Razer has made big headlines over the past 24 hours with their announcement of a triple-screen laptop. This is actually not the first triple-screen laptop we’ve seen, but it is the world’s first to open automatically and to have 3x 4K displays. Razer has done a stellar job at creating ‘Project Valerie’ and as a technical achievement it should be congratulated.
Powered by an Nvidia GTX 1080, the 17″ laptop natively supports Nvidia’s Surround View with a mega 11520 x 2160 resolution. Naturally your mind may head towards the gaming possibilities with this monster, but Razar are also targeting professional creatives that rely on multi-tasking across applications to get the job done quickly.
The automated deployment system pushes the articulated aluminium arms from the center display into position in just seconds. This engineering is pretty brilliant here and Razer has somehow managed to do it in a package that they claim is thinner than an average 17″ laptop on the market.
The thing is most people buy laptops for their portability and as soon as you add the weight of the 3 displays, you and the massive battery to get more than 5 minutes battery life, you create a device that’s too heavy. Not too heavy that nobody can lift it, but heavier than you want it to be for day-to-day commuting.
I do give them credit for placing the trackpad to the right of the keyboard, this has two key benefits. Its a closer position to where you’re right hand is usually for mouse input and takes advantage of the extra space afforded by the large body required to house the 17.3″ panel. The multi-coloured backlit keys are very Razer and form a strong alignment with other Razer products.
For the price tag associated with this beast, you want to be using it everyday to justify the investment. Furthermore, if you’re going from power outlet to power outlet, you’re kind of missing the point of portability that laptops are supposed to deliver.
This is the kind of product that is for an incredibly specific market and sell in such small numbers its not a product line that could ever be profitable. It’s a fun announcement, impressive concept, but you will never buy this laptop.
