E3 2012: Razer preview

Just last week at E3, I had the pleasure of sitting down with President of Razer, Robert Krakoff. Besides some small talk about sports (and a prediction that the Boston Celtics would beat the Miami Heat), he took some time out of his busy day to show us two new Razer products that gamers are sure to get giddy about.

Due out this July or August, Razer is releasing the Razer Taipan Gaming Mouse. The Taipan has an ambidextrous form, meaning it’s good for use with either hand. It boasts an impressive 8200 dpi and dual sensors. The dual sensors are part laser and part optic, with the optic part acting as a super setting that detects and accounts for the surface you’re playing on. It is a 32 bit mouse and can cover the movement speed of 200 inches-per-second.

razer taipan

The Taipan boasts a weight of 95g, and Robert told us that they didn’t include a weight system because they would rather focus on other features. It has nine programmable buttons, 1000 Hz ultrapolling with a 1ms response time, and has a 2.1m/7ft. braided fiber cable.

If that’s not enough, the Razer Taipan is also Synapse 2.0 enabled, which allows you to customize all of the settings for your Razer product. It is cloud-based storage for your Razer products and automatically syncs users’ settings/profiles on a server. Some of the customization options available with Synapse 2.0 are changing the USB polling rate between 500 or a full 1000, choosing the amount of liftoff, and calibrating your mouse with Razer mouse pads, other brands’ mouse pads, or a desk surface.

If you’re looking for an ambidextrous mouse with a comfortable design, rubber grip sides, good rebounds on clicks, and specs that’ll make gamers drool, the Razer Taipan will be available this summer for $79.99.

The other Razer product shown off to us was a headset designed specifically with Battlefield 3 in mind, and it is called the Battlefield 3 Razer Blackshark. It was explained to me that with the Blackshark, they wanted players to feel like they were really flying the vehicles they use in-game. Even the look of it is inspired by actual aviator headsets. The Blackshark is a stereo PC game headset, but with a 3.5mm jack, it can also be used with your smartphone for music; I tried it out listening to music, and believe me when I say that it can be your primary headphones for music. That bass hits.

BF3 RAzer Blackshark

The ear cushions are memory foam with a leather casing, and they’re extremely comfortable. I had them on for a while, and not once did I become irritated by them. They also breathe well, so they’re comfortable and airy. I don’t think my ears would become hot if I wore them for hours on end. The Blackshark also has sound isolation to block out ambient noises that might ruin your experience. The best part of the headset, in my opinion, is the easily detachable microphone, making it easier for on-the-go use.  Yes, Battlefield is in the name of this headset, but that doesn’t mean that this headset won’t be good for overall use. The Razer Blackshark ships in July and goes for $129.99.

The last thing briefly showed was the Razer Mechwarrior Online Concept Controller. I’m not really into mech games, but if you are, this will be on your must-have list. It’s basically a mech cockpit in your lap. Razer said that they listened to a lot of requests and feedback from the MechWarrior community, and built this concept with all of that feedback in mind. Dubbed the “Razer Artemis,” stay tuned for more information and a release date about this concept controller.

Razer MechWarrior Online Concept controller

Looks like Razer keeps up the trend of releasing high-quality PC gaming products. If you’re in the market for a mouse or headset, you can’t go wrong with either of these. Overall, it was a great showing for Razer, and it was something for MechWarrior fans to get excited about.

You can follow Lance Liebl on Twitter @Lance_GZ

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