Nanotech - The Circuits Blog

How will Apple redesign the ultraslim, seminal MacBook Air that launched dozens of me-too ultraportable laptops? Only Apple knows. But here are some gratuitous musings anyway.

Dell Latitude Z: a 16-inch laptop that's less than 0.8-inches thick and under five pounds.

(Credit: Dell)

In a previous post, I said I wouldn't hazard any guesses on what Apple may do with the MacBook Air. And I won't. That doesn't stop me from looking at the most recent ultrathin laptop competition to see where Apple might be able to improve the design that turns two years old in January.

Enclosure: This will be a tough act to follow. The original design was good enough that Apple didn't change it for gen 2--aka Rev. B--of the Air. And the aluminum enclosure was a trendsetter, which all MacBook Pros (and other PC makers) eventually copied.

But that doesn't mean the Air is perfect. The razor-thin slab of aluminum provides little room for ports and connectors. (Apple's implementation is a flip-out set of USB, Mini DisplayPort, audio ports that retract back into the body.)

A design modification that the Dell Adamo uses (some say retrogressed to) was putting the ports on the back (behind the screen). This allows Dell to offer a fuller array of connectors.

Could Apple come out with a tablet version of the Air?

(Credit: OLPC)

Hewlett-Packard, for its part, went another route: it just made its Envy 13 slightly thicker (at 0.8 inches) than the Air, allowing a couple more connectors (a second USB port and an SD card slot). HP also molded the base of the Envy in magnesium, which makes it lighter, according to HP.

Then there's just-announced Dell Adamo XPS. This is even thinner than the MacBook Air and puts the CPU-complex-plus-circuit-board (aka motherboard) behind the screen, not underneath the keyboard--standard design practice for all laptops.

Sony Vaio X is a good example of how small and thin a premium laptop can be: it has an 11.1-inch screen.

(Credit: Sony)

Of course, there's the recurring rumor that Apple is looking at different materials to make it even lighter while maintaining its famous sturdiness. This could potentially be a combination of aluminum and something like carbon fiber. (Though, as stated above, HP claims that magnesium is the way to go.)

Other possibilities: make one model bigger (wider), a la the Dell Latitude Z, which offers a 16-inch 1600x900 WLED Display and at its thickest point is only 0.79 inches.

Or make it smaller. The Sony Vaio X is a great example of how light (1.6 pounds) and thin (0.55 inches) a premium laptop (technically it's a Netbook) can be.

Tablet? There is the remote possibility that a version of the Air becomes a tablet. And that would mean potentially a new enclosure and new silicon.

Graphics:. The second feature I'll touch on is graphics. A good graphics chip is tough to squeeze into ultrathin designs and this a major feature that set the Air apart from other slim designs, ... Read more

Intel is set to announce the biggest makeover for its Atom processor since it was introduced back in the spring of 2008. And PC makers are ready with new Netbook models, some due before the mammoth Consumer Electronics Show in January.

HP has stopped selling preconfigured Mini 5101 Netbook models directly as it readies models with the new Atom processor.

(Credit: Hewlett-Packard)

Netbooks--tiny laptops used for Web surfing and light production tasks--have gained in popularity as a cheap alternative to a laptop. They can be had for as little as $250--or under $100 when bought as part of a two-year contract at phone carriers such as a Verizon.

Inside new Netbooks will beat Intel's latest "Pine Trail" Atom processor technology. This watershed design will squeeze the graphics function--previously on a separate chip--into the central processing unit, or CPU, a first for Intel. And what does that mean to consumers? "Better battery life. But performance more than anything," Intel executive vice president Sean Maloney said in a recent CNET interview.

Evidence of a rejiggered Netbook lineup can already seen at Hewlett-Packard, which has stopped selling preconfigured models of its well-received Mini 5101 directly from the HP Web site in preparation for new models to come, according to the company.

And Dell is on board too. "You can expect that Dell will be offering products based on Intel's next-gen Atom platform, aka Pine Trail," said a Dell spokesperson Monday. All major vendors currently offering Netbooks--such as Acer, Asus, Toshiba, and MSI--are also expected to refresh their lineups.

Intel, which is already on the record saying that the Pine Trail Atom is shipping this quarter, has made integration one its biggest themes in 2010 and beyond. Its Arrandale Core i series of processors for mainstream laptops, due by early next year, will also combine the graphics chip (GPU) with the CPU. And future generations of the Atom processor will be even more highly integrated.

One of the first new Pine Trail Atom processors expected to appear is a 1.66GHz version (rumored to be dubbed the N450). After this, a faster 1.83GHz version, the N470, is due.

