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Razer's Nabu Watch is a tribute to the past
Don't call it a smartwatch, because as far as Razer is concerned, this is a digital chronograph that just happens to have smarts built-in. The Nabu Watch takes an old-timey digital watch from the late '90s — specifically a Casio G Shock and its kin — and bakes in the firm's Nabu fitness tracker tech. There's no pixel-dense display here, but three separate modules, the top two showing the date and time in glorious dot matrix. The lower third plays home to a 128 x 16 OLED screen that matches the one you'll find on the Nabu band itself. Thankfully, all of the same fitness, sleep tracking and social features from the original have made it across to this new variation.
Razer's first smartwatch is mostly meant for fitness
Razer's first experiments with wearable tech had their share of problems (notably months of delays), but the company is willing to give it another shot... with a bit of a twist. Its just-launched Nabu Watch has the activity tracking, smartphone notifications and shake-to-share features of the original Nabu and Nabu X, but in a rugged sports watch design. Don't call it a smartwatch, though. While it technically fits that bill, Razer sees this more as a drop- and water-resistant chronograph that just happens to keep track of your app alerts and fitness. On the upside, that limited functionality leads to a seven-day battery life.
Razer is making its own customizable Xbox One controller
The Xbox One already has an expensive controller tailor-made for competitive gamers, but Razer believes there's room for another one. Today at PAX, the company announced its new $150 Wildcat controller for Microsoft's latest console. Razer says that it built the controller under the direction of competitive gamers, something that led to a 25 percent weight reduction over the standard Xbox One controller. The controller also has four additional buttons that can be remapped in any way you see fit and a "quick control" panel along the bottom of the controller to let you quickly switch profiles, adjust chat volume or muting audio.
Razer's smart wristband is finally arriving December 2nd
Razer's Nabu wristband has been long in the making, but it's finally here... well, almost. The gear maker has announced that its hybrid activity tracker and smartwatch will be available in North America on December 2nd. According to the company, that nearly year-long wait makes sure that it lives up to its promises, including social networking features that pop up when you meet fellow Nabu owners. It'll normally be available for $100, although the the first 5,000 Razer Insider members who pre-order can score a unit for $80. The Nabu is a bit late to the party given that rivals like Fitbit have stepped up their game in recent months, but it may be a nice complement to your gaming laptop.
Razer's Nabu smart band nears launch with a trip to the FCC
You'd be forgiven if you don't remember Razer's Nabu smart band. The company unveiled the activity tracker at CES in January, only to delay the release to late spring... and then to remain mostly silent as that launch window came and went. At last, however, there's light at the end of the tunnel -- the Nabu has just received FCC approval, suggesting that it's close to release in at least the US. The filing doesn't reveal any mysteries (shocker: it's a Bluetooth wearable), but it's nice to know that you'll soon have intelligent wristwear that matches your gaming laptop.
Razer delays Nabu wearable launch to avoid Fitbit-like skin complaints
Razer's Nabu wearable won't launch until late May or early June, according to various developers who've received an email regarding the delay. The "smart band," which took home our People's Choice Award at CES this year, was originally supposed to be available by the end of March. According to said email, Razer's in council with "medical professionals" and running "stringent tests to ensure Nabu is fully certified hypoallergenic" before it reaches consumers. This is obviously a reaction to Fitbit's recent problems with its Force fitness tracker, which had to be recalled after thousands of reports of rashes and other skin troubles by its users. Whether Razer's just trying to make the best product possible or simply wants to avoid a PR disaster is irrelevant, we guess, as long as wrists are safe. It begs the question, though: shouldn't such tests have been factored into wearable development as part of reasonable due diligence, rather than just an afterthought? [Thanks, irawrr!]
Razer's Nabu smart band is your People's Choice Award Winner
No close call here: Razer's Nabu wearable accounted for nearly 50 percent of the 54,511 reader votes. We'd venture to say that Razer's promotion of its finalist selection had something to do with the overwhelming turnout, but the company couldn't pull off such a landslide victory without an extremely enthusiastic fan base. Though it didn't snag our award for Best Digital Health and Fitness Product, the Nabu is pretty cool; it sports two OLED displays rather than the standard one, and Razer's planning to add some of its gaming roots to the activity tracker with augmented-reality applications. Congratulations, Razer, and enjoy your 3D-printed trophy!
Razer's Nabu smart band is half fitness tracker and half smart watch (video)
Try as we might, it's hard to predict what a company like Razer might do. The firm has surprised us year after year with overpowered tablets, shockingly thin gaming laptops and OLED-adorned keyboard interfaces. When tasked with predicting what the outfit would come up with next, we never would have guessed it'd be announcing a fitness tracker in 2014. And yet, it did: the Razer Nabu. When company CEO Min-Liang Tan briefed us on the product, he was careful to dance around the word tracker. "It's not a smartwatch," he said. "It's not a fitness band. It's what we're calling a 'smart band.'" Min gave us an introduction to the device at CES 2014: read on a closer look at the band, and a video of the CEO demoing the product for the first time.
