Speaker 1: The future of handheld games has never looked bright. There are so many to choose from, and this isn’t even all of them, but one of the newest is the Razor Edge. I only wish it was a bit more like two of the best out there, the Steam deck and the Nintendo Switch. Before you get really mad at me there’s a reason why I’m comparing these because these have features that I really think could make this better and that’s what’s stopping it from really loving it as an all in one handheld game system. So the [00:00:30] razor when you get into it at all is kind of like a phone with a game controller attached, but an optimized one. Just like these kind of game controllers, like the backbone one or razor zone kechi controller, that click phones, well, you’re going to do the same thing here. Speaker 1: This thing is its own snap-on game controller and that’s how this works. It actually clicks on this 7-inch tablet and that’s your package. Now you can not use this alone. You should use this when [00:01:00] it is linked. And that’s part of the disconnect here that I don’t like. If you look at something like the Nintendo Switch, of course, the Nintendo Switch has its own modular game controller system. I’ve come to appreciate the fact that the Switch has its own detachable controllers that work wirelessly. And of course you can also put this upright with a stand or you can connect it to a TV. You can play it in different ways. You really can’t do that on the cutting edge. This is a handheld and there are times when I wanted it with a kickstand, you know. Speaker 1: I could [00:01:30] make my own I think, but again you would have to pair another game controller with this, which I think you could do. Um, and it’s just not built in as a solution. The other thing is connecting to a TV, which is to say it’s not designed to do. Maybe Razor could design this at some point, because Razor has done a ton of game fixes. They are a very innovative company and they even designed a gaming handheld a long time ago also called the Razor Edge which I reviewed a decade ago that plugged into a TV and was a gaming handheld [00:02:00] and it predates the switch. So I, I think this needs that type of docker. I’d like to see that. The other thing this lacks that I admire from the steam deck on the other hand is the optimized design of the steam deck for PC gaming. Speaker 1: This thing now has a big screen and it has the right aspect ratio and the controllers on the steam deck feel very nice and professional. They have the feeling of holding an ordinary console game controller. Moreover, there are even these trackpads built-in. Now, by the way, it is very large, this stand is not a part [00:02:30] of it. We 3D printed that, but this is a big package, but it can really make gaming feel, uh uh, PC games feel pretty good. Now the Sharpness is also aimed at the PC and console gamer via some of the same streaming app solutions that are also available on your phone or tablet. Those are things you can take advantage of by using Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to stream or stream some games locally from your Xbox or from your PlayStation. Or you can use this to connect to Steam Link and play PC games. Speaker 1: It kind of works like it [00:03:00] would work on a phone, but the razor edge screen aspect ratio is different from the steam deck and switch. It’s very long. And what that means when you’re streaming games is it has these black pillars on the side. Pillar boxing cuts out much of the playable area and makes the screen feel smaller. I found myself squinting when playing things like Forza Horizon five and watching my, my kid Eldon ring play on this, which was a great test of how good this is for gaming on the go. My 14 year old son [00:03:30] played it for a while and said he wouldn’t use it again. For him, it wasn’t just the screen size, it was, it was that these controllers didn’t feel as professional or his console as maybe something he was used to. Speaker 1: I’m pointing to the steam deck because they just feel more in control, as you know, this has little clicky buttons and they’re fine. They’re no different than the ones you’d use for other phone-connected controllers, but they’re no better either. Now there’s the option to add haptics to this controller, which I haven’t used on many games so far [00:04:00] from as far as I can see. But other than that it’s a similar proposition to what you’d get by plugging in a phone controller and I’d like to see more and that aspect ratio shrinks the screen so much it really makes the steam deck screen look a lot bigger. And that’s something I’d really like to see, this is an aspect ratio that would suit the games that seems best suited to play. Because I’m not just here to play Android games, I’d be here to play console games. Speaker 1: So the Razor Edge also raises another question. Why not just use your phone? Why not just use your phone if you have a good one [00:04:30] phone you can buy something like the backbone one or razor key sheet controller and basically get the same experience for about a hundred bucks. These controllers are great, they’re versatile, we highly recommend them, and they can turn your phone into a great gaming and streaming game device with the same aspect ratio issue. But for a hundred bucks you’d forgive it. $400 for this isn’t too much to pay considering it comes with a 7 inch tablet, you know. But you know, that’s that [00:05:00] The little thing you’ve got here isn’t a phone, it’s not built like a phone. Uh, it doesn’t have all the phone features, it doesn’t have a back camera, it has a front camera. Speaker 1: Uh, it has side vents for heat dissipation. It is not intended to be exposed to water. So you know you could use it to play games like marvel snap you could use it to play other android apps or check your email but it has its own limits and i don’t know if i whole package as it currently stands. Now the Razor Edge comes with an optional 5G version sold through Verizon, but the [00:05:30] the price of that is higher and you also have these mobile data plans that you have to buy into. I wouldn’t recommend that at all, but it could make it into something that you can play on the go and stream on the go, but I don’t think the landscape is set for such a device yet. So at this point, you know, who knows what Nintendo will release next or what valve it will come out with next. Speaker 1: But I think the future of these types of handhelds is going to be more modular, more streaming-friendly. And I think devices like the Razor Edge show where phones and tablets are going. [00:06:00] But what Razor Edge is now feels too much like phones and I feel like I’d wait. Um, that’s just me, but I’d be really curious to see what Razor would come up with in a razor too if there’s such a thing. Those are my thoughts at the moment. Feel free to add some comments below if you have any and don’t forget to like and subscribe. Thanks for looking.