At a HP press event in Shanghai, four new models of laptops were demonstrated today. With "performance, responsiveness and a secure computing experience in a thin, elegant form factor" according to HP Vice President and General Manager Kirk Skaugen, the new additions to the product line are the HP Envy Spectre XT, Envy Sleekbooks, HP Envy Ultrabooks, and the EliteBook Folio 9470m.
Sony has officially released the ultrabook concepts that it first revealed at CES 2012 in January as a prototypes. Now known as the Sony Vaio T11 and T13, the 11-inch and 13-inch (1366x768) ultrabooks will initially arrive powered by Intel’s 2nd-gen Core processors as Intel’s ultra-low voltage 3rd-gen Ivy Bridge processors are not scheduled to arrive until later in the spring. Both models arrive with in a slim magnesium and aluminum chassis with the option of a hybrid 320GB hard drive/32GB SSD combination or full SSD.
Acer in discussing its latest results at an investor's conference was hopeful that this was a sign of a widescale resurgence in PCs for the industry. Its climb from 10.1 percent share in the fall to 10.9 percent this winter was a sign the company's "competitiveness is coming back," according to chairman JT Wang, and that Acer would climb back to third place while Dell sank. Demand for the spring would be typical in light of world economic troubles, but it would grow in earnest in 2012 and expand to more than 10 percent in 2013.
Leaked HP internal documents show that HP is prepping the release of two new ultrabooks that are set to join its HP Envy 14 Spectre, although likely at the lower end of the price range. The HP Envy 6 (15.6-inch) ultrabook has had its key specifications spilled in the leak, while the details of smaller Envy 4 (14-inch) ultrabook can only currently be speculated at.
Apple CEO Tim Cook during his company's fiscal Q2 results call slammed the idea of merging touchscreens and ultrabooks. When asked by Sanford Bernstein's Toni Sacconaghi why Apple wouldn't merge the iPad and MacBook Air like Intel and Microsoft wanted Windows 8 and ultrabooks to unite, he described it as a matter of inherent tradeoffs. Trying to appeal to everyone ended up pleasing no one, Cook said, saying that just having the option of converging doesn't mean it should be forced.
AMD offered its answer to NVIDIA on Tuesday through the Radeon HD 7000M. The 7700M, 7800M, and 7900M are the first parts to use Enduro, a live graphics switching technology like NVIDIA's Optimus. The implementation can flip between the Radeon and integrated graphics without having to reload or specify apps, and unlike NVIDIA's approach, can work with both AMD processors as well as Intel's.
Intel has set ambitious targets for the number of ultrabooks it hopes will sell this year, part suppliers understood late Wednesday. Supposed internal roadmap details passed on to Digitimes had between 20 million to 30 million ultrabooks shipping in 2012. That number would double or triple in 2013, according to the claims, as the supply chain would be truly ready for mainstream adoption, such as reinforced plastic to emulate the rigidity of metal without some of the cost.
Intel is refining its ultrabooks, having shown off a new reference design at the IDF 2012 show in Beijing last week. Building upon its 13.3-inch touchscreen ultrabook, the so-called Cove Point also doubles as a tablet. The demo unit sported a 12.5-inch touchscreen, two USB 3.0 ports, and an HDMI output.
Intel PC Client general manager Kirk Skaugen used a keynote at the Beijing edition of the Intel Developer Forum to predict a heavy saturation of the ultrabook market. He saw ultrabook prices reaching down to $699 by the back-to-school period at the end of the summer, or down from the $899 and up more common today. About 75 models were in development for all of 2012, including some touchscreen models mostly intended for Windows 8.
Dell has released several updated drivers for its XPS 13 ultrabook, addressing hardware issues that have affected the new device. A touchpad driver is designed for improved multi-touch functionality, including scrolling performance and palm recognition to avoid accidental input.
IDC painted an optimistic picture of traditional PCs in a Tuesday long-term estimate of their shipments. Researchers expected PC shipments to grow just five percent year-on-year in 2012, but pinned most of this sluggishness on the first half, as the iPad and other tablets were a "powerful distraction," IDC VP Bob O'Donnell said. However, a mix of the Windows 8 launch and ultrabooks was assumed to be creating "excitement" that would see a bounce back.
ASUS' ultrabook refreshes could include some of the first truly discounted, mainstream ultrabooks. New leaks stemming from the same source for The Verge had two 13.3-inch models, the UX32A and UX32Vd, coming in at under $800. Both would still get Intel's low voltage Ivy Bridge Core i3, i5, and i7 processors, but only sometime after they shipped; initial batches would use the outgoing Sandy Bridge generation, insiders said.
