Razer's first smartphone coming soon
With 8GB of system memory, the device, which may be launched on Nov 1, is likely targeted at gamers
Gaming hardware maker Razer looks set to launch its first smartphone, barely 10 months after acquiring smartphone start-up Nextbit.
After months of speculation, all the signs now suggest that the Razer phone is a reality and could be unveiled in two weeks.
Images of the purported device have been making the rounds online, and the company itself has dropped a number of big hints.
During an interview with CNBC a month ago, Razer's Singaporean chief executive officer, Mr Tan Min-Liang, confirmed that the gaming company is working on a mobile device that is "specifically geared towards gaming and entertainment".
Then about a week ago, Razer teased the upcoming device with a Web page showing a man holding a smartphone-like gadget with the date Nov 1 listed, hinting at the date of its unveiling.
On Monday, an image showing the rear of a smartphone bearing Razer's logo was leaked via tech website TechByte.
From this leaked image, it looks like the upcoming Razer smartphone will take plenty of inspiration from Nextbit's Robin Android smartphone.
The device has a rectangular shape similar to that of the Robin, but with a rear dual-lens camera set-up.
Even the smartphone's specifications have been leaked as well. A listing appeared on graphics benchmark website GFXBench around three weeks ago, showing a Razer Android smartphone.
Based on this listing, the Razer Phone will sport a 5.7-inch touchscreen display with a screen resolution of 2,560 x 1,440 pixels, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, 64GB of internal memory and 8GB of system memory.
By comparison, the Samsung Galaxy Note8 has 6GB of system memory, while the newly launched Google Pixel 2 XL has 4GB of system memory.
If accurate, the specifications suggest that the Razer handset intends to differentiate itself from the Apple and Samsung phones by being more targeted at gamers.
System memory is needed for multi-tasking operations as well as gaming. This would fit perfectly with Razer's emphasis on gaming and entertainment for its upcoming mobile device.
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For further proof, there is a tweet by Nextbit founder Tom Moss, currently the senior vice-president of mobile at Razer.
The Oct 4 tweet shows him and Mr Tan posing for a photograph, with the Razer phone barely visible in Mr Tan's pocket.
Razer has declined to comment.
The likely announcement about the smartphone will come at a time when Razer appears to be looking to expand beyond gaming.
Last month, it submitted a proposal to the Government to develop a unified e-payment system here.
This came about after Mr Tan, who co-founded the US-based Razer in 2005, responded to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's tweet about the need for one single e-payment system in Singapore during his National Day Rally speech in August.
After Mr Tan tweeted that he could get such a system "rolled out nationwide in 18 months", Mr Lee replied to thank him and said: "Make me a proposal, and I will study it seriously."
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