After its release last November, the Razer Phone generated much excited buzz. At this year's CES, its maker, RAZER (HKG: 1337), showcased a prototype that breaks new ground in the world of mobile devices. CES 2018 was lively, featuring tech spectacles like the relaunch of Aibo, Sony's (SNE  ) adorable robot dog, and the Vuzix Blade (VUZI  ) augmented reality glasses designed to be compatible with Amazon's Alexa (AMZN  ). But RAZER, a gaming company, stood out with its launch of Project Linda, an innovative attempt to maximize the potential of the Razer Phone and merge the features of a mobile device with the user experience of a laptop.

The new prototype at the core of Project Linda is a 13.3-inch laptop shell featuring a dock designed for the Razer Phone in place of a traditional touchpad. When the phone is placed in the dock, it can be connected to the laptop shell through its USB-C port with the press of a button. The phone then powers the laptop's 1080p display and its full-size keyboard. The laptop itself boasts a 53.6 Wh internal battery and 200GB of storage. But on the whole, the Project Linda laptop is fairly sparse, coming with essentials like a 3.5mm headphone jack, a USB-C port for charging, and a regular USB 3.0 port-and little else.

The muscle behind Project Linda is the Razer Phone, which runs on Google's (GOOGL  ) Android operating system. The laptop only runs Android apps, but considering the growing suitability of Android apps for desktop use, this is not a significant limitation. Given RAZER's focus in the gaming industry, it is not surprising that it is promoting Project Linda as a groundbreaking product that bridges the gap between mobile and desktop gaming.

© Razer / press.razerzone.com

Since the shell itself lacks a CPU or a hard drive, the device is remarkably lightweight, weighing in at under three pounds (1.25 kg) even when connected to the phone. The extra room inside also means the Project Linda laptop is able to contain an internal battery that can simultaneously run the device and charge the docked phone.

At the current stage of Project Linda's development, once the Razer Phone is connected, its screen functions solely as the laptop's touchpad. But the project's official launch video hints at much more interesting potential applications for this feature. In the launch video, besides acting as a touchpad, the phone is shown working as a secondary display, featuring additional information during gameplay. If Project Linda ever moves from prototype to production, says RAZER, this would become a real feature, allowing the phone's screen to display relevant information from games and other applications.

Project Linda is far from the first attempt at marrying the capabilities of a PC and a smartphone. The Samsung (KRX: 005930) DeX for the Galaxy S8, released last year, and Microsoft's (MSFT  ) Continuum feature on Windows phones, introduced in 2015, play around with the same concept. But with Project Linda, RAZER explores the possibilities of a more seamless combination of the power of a smartphone and the usability of a desktop.

There is currently no price or set release date for Project Linda, as it is unclear if it will actually become a consumer product. Still, the CES showcase establishes RAZER, which recently had a successful Hong Kong IPO, as an innovator in its field.