(Update: speed changes) ASUS' rumored major ultrabook upgrades were given their first real details through leaks on Monday. The Zenbook UX21A and UX31A models identified by The Verge would be direct replacements for the existing 11.6- and 13.3-inch UX21 and UX31, respectively, but with an option for a 1080p, IPS-based display on either model. Their conventional 1366x768 (UX21) and 1600x900 (UX31) displays would still come standard.
PC sales won't significantly bounce back in 2012, Gartner estimated on Thursday. Analysts saw shipments growing just 4.4 percent this year over last, to 368 million units, as PC builders played "catch-up" to tablets and other mobile hardware in interesting features. Research lead Ranjit Atwal didn't share the optimism of Intel or Microsoft and saw neither MacBook Air-inspired ultrabooks nor Windows 8 as automatic foils to the iPad and the collective Android tablet space.
Intel has been giving hands-on demonstrations at CeBIT of a concept ultrabook with a touch display. At 13.3 inches, it would have one of the largest capacitive touch displays yet. The Verge in its time with the ultraportable got to use an example of Zinio's magazine reader app, which was a "delight" to use with multi-touch input.
Following news that Acer is selling its Aspire S3 ultrabook at a strictly break-even price of $799, a new report suggests that second-tier Taiwanese manufacturers are planning on releasing ultrabook-like notebooks as cheap as $600. The Taiwanese vendors plan on releasing ultra-slim notebooks that look like ultrabooks, but are made of plastic. For notebooks to be able to carry the official Intel Ultrabook tag, they must be made of aluminum and other premium components including SSDs.
Acer's Christoph Pohlmann in remarks Tuesday at CeBIT revealed that the company was selling ultrabooks at extremely thin margins. The base version of the Aspire S3 was being sold at a stricty break-even price at $799, he mentioned to The Verge. It was only viable at all as higher-end models had enough of a premium to make a small profit.
Gigabyte has introduced several new notebooks, including two 14-inch ultrabooks and a 15.6-inch gaming notebook. The ultrabooks include two variants, the U2442N with standard-voltage Core i5 or i7 processors, and the U2442V with ultra-low voltage Core i5 and i7 chips for improved battery life.
Fujitsu took the opportunity at the CeBIT show to introduce its ultrabook under the working name Lifebook Premium. Images, specs, and a video come courtesy of NotebookItalia, with the 14-inch notebook sporting a 'frameless' design and the ability to open 180 degrees. The notebook is just 16mm (0.63 inches) thick and weighs 1.5kg (3.3lbs).
Dell has begun shipping its XPS 13 ultrabook. Dell unveiled the computer at CES in January. The device bears a strong resemblance to the Apple MacBook Air, albeit with a heavier body.
Intel may make up for its Ivy Bridge processor delay by selling at substantially lower prices. New rumors from part suppliers claimed to Digitimes that processor prices would typically be $60 to $70 lower, presumably relative to the current-generation Sandy Bridge-era chips. The move could lead to faster processors at similar prices or, more likely, less expensive systems overall.
Lenovo has finally begun taking pre-orders for its 13.3-inch U300e ultrabook, which was shown earlier this year at CES. The company appears to have increased the notebook's price since it was first introduced, however, jumping from $799 to $959 without any apparent change in the basic specs.
SanDisk in a late Tuesday refresh tackled the very high end of solid-state drives still accessible to the public. The Extreme SSD is meant as much for gamers as for pro users and matches the performance of other fast drives with peak read speeds of 550MB per second and peak writes at 520MB per second. Its edge may be through the input-output rate, which tops at 83,000IOPS for writes and 44,000IOPS for reads.
An investment note from JPMorgan analyst Mike Moskowitz on Tuesday downplaying the likely impact of Windows-based ultrabooks was backed by support from PC resellers. He saw most competitors pursuing the MacBook Air and going for "more of the same" in computers, largely trying to replicate what they'd seen before instead of trying something new. The emulation was ironic for an industry that had initially downplayed the Air, he said, although he saw there being a number of practical competitive issues as well.
On and off rumors of a major MacBook Pro redesign were supported on Friday with leaks supporting a complete overhaul. The AppleInsider hints had Apple's high-end notebooks being overhauled over the course of 2012 to more closely resemble the MacBook Air, dropping optical drives and slimming down. Rumors of a 15-inch Air were more likely references to Apple repeating what it did with the unibody MacBook Pro, where the 15-inch model led the redesign and other sizes followed later.