Updated at 8:00 p.m. PST: Pine Trail is the name of the technology platform; Pineview is the name of the new Atom processor.

With possible action by the Federal Trade Commission looming, an unidentified Dell executive is cited prominently in legal documents as a person who might exonerate Intel, or at least mitigate the severity of the charges leveled against it for alleged antitrust behavior. So, what is known about this Dell mystery man?

This week the Dell executive, referred to as "Mr. A," was cited throughout the European Union ombudsman's "decision" on on a complaint filed by Intel about the European Commission's ruling against the chipmaker. Ombudsman P. Nikiforos Diamandouros' November 18 decision found "maladministration" on the part of the Commission because of its failure to make a "proper note" of a meeting with Dell--represented most prominently by Mr. A in the the ombudsman's decision.

Diamandouros has been the The European Union's ombudsman since April of 2003.

Most importantly, Mr. A is brought up by Intel as a person who has made exculpatory statements--and therefore could refute allegations such as those made about Intel and Dell in New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's complaint against the chipmaker.

And who is Mr. A? He was "a senior Dell executive" and the person "responsible for Dell's relationship with Intel," according to the ombudsman's published statement.

What else is known about Mr. A? Intel asserts in its complaint to the Commission--which the ombudsman responded to in its decision--that "Mr. A's FTC [Federal Trade Commission] testimony exonerates Intel and contradicts the allegations contained in the statement of objections concerning Dell's relationship with Intel."

And Intel has had more to say about this person. "Mr. A again gave sworn testimony confirming that the key points made in his 2003 FTC testimony, to the effect that Dell did not have an exclusive relationship with Intel and that Intel did not 'threaten' or 'punish' Dell for considering a dual-source [Intel and AMD] strategy."

Also in the ombudsman's decision--which refers to Intel as the complainant: "It is clear from these events that the Commission sought to conceal and suppress exculpatory evidence. Also in the complainant's view, this misconduct (and the failure to make a complete note of the meeting which would have eliminated any debate as to what Mr. A said) constitutes a serious act of maladministration."

Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy said Thursday that Intel continues to talk to the FTC. "Yes we are talking. We are continuing to answer their questions concerning our business practices and now we are also explaining the settlement we just completed with AMD [Advanced Micro Devices]," Mulloy said.

Windows 7 has spawned a new breed of inexpensive laptops at retailers like Best Buy and Frys.

At many stores on Thursday, Best Buy refreshed almost its entire stock of laptops: all running Windows 7 and all sporting new model numbers. Frys--a megastore electronics retailer with locations throughout California, Arizona, and Texas--also refreshed many of its laptops with new Windows 7 models.

One of the most inexpensive Windows 7 arrivals is the Gateway model EC1410U. This tiny laptop is distinctly Netbook-like in appearance but uses a more powerful Celeron M ULV 743 processor (1.3GHz, 1MB cache) than the Atom-chip fare found in Netbooks. In addition to the Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64-bit version, other features include 2GB of memory and a 250GB hard disk drive.

Small Gateway laptop comes in a Netbook-like package but uses a more powerful Celeron processor than the Atom chip found in Netbooks--and it's cheap at $399

(Credit: Best Buy)

Many seductive Windows 7 newcomers are categorized as "ultrathins." These slim designs are typically discernibly bigger than Netbooks (though, as evidenced by the Gateway above, it's now always clear-cut) and pack more processor horsepower. The Toshiba Satellite T-135 (model: T135-S1309), which falls into this category, is priced at $549 at Best Buy and comes with Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 32-bit operating system, a 13.3-inch display, a dual-core power-efficient Pentium processor, 3GB of memory, a 320GB hard disk drive (5400RPM), and built-in Web cam.

The HP dm3 (model: dm3-1035dx), also an ultrathin and also priced at $549, packs 3GB of memory ... Read more

Cages at Best Buy are stocked with new models preloaded with Windows 7: behind bars until October 22.

(Credit: Brooke Crothers)

Best Buy is locked and loaded for the Windows 7 launch.

And I don't use the phrase "locked and loaded" figuratively. "Locked" in that all the new Windows 7 machines are locked down behind cages. And "loaded" in that all the cages are full. (See photos.)

I visited a Best Buy Friday night in Southern California where the cages were loaded exclusively with new models preloaded with Windows 7. And I learned a few odd tidbits from a stoked salesperson who had definitely been drinking the Windows-7-is-totally-awesome Kool-Aid. Let me add that the information was conveyed to me at one store in Southern California and may not necessarily apply to all stores nationwide.

Friday night at a Best Buy in Southern California--maybe not the hippest place to be, but some interesting dynamics were at work.

