This year was supposed to be the year of the Ultrabook. It was supposed to be the year where svelte notebooks became standard. It was supposed to be the year that Intel’s latest ultra-mobile platform gave Windows PC makers something to celebrate.
But that’s not happening. At least not yet. And that shouldn’t come as a surprise. → Read More
Lenovo is serious about ultrabooks. The company just introduced two new ultrabooks that will live alongside the company’s existing model, the ThinkPad X1. These three models put Lenovo in a unique position in the ultrabook game. While other companies are releasing their first ultrabooks, here’s Lenovo, with a relatively large product offering including a high-end model and an attractive entry-level model. → Read More
Rather than looking back (which I’m sure we will), I thought it would be nice to look forward to 2012 and beyond and note some of the gadgets that will change the world in the next few years. I’ve included mobile, gaming, and computing gadgets but I think 2012 will also be the year of Windows Phone, 3D printing, and fitness technology that actually makes a difference.
I’m not expecting much in the way of massive change this next year, just more of the same, but better. Here are our picks for the best of 2012.
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The first ultrabooks are just now hitting the market but despite Intel’s stated wishes, prices are generally north of $1000. But that might change early next year, per Digitimes who cites several supply chain makers. Reportedly, Acer, Asustek and Toshiba are looking to lower prices in 1Q12 to below $1000. Plus, a $100 marketing subsidy from Intel cause a overal dip of 5-10% next year. But even without the potential price drop, it’s best to wait for the next round of ultrabooks anyway. → Read More
In my home office sits a 27-inch iMac with a secondary 24-inch LED Cinema Display attached to it. It’s a glorious vision of screen real estate.
And yet, I dread using it.
First world problem? It’s perhaps the definition of the term. But it’s true. I’m sitting here on a couch adjacent to my desk because I’d rather type this post on my MacBook Air. To be completely honest, I’d rather be using my iPad right now. But I must admit, it doesn’t come anywhere close to cutting it when it comes to typing more than a few dozen words. So for now, the MacBook Air exists as the pinnacle of personal computing in my eyes. → Read More
A couple of what appear to be ultrabooks from Dell have snuck into the FCC for a bit of quiet emissions testing. The devices, spotted by Wirelesss Goodness, are pictured only partially, and in schematic form no less, so it’s hard to draw too many conclusions.
One thing you can tell for sure, though, is that these are thin buggers. That’s an ethernet port on the corner there, which puts the total height of the laptop at around 20mm. That doesn’t include the display, of course, but it’s still very much ultrabook material. → Read More
Every year at the global electronic bazaar that is the Consumer Electronic Show, there is a product du jour. A certain product segment seemingly overloads the trade show. iPad killers were out in force at 2011′s show. 2010 was all about 3D TVs while netbooks was the popular product in 2009. It seems that utltrabooks might be 2012′s hot product. But can they break the dreaded CES curse (a term I coined for the purpose of this post) that plagued the previous hot products? → Read More
The promise of the ultra-cheap ultrabook hasn’t quite been fulfilled yet, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a few sexy machines before the new ones hit. Acer’s Aspire S3 dropped yesterday, and we’ll have a review up soon, but the new Asus Zenbooks, rumored and pictured earlier but only actually announced today, are the ones I’ve been waiting for.
You’ve got two basic models: the 11.6-inch UX21 and the 13-inch UX31. But there’s more, much more. → Read More
Ultrabooks are set to light the notebook market ablaze, but the two largest PC makers are arriving fashionably late. A Digitimes report collaborates earlier rumors that HP and Dell do not plan on releasing ultrabooks anytime soon. This puts Acer, Asus, Toshiba and Lenovo in particularly prime positions to stake claim in what could become a pivotal market. But they better get while the getting is good. You can bet that HP and Dell are going to eventually bust through the ultrabook wall Kool-Aid man-style. → Read More
Intel clearly has a hit on its hands. Mooly Eden, vice president and general manager of the PC Client Group, took to the IDF 2011 stage today and announced several things including that, as this posts headline states, the company’s current crop of Core CPUs, codenamed Sandy Bridge, is Intel’s fastest selling platform yet with more than 75 million chips shipped. This major milestone comes as Intel’s next big thing, ultrabooks, are about to hit retailers.
