Razer's first phone didn't exactly set the world on fire, but it was nice to see an attempt at a "gaming" phone in an era where you can play the likes of Fortnite on a handheld device. Well, it must have done alright, as Razer appears to have a follow-up in the works.

While its original mission was to make high-end gaming mice, Razer's line of products has grown over the years to include everything from keyboards and fitness bands to entire desktops, laptops, and pretty much anything else the company could put RGB lighting in. However, up until now, there was one glaring hole in Razer's otherwise comprehensive lineup: phones.

After all, more people spend time playing Candy Crush and Clash of Clans than even the most popular AAA PC titles. The problem is that when a $289 Moto G5 Plus can play Super Mario Run just as well as a $1579 iPhone X, WTF is a gaming phone even supposed to be?

The Razer Phone is a very powerful piece of Android hardware. The Project Linda concept, revealed today at CES 2018, is a dock for the Razer Phone that turns it into a 13.3-inch Android gaming laptop. Why not?

Previous attempts at creating a gaming-centric smartphone include phones with slide-out game controllers, a cross between a Sony PlayStation Portable and a phone and the Nokia N-Gage. For its first gaming phone, Razer went with a powerful black rectangle with a stunning display and outstanding speakers. Smart move.

As the folks at Razer would tell it, the plan was always to make a phone. No one at Razer was quite sure what that phone would look like, or precisely how it would be a "gamer" phone -- Razer's peripherals and laptops are built primarily for gamers -- but the phone was a distant dream. Now it's a distinct reality, and at $US699, the new gaming-focused Razer Phone could one day be a solid alternative for people tired of slick glass-backed OLED phones like the iPhone X and Galaxy S8.