Technology

They got to weasel out of admitting wrong doing as part of the settlement?

What a joke

Oh wow, Razer was selling masks? Seriously? That's wild, I must've missed that completely. What's even wilder is that a bunch of people apparently decided that their best option for respiratory filters is, of all things, a gaming company. And one with a shaky QC history at that.

Good thing I've already found a replacement.

I bought one of these masks for the novelty, as well as the influence to buy it during the Great Lockdown when not much was known about Covid and we were wiping down our groceries. By the time the product launched, we already knew how Covid spread and had a vaccine. Despite the advertising saying that it has N95 filters, it was clear that this was not an N95 product. Razer generically stated that it is not a certified N95 mask, but the advertising and product pages were certainly misleading and the FTC’s fine is valid and justified to protect the health and safety of consumers. I would not have used the Zephyr in place of my actual certified N95 masks.

The Zephyr was heavy, but overall quite comfortable, but I never took it outside and wore it for something like a grocery trip (since I knew it was not an N95 mask, and masks were very divisive where I live in a Red State. The last thing I wanted was to potentially be attacked by an anti-vax/mask Freedom Lover). It was heavy, and the fans were loud - very loud. What was disappointing was that the production version did not come with the two features I wanted that were initially advertised: the sanitising case, and the voice amplifier. Imagine how much more fines Razer would face if they advertised an included UV case that came with blue lights rather than UV lights!

I didn’t end up keeping the Zephyr, although I wish I did just to keep a small, unique memory of an uncertain and dangerous time. I do wonder if they could have launched this product sooner and certified it as an N95 mask, if gaming culture could make wearing masks when you’re sick popular. Selfish people might put aside their “freedoms” if they could look cool with gamer RGB and get attention from others (the motivation for selfishness). Of course the Zephyr would need to go through several years of revisions until it became culture.

They actually just meant it was suitable for use with the Nokia N95 phone.

Damn that was my favourite phone. sigh ‘Twas a simpler time.

Cost of doing business

Note that n95 is the minimum grade for biohazard and industrial work. It meams it'll get large particulates (like corona viruses) but not small ones and aerosolized oil (such as spray paint) will fuck your mask.

I remember making fun of it in some discord, imagine spending so much r&d into some RGB gadget instead of contributing to research during COVID, the only certificates they had were for electrical products, none for health stuff

This is from the E3 (or whatever that events name was) announcement

So...do we have reusable respirators that block >=95% of particles 0.3 microns in size yet??

"It was never our intention to mislead people."

Then why make false claims?

Naomi Wu was right.

They should be fined for still being stuck in that awful 90s aesthetic after all this time.

This and xupermask are just cringe consoomer mush. It's honestly shocking to me the trust that people put into celebrities and tech companies. Capitalists "disrupting" a regulated industry should be a big red flag.

I'll take "Product Categories That SHOULD NEVER EXIST" for $1000 Alex!

The fact it uses clear plastic for the mouth has to be a crime, surely.

Covid? I thought gamers were rising up!

I thought everyone forgot this existed. Apparently not.