HP 'Mini' promo: more than a few of the newer Netbooks are not low quality

(Credit: Hewlett-Packard)

A typical flow of people passed through the laptop section in the 20 minutes I was there. Toward the end, all of the remaining customers (a few men and women, each) were marveling at all the cute, inexpensive laptops. Cute, inexpensive laptops to them, Netbooks to us in the media who like cut-and-dried categories.

I was mildly shocked to see these people ignore the 50 or so standard laptops behind them and focus solely on Netbooks. So, I began querying the sales guy and one of the customers. It came down to essentially two things: price and selection (surprise, surprise). Best Buy now has a large selection of Netbooks--10 or so on display. A far cry from the Best Buy display of six months ago: a single, tiny, neglected Asus Eee PC pushed into a corner.

And I visited a second Best Buy where a sales guy gushed about Netbooks. "They're extremely popular," he said, adding that "almost all of my customers" just want to do e-mail and surf the Web.

That is circuitous way to get to my point. The Intel Netbook is not going away and is just getting more popular as this marketing research report indicates. Apple's Tim Cook dissed Netbooks back in April for what seemed like acceptable reasons: cheap, "junky hardware" (Cook's words) equates to downmarket, shoddy products. But that Apple reasoning needs an update--the fall 2009 version: a lot of the newer Netbooks coming out now are not shoddy or cheap feeling. (And I am hereby updating my previous pessimistic take on Netbooks too per this post.)

People like cute, light, and cheap--especially in a laptop. This sentiment won't be overcome, as Intel believes, by the emerging ultrathin laptop category, which ranges from about $500 to $1,000 (formerly called CULV or consumer ultra-low-voltage). Certainly not this year. Ultrathins are not different enough in appearance from a standard laptop and not cheap enough. (And recent reports indicate that the ultrathin category is not taking off as expected.)

Intel will never admit in a thousand years that it has created, in the Netbook, a Frankenstein monster of sorts. Intel will, of course, take credit (which it should) for the creation of a new category of computing devices, but my sense is that the company is not head over heels about the Netbook business model--and this is also a reason for Apple's very conscious decision not to make a Netbook. And, as many people are predicting, its reason for pursuing a more upscale tablet-like touch device.

Best Buy has a large Netbook selection

(Credit: Best Buy)

Intel's sales chief, Sean Maloney, has intimated in the past that Netbooks are not huge money makers. Speaking about the expected emergence of the ultrathin laptop category back in May he said that this is "an opportunity for upsell. We don't need to give this stuff away. The industry doesn't need to give this stuff away. We can reach new price points and we can also get paid for it."

But there is just too much marketing momentum now behind Netbooks at large PC makers--and in retail. Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Toshiba, Sony, and Acer all are pushing Netbooks. And in Japan, easily one the largest PC markets in the world, the Netbook is a hit--despite initial resistance from Japanese PC makers--for all of the same reasons cited above: small, light, inexpensive--and add fashionable. Major Japanese tech Web sites (such as ASCII) and large retailers (like Yodobashi Camera) have a significant Netbook focus now because that's what readers and consumers are demanding.

And I just don't think performance is that much of an issue for many consumers. Some, of course, will return a Netbook because their expectations were too high (I heard this from a sales person at Frys Electronics), but a lot of people across all consumer segments (kids, students, business people) will continue to buy these things by the boatload (unless Intel intentionally sabotages the category--which I hope Intel is savvy enough not to do.)

Apple's products and marketing are good but not infallible. And the lack of a Netbook may come back to bite Apple at some point. Maybe not tomorrow. Maybe not next month. But maybe next year. One of the Best Buy customers eying a Netbook made a comment that was a powerful counterpoint to all the Apple Mac-PC ads. To paraphrase: "You have to pay an arm and a leg for Apple (pointing to the Apple corner), I'm trying to make a practical business decision here."

Sony said that a small percentage of Vaio laptops with Nvidia graphics chips may experience problems and the company offered to provide an extended warranty to cover the cost of repair. This follows similar statements by Apple, Hewlett-Packard, and Dell.

Sony Vaio VGN-AR series laptop

(Credit: Sony)

Nvidia first disclosed the problem with its graphics chips in July 2008, saying at the time that graphics processors manufactured with a certain material set were failing in the field at a higher than normal rate.

In a Sony eSupport USA notice dated August 3, the company said: "Sony, in cooperation with Nvidia, has been looking into any possible effect to Vaio notebooks with Nvidia graphic processors. Until recently we had not identified any Vaio models that were affected by this issue."

The statement continues. "However, after closely monitoring the situation, Sony has now determined that a very small percentage of Vaio computers with the Nvidia graphics chips may experience this issue. These PCs may exhibit distorted video, duplicate images or a blank screen due to a failure of the Nvidia graphics chip."