Eden went on to state that by Intel estimates approximately 1 million computers are sold each day with emerging markets leading the growth. Intel likely hopes ultrabooks will spur a revival and bump that number up even higher. → Read More
Apple is seemingly sucking all the air out of the PC market. Major players are weary of launching an entirely new product type even one with such draw as ultrabooks. Digitimes is reporting that the first round of ultrabook orders are fairly light as companies smartly predict that consumers are still enamored with Apple products.
The first round of ultrabook (read: MacBook Air clones) were announced by Acer, Lenovo and Toshiba last week at Germany’s IFA trade conference. These svelte notebooks are built around an entirely new platform developed by Intel, which if pushed onto consumer’s properly, could usher in a new golden age for the Windows PC. But OEMs are reportedly timid and expected to artificially limit the amount of Ultrabooks for the rest of the year. → Read More
The first round of ultrabooks are upon us. Acer and Asus are said to have several models ready for an IFA debut later this week, but Notebook Italia just located a product page for the Acer Ultrabook S3 that went up a bit premature and confirms that these next-gen notebooks, ultrabooks, will rock your socks. → Read More
The day of the Ultrabook is nearly upon us and per Asustek chairman, Jonney Shih, the PC maker has five to six models on the bill for an October release. Prices are said to start out $899 but also reach $1,999. That’s notable higher than Intel’s target price of $999 and under. Still, if Intel has its way, ultrabooks will be the next big thing in PC notebooks. The ultra-thin, ultra-sexy notebooks are designed around Intel’s next-gen Ivy Bridge CPU platform that offers high but efficient performance at affordable price points and Asus is set to flood the market with a bunch of models. → Read More
As I write this, I’m sitting in my office. Around me, there are nine computers — seven of them run Windows. I have three slates, too — only one is an iPad. Welcome to the Post-PC world outside of San Francisco where Microsoft is still top dog and Apple is a niche, but admittedly, influential player.
We may be in the post-PC era, but the Windows PC is far from dead. Apple is growing rapidly but seemingly focused on high margin products and massive flying saucer headquarters rather than advancing society into the next age of computing. That’s Intel’s job. And they’re going to do with a MacBook clone. → Read More
When Intel launched its Ultrabook initiative, we were excited: a full-on PC notebook the size of a MacBook Air? Promises of Adamos and Series 9s danced before our eyes, sexy but overpriced. Could this new spec be the one that makes our Air-toting friends jealous?
Unfortunately, few ultrabooks have surfaced, and those that have aren’t really competing pricewise. And just today we hear that Apple is hogging all the aluminum, so people are going to make their notebooks out of fiberglass. Fiberglass! Don’t fret: Intel is on the case, and everything will be all right. → Read More
The rush towards lightweight, thin laptops — the “ultrabook” spec being promoted by Intel — has resulted in a major uptick in demand for thin metal chassis. Unfortunately, much of the aluminum milling capacity is being taken up by Apple, which is relying more than ever on the material for its laptop lines. Big players like Acer and HP can’t make do with the remainder capacity of the mills, and plastic is too thick to use for these designs. What to do?
Well, according to Digitimes, they’re going for fiberglass. Yes, that fiberglass. → Read More
Ultrabooks are supposed to be the PC’s answer to the MacBook Air. These notebooks are said to rock hardware platforms very similar to the Air’s but, you know, run Windows instead of OS X. The first crop from HP and Asus will likely hit during the fourth quarter of 2011 but won’t be Air-killers right away. They’re going to be too expensive. → Read More
Intel is using the yearly Computex Taipei exhibition in Taiwan as a platform to pitch a new category of laptops. Dubbed Ultrabooks, these devices are supposed to have three distinct features: they are thinner (less than 20mm/0.8 inches) and lighter than most existing laptops, and they should be priced below $1,000 in order to become mainstream. → Read More
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