Gaming peripherals specialist Razer has announced a new keyboard for those with a hefty budget, borrowing technology from its Blade laptop line: the Deathstalker Ultimate.
At its heart, the Deathstalker Ultimate is a fairly standard gaming keyboard with all the usual features including macro keys with cloud-based configuration storage, adjustable backlighting on all keys, 1,000Hz ultrapolling and a dedicated gaming mode.
Where the keyboard differs from the norm, however, is on the right hand side where a number pad would normally be found. Instead of the tenkey layout, gamers will find a 4.05-inch touch-sensitive display and ten tactile OLED-based keys, both fully customisable.
Originally developed for the Switchblade gaming hand-held and later released to market in the Razer Blade gaming laptop, the system allows for an impressive level of customisation not normally available to gamers. While clearly borrowed from the famous Optimus line of OLED-based customisable keyboards, the Deathstalker Ultimate is nevertheless an interesting product - and the touch-sensitive LCD below the Optimus-like OLED buttons provides another level of customisation and control.
The Switchblade User Interface - to give the system its proper title - comes complete with support for a number of games and seperate application widgets, including multimedia playback control. The system is designed to be used as both an input device - with full gesture-based multi-touch supported on the screen - and a secondary information window.
Sadly, all this functionality comes at a cost: Razer has confirmed plans to launch the Deathstalker Ultimate in the US with a $250 price tag, equivalent to around £159 excluding taxes here in the UK. While that's a significant discount over the $1,500 launch price of the Optimus, it remains to be seen how many gamers take up Razer's offer of a high-priced keyboard.
More information is available on the official Razer website.
At its heart, the Deathstalker Ultimate is a fairly standard gaming keyboard with all the usual features including macro keys with cloud-based configuration storage, adjustable backlighting on all keys, 1,000Hz ultrapolling and a dedicated gaming mode.
Where the keyboard differs from the norm, however, is on the right hand side where a number pad would normally be found. Instead of the tenkey layout, gamers will find a 4.05-inch touch-sensitive display and ten tactile OLED-based keys, both fully customisable.
Originally developed for the Switchblade gaming hand-held and later released to market in the Razer Blade gaming laptop, the system allows for an impressive level of customisation not normally available to gamers. While clearly borrowed from the famous Optimus line of OLED-based customisable keyboards, the Deathstalker Ultimate is nevertheless an interesting product - and the touch-sensitive LCD below the Optimus-like OLED buttons provides another level of customisation and control.
The Switchblade User Interface - to give the system its proper title - comes complete with support for a number of games and seperate application widgets, including multimedia playback control. The system is designed to be used as both an input device - with full gesture-based multi-touch supported on the screen - and a secondary information window.
Sadly, all this functionality comes at a cost: Razer has confirmed plans to launch the Deathstalker Ultimate in the US with a $250 price tag, equivalent to around £159 excluding taxes here in the UK. While that's a significant discount over the $1,500 launch price of the Optimus, it remains to be seen how many gamers take up Razer's offer of a high-priced keyboard.
More information is available on the official Razer website.
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