Razer unveils upgraded ultra-thin Blade laptops

Razer today announced upgraded versions of their two ultra-thin laptop Blades, bringing a higher 14-inch display to one and beefier graphics and more memory to the other.

The Razer Blade now comes with a 14-inch 3200x1800 touchscreen display that features 5.76 megapixels. The Blade's IGZO/IPS display is a 250 percent increase in contrast ratio over its predecessor, according to Razer.

The Blade, which starts at $2,199, is available for pre-order now and starts shipping in early April. The entire feature set for this laptop is at the bottom of this story.

The Razer Blade Pro is also getting an overhaul. The 17-inch laptop now comes with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 860M graphics processor and a jump from 8 GB of RAM to 16 GB of RAM.

The Pro also comes with six new Razer Switchblade User Interface programs. The specially created programs were developed to make use of the laptop's ten dynamic adaptive tactile keys and LCD display trackpad. Among the new apps is a program co-developed by electronic dance music producer and performer Afrojack. The program is designed to "help producers make studio-quality music."

The Blade Pro, which starts at $2,299, is available now.

Razer Blade Pro

• 4th Gen Intel® CoreTM i7-4700HQ processor
• 16GBDDR3L(2x8GBDDR3L-1600MHz)
• NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 860M (2 GB GDDR5)
• Windows 8.1 64-Bit
• 128 GB SSD, with optional 256/512 GB SSD (mSATA)
• Intel® Wireless-AC 7260HMW (802.11a/b/g/n/ac + Bluetooth® 4.0)
• RJ45 gigabit Ethernet port
• 17.3-in., full HD, 16:9 ratio, 1920 x 1080, with LED backlight
• Stereo 2.0 speakers
• 3.5 mm audio microphone/headphone combo jack
• HD Webcam (front-facing, 2.0 MP)
• Array microphones
• (3x) USB 3.0 port (SuperSpeed)
• Codec supports 7.1 (via HDMI)
• Dolby® Digital Plus Home Theatre Edition
• Razer Anti-Ghosting Keyboard (with adjustable backlight)
• Razer Switchblade User Interface
• Razer Synapse 2.0 Enabled
• Compact 150 W power adapter
• Built-in 74 Wh Rechargeable lithium ion polymer battery
• Kensington Lock
• 16.8 in. (427 mm) Width x 0.88 in. (22.4 mm) Height x 10.9 in. (277 mm) Depth
• 6.54 lbs. / 2.97 kg

Razer Blade

• 14.0 in. QHD+ 16:9 ratio, 3200x1800
• IGZO/IPS (Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide/In-Plane Switching) display panel
• LED-backlit 10-point capacitive multi-touch screen
• NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 870M (3 GB GDDR5) & Intel HD4600 Integrated Graphics
• 4th Gen Intel® CoreTM i7-4702HQ Quad Core processor
• 8 GB Onboard Memory (DDR3L - 1600 MHz)
• Windows® 8.1 64-Bit
• 128 GB SSD, with optional 256/512 GB SSD (SATA M.2)
• Intel® Wireless-AC 7260HMW (802.11a/b/g/n/ac + Bluetooth® 4.0)
• (3x) USB 3.0 port (SuperSpeed)
• HDMI 1.4a audio and video output
• Dolby® Digital Plus Home Theatre Edition
• Built-in stereo speakers
• 3.5 mm microphone/headphone combo jack
• Array microphone
• 7.1 Codec support (via HDMI)
• Built-in full-HD webcam (2.0 MP)
• Compact 150 W Power Adapter
• Built-in 70 Wh Rechargeable lithium ion polymer battery
• Razer Anti-Ghosting Keyboard (with adjustable backlight)
• Razer Synapse 2.0 Enabled
• Kensington Lock interface
• 13.6 in. (345 mm) Width x 0.70 in. (17.8 mm) Height x 9.3 in. (235 mm) Depth
• 4.47 lbs. / 2.03 kg