Acer is Building a Curved-Screen Gaming Laptop

PC gamers might want to start saving up some cash. Taiwanese hardware developer Acer announced that it was working on a gaming laptop that could create a more immersive experience for the user. This added immersion is courtesy of the curved screen they are building into their Predator 21X laptop model. These screens have been in use by televisions for about three years now, but this will be the first time a laptop computer utilizes the technology. Opinions among experts regarding the effectiveness of the screen are understandably mixed.

Curved screens supposedly offer a greater depth due to matching the shape of the human eye. A user sitting straight across from the screen, as in the case of playing a game, would reap the full benefit of the visuals. However, television and even modern desktop monitors outweigh the majority of laptop screens. Acer’s Predator measures in at 21 inches, which is already quite large for a portable computer. The drawback is that such a size adds onto the laptop’s heft factor, not to mention that the curved screen might not fold down as comfortably as traditional flat-screened laptops.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUBE1nu9HQQ[/embedyt]

Acer still has more to offer, however. The Predator will be equipped with eye tracking technology, enabling gamers to aim at targets by looking at them, dimming the screen when looking at bright objects, and raising the brightness when peering into shadows. Currently the list of tracking-compatible games include around 23 titles, most notable of which might be Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. They’re also working on the Star virtual reality headset.

As for the specs, the Acer 21X carries up to 64gb of memory, boasts room for five external drives, runs on two GTX 1080 GPUs, and packs four speakers and two subwoofers. It breaks the scale at 17 pounds, and is due for release early in 2017. Which brings us to the price. Swallow whatever food or drink is currently in your mouth before reading: $5,000. Still alive? Good.

Want some cool gear that you don’t have to be royalty to afford? There’s a lovely, colorful gaming keyboard you might be interested in.

Matt Eschbach

Matt Eschbach is a PC, Mac and Android indie game developer and fiction writer. His works have won multiple monetary awards from various contests. Graduating college in 2012 with a major in Game Design, Matt spends his time making stuff up and then building it. His favorite hobby… is sleeping.