better way to get potential customers' attention than getting them involved in a way that hasn't been done before? They really put research into this advertising idea, because it has its roots in guerrilla marketing, wait marketing, and even viral marketing (proven by the fact that I'm here telling you about it now). I'd like to see more marketing techniques like this in the future.

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