A report claiming that Nvidia has been ousted from Apple laptop designs has gained prominence quickly because the graphics chip supplier is still dogged by past problems.

"The word is that Nvidia is out of Apple designs," according to a June 26 report from technology Web site SemiAccurate. The report has been cited widely with varying degrees of credence given to it.

"When I say out, I mean on the Nehalem-based Macs," Charlie Demerjian, the author of the report, said in a phone interview Monday, referring to future laptops from Apple that will be based on Intel's new Nehalem Core i series of chips.

Nvidia, not surprisingly, doesn't see it that way. "These rumors are baseless," an Nvidia spokesman said Monday. Apple had no comment.

Nvidia graphics processors are currently used widely in Apple MacBooks. And Apple has been touting a new technology in its upcoming Mac OS X Snow Leopard operating system called OpenCL, which takes "the power of graphics processors" and makes it available to Snow Leopard for everyday computing tasks.

However, lurking below this push to tap into the compute power of the graphics processor lie past issues with Nvidia chips. A May 29 Apple knowledge-base article (Article: TS2377) couches frustration with Nvidia in diplomatic language, according to Demerjian. The article updates a similar notice Apple published in October of last year.

"Nvidia assured Apple that Mac computers with these graphics processors were not affected," according to the Apple May 29 statement. "However, after an Apple-led investigation, Apple has determined that some MacBook Pro computers with the Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT graphics processor may be affected."

"The 8600M referred to in the Apple support page...had a particular material set," Nvidia said Monday, repeating a statement it has made several times in the past. "That particular combination of material set is no longer being used by Nvidia."

In a May 20 disclosure as part of a Form 10-Q filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Nvidia said that some notebooks still have problems associated with its graphics chips.

And past statements from not only Apple but the world's largest PC makers lend weight to the tenor of SemiAccurate's assertions about Nvidia's chip problems, if not necessarily to the accuracy of the report's claims about Nvidia's future at Apple. Hewlett-Packard said last year that it had been grappling with Nvidia chip issues since November 2007. And Dell made a similar statement last year.

Writing about the SemiAccurate report, Broadpoint AmTech analyst Doug Freedman said Monday: "If the reports are indeed true...Although negative at the margins, this shortfall could be offset by new product ramps." Freedman cited upcoming products--that will offset any negative impact--such as Nvidia's Tegra chip for smartphones and its Ion chipsets for laptops and Netbooks.

Is there a downside to squeezing a real graphics processor into a 3-pound, ultra-thin laptop? Not if it's a MacBook Air.

Surprise: higher performance = lower heat

After extensive use of two versions (the January 2008 original and October 2008 refresh) of the MacBook Air, my conclusion is that a decent graphics chip can--over the long haul--not only deliver the expected boost in performance but, surprisingly, contribute to better battery life while, even more surprisingly, bringing down the heat to acceptable levels.

First, let me address the original Air. I have used this version now for about 18 months. Though it has been remarkably reliable, the Intel graphics (housed in the chipset) is its Achilles' heel. And I'm talking about heat problems, not performance shortcomings.

The culprit for me is video-intensive tasks (I don't play games). Any extended video turns up the heat to lap-warming, or much toastier, levels. This can get downright uncomfortable at times. Not only does the bottom of the laptop get hot but the keyboard too.

Nvidia'a graphics-oriented chipset (the GeForce 9400M) and Intel's updated processor used in the new version of the Air brings the heat down to lower levels. Overall, this Air runs cooler and longer with the higher-performance graphics. (The Nvidia 9400M graphics chipset is also used in Netbooks from Lenovo and Samsung.)

I won't repeat the performance benchmarks, which have been amply cited in many reviews on the Web. Suffice to say, Nvidia's 9400M delivers better gaming benchmarks (see second link above) than the Intel graphics in the original Air.

And what about newer versions of Intel's chipset? By comparison, the ultra-thin Dell Adamo, an Air rival, uses a Mobile Intel GM45 Express chipset (the successor to the Intel GMA X3100 graphics used in the original Air) for its graphics. In this review, the Adamo was bested consistently by the Air with Nvidia's chipset.

I also see (which is supported in some reviews) better battery life with the newer MBA. Generally, I can squeeze 1.5 to 2.5 hours (depending on what I'm doing) out of the original MBA. With the newer version, it's 2 to 3 hours.

And now that the Air can be had for $1,499 (versus $1,999 for Dell Adamo), it's a fairly reasonable deal. (Remember: the high end version of the MacBook Air debuted at more than $3,000 back in January of 2008.)