SINGAPORE - Gaming peripheral company Razer's first smartphone, the Razer Phone, was launched in Singapore on Thursday (Nov 23), a week after its global launch in the United States and Europe.
The phone is available for pre-order at the Sitex 2017 consumer electronics fair, which runs from Thursday until Sunday at the Singapore Expo, making Singapore the first country in Asia to receive the gaming-centric phone.
Consumers here can pre-order the phone through Singtel, which has an exclusive partnership with Razer for the phone here. They will receive a notification from the telco within a week to collect their phones.
In a rare public appearance here, Razer chief executive Tan Min-Liang took the stage at the Singtel booth in Sitex to launch the phone.
"While traditionally our market focus has been on the United States and Europe, over here in Asia, we wanted to find a good partner to launch the Razer phone," said Mr Tan.
"Demand has been insane, and we hope to catch up with demand as soon as possible."
The phone will also be sold at Razer's Singapore online store from Dec 1 at $1,068 (without contract), with a delivery waiting time of between three and seven days.
The phone goes for $598 on Singtel's Combo 2 plan, which users pay $42.90 a month for.
The Razer Phone marks the company's foray into the crowded smartphone market. It comes with specifications that cater to the mobile gaming crowd, such as the first 120Hz screen refresh rate on a phone for smoother graphics, as well as 8GB of RAM.
It also comes with a 5.7-inch display, along with high-end features such as a Snapdragon 835 processor and dual rear cameras.
Teacher Daniel Chin, 34, was the first in line to order the phone at Sitex on Thursday morning.
"It's like a status symbol for gamers. And it's also very competitively priced, especially for a flagship one with its specs," said Mr Chin.
Mr Tan said the company was maintaining its strong focus on gaming through the services it currently offers, such as gaming software, along with partnerships it has with content providers.
"What you'll see moving forward is a lot more of the same - our focus is still on the gamers, on the millennials, on the whole of entertainment," he said.
However, the strong gaming focus Razer is known for might put Razer Phone in a challenging spot for mass adoption.
Market research firm Gartner's principal research analyst Tuong Huy Nguyen said: "Mass-market consumers are not necessarily the target market for this phone. It will appeal to gamers as well as high-end users and enthusiasts who are aware of this device as well as the brand."
