ultrabooks

Acer is expected to shake up the nascent Ultrabook market when a model lands in the U.S. in the coming weeks at prices well below $1,000, according to a report.

New Age Electronics is now listing the Aspire S series at prices starting at $899.99, according to a report in CRN.

Ultrabooks, like Apple's MacBook Air, are thin, minimalist laptops but offer high performance due to the use of Intel's latest Sandy Bridge processor. … Read more

A Taipei-based technology news site has been publishing a steady stream of flak centered on Intel's Ultrabook laptop strategy. Intel counters, however, that this is little more than rumor and speculation.

Over the last week or so, DigiTimes has been offering up almost a daily dose of grievances, seemingly emanating from that region's suppliers, including ODMs (original design manufacturers) and OEMs (original equipment manufacturers).

For example, on its front door as of Tuesday night PT, the publication has three articles critical of Intel's Ultrabook strategy.

The Ultrabook is defined roughly as an ultraportable laptop under 0.8 … Read more

For those doubters out there who think that Intel's next-generation mainstream chip is delayed, laptop manufacturers at the Intel Developer Forum are sending another message.

Major laptop manufacturers like Foxconn, Pegatron, and Inventec are showing fully functional "Ivy Bridge" Ultrabooks on the Forum conference floor here today. Those three companies together make--or have made--many of the laptops from major brands like Hewlett-Packard and Dell.

Ivy Bridge is the chip design that follows the current Sandy Bridge processor. It is the first to use Intel's touted 3D transistor technology and offers a substantial boost in graphics chip … Read more

Speaking at a technology conference, Intel's chief financial officer outlined a not-too-distant future when Ultrabooks take on the hallmarks of the tablet. He also touched on Windows 8 competition.

"Form factors in the notebook market have been somewhat stagnant over the last several years," CFO Stacy Smith said today at the Citi Technology Conference in New York City. New Ultrabook designs coming over the next 18 months, however, should change that, Smith said.

"You'll have the ability to have flip screen, it'll be touch mode in certain situations [then] you flip it back around … Read more

Ultrabooks will adopt lots of cutting-edge laptop technology, not unlike what Apple did to perfect the design of its MacBook Air, according to research from TrendForce.

The first Ultrabooks from Lenovo, Toshiba, and Asus already tap into some impressive technology. Lenovo's 0.6-inch thick U300s, for example, boasts a "breathable" keyboard to reduce heat and RapidDrive solid-state drive technology to deliver a 10.5-second boot time.

Apple's MacBook Air has been the highest profile example of a laptop that continues to push the envelope on design with novel display, battery, and motherboard designs. "Intel, along … Read more

Intel will put its large spotlight on Ultrabook laptops and Windows 8, among other technologies, at its annual developer conference next week.

In a keynote on September 14, Mooly Eden, general manager of the PC client group at Intel, will describe the "transformation of the PC" being driven by Ultrabooks at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF), according to an overview of the forum CNET received from Intel today. IDF begins next Tuesday.

Ultrabooks are very light, very thin Windows laptops that compete with the MacBook Air. The core hardware includes Intel second-generation "Sandy Bridge" processors and … Read more

Acer, Lenovo, Toshiba, and other PC vendors selling Ultrabooks--thin, light notebooks designed to evolve the trusty laptop--are playing it safe with inventory amid fears of weak demand.

According to Taiwan's DigiTimes, notebook manufacturers are keeping initial Ultrabook runs at 50,000 units. That unit total is enough to test the waters, but little else.

Last week, Lenovo and Toshiba unveiled their Ultrabooks. The devices look sharp and well designed, but expensive. Intel has touted its Ultrabook reference design, but prices appear to start above $1,000. That price tag isn't going to cut it with the mass market … Read more

The only way the new Ultrabook laptop category can top the MacBook Air is to get cheap fast. But that won't necessarily be easy, according to an IDC analyst.

Ultrabooks--for the uninitiated--are very light, very thin Windows laptops that compete with the MacBook Air. The core hardware includes Intel second-generation "Sandy Bridge" processors and solid-state drives. One of the best examples is the 13-inch Toshiba Portege Z830.

The Z830 has a magnesium alloy case, weighs about 2.5 pounds, and is 0.63 inches thick. Toshiba claims it will sell for less than $1,000.

By comparison, … Read more

Amid all the laptop news this week, much of it coming out of the IFA show, there were a few announcements that especially stood out: two major PC makers unveiled their entries in the new (and untested) Ultrabook category. Even better, we got a change to get our hands on working demo units of both models, the Lenovo IdeaPad U300s and the Toshiba Portege Z830. Those two new models join previously announced Ultrabooks such as the Asus UX21.

The Toshiba Portege Z830 has a strong lineage as a successor of sorts to the very popular Portege R835, which is one … Read more