HP on Wednesday began selling its most direct competitor to the MacBook Air, the Envy 14 Spectre. The pseudo-ultrabook starts at a relatively steep $1,400 with a 14-inch, 1366x768 display, a 1.6GHz low-voltage Core i5, 4GB of RAM, and a 128GB solid-state drive. Options can take it to a 1.8GHz Core i7 and a 256GB SSD.
Toshiba appears to have quietly released its Satellite U840 ultrabook for customers in Australia. The notebook builds upon the company's Z830, adding a larger 14-inch display with 1366x768 resolution and powered by Intel's 1.6GHz Sandy Bridge Core i5 processor.
Acer chairman JT Wang made more comments at his company's Lunar New Year event that outlined more of how Acer planned to survive Apple and the computer market. He made the prediction that ultrabooks and netbooks would fold into a single category within the next 18 to 24 months. Digitimes didn't glean how this would happen, although the company had predicted $499 ultrabooks by 2013 that would leave little gap between the two.
Acer chairman JT Wang chose the unusual venue of his company's Lunar New Year ceremony to make predictions about early 2012 sales. With Digitimes and others in attendance, he thought Acer had a good chance of being profitable in its first quarter of 2012 after a 2011 defined by losses. The Chinese holiday and hard drive shortages would make January a low point, but the rest of the quarter would do well.
The world of mice could often be described charitably as stagnant: it's an endless sea of ergonomic shapes that assume you're sitting at a desk and have lots of room in your bag. Logitech's Cube is about as different as you can get, with a small, brick-like design that relies on touch and orientation to make it an ultraportable mouse and presenter. We'll gauge in our Logitech Cube review whether it's a welcome break or a novelty.
Dell is trying an unusual strategy to try and steer ultrabook buyers towards the XPS 13 on Thursday. Nicknamed the Ultrabook Challenge, the demo campaign Thursday amounts to a blind taste test for the thin-and-light notebooks. Starting in San Francisco first, those at the corner of Chestnut and Scott, and later at Fisherman's Wharf, are being asked to pick an ultrabook based on "look and feel" with all the branding covered up, ostensibly to avoid bias.
Intel and RealNetworks made a crucial deal for video technology on Thursday. The semiconductor firm has paid $120 million to get a "significant" 190 of RealNetworks' patents. In exchange, Intel has agreed to team with RealNetworks to co-develop the latter's signature video codecs and will take on seven codec developers from its partner in the process.
A new Juniper Research prediction made the claim that ultrabooks would rapidly close in on, but not overtake, the lead established by tablets. The long-term guess has the MacBook Air-inspired notebook category growing three times faster than tablets between now and 2016. Its small start, however, would see shipments of 178 million where tablets' early lead would put them at 253 million.
Intel on Friday shook up its executive structure at both technical and formal levels. To reward Dadi Perlmutter's responsibility for the chip architecture group, he would be promoted to the spot of chief product officer to take up responsibilities given by newly full-time executive chairman Andy Bryant. He would still head up architecture, but would take on a wider responsibility.
Acer chairman JT Wang mentioned late Wednesday that as much as a third of of his company's entire notebook line may be ultrabooks. With Digitimes listening, Wang expected systems like the Aspire S5 and Timeline Ultra to account for 25 to 35 percent of all Acer's notebooks in 2012. The recently unveiled systems would be a foundation of the line and ship in spring, but more models were coming in the summer, the chairman said.
Samsung had one of its most sweeping notebook updates yet at CES this week and introduced multiple major updates to its notebook line. We had the opportunity to try them all at CES and came away with mixed reactions. Read on for early impressions, including whether or not the Series 9 will give Apple heat in the ultrabook category.
We've at last had a first-hand look at the upcoming Dell XPS 13 on the CES show floor. The ultrabook on an initial glance bears more than a passing resemblance to the MacBook Air, down to the side port layouts and the single-piece, multi-touch trackpad; there's no question of who inspired the design. It remains something of its own beast, however, and the combination of aluminum (mostly on the lid) as well as a tightly constructed body give it a much more premium feel than we're used to from Dell.
Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty after a trip to Asia has claimed to have heard that Apple would get a truly world-capable LTE chipset for the iPhone. With quad-frequency support, it would support "all 3G and LTE network flavors," according to the copy obtained by AppleInsider. It might revolve around whether or not Apple gets a deal with China Mobile that might be contingent on TD-LTE.
LG is among several computer makers that have unveiled ultrabooks this week at CES in Las Vegas. Electronista had a chance to try out the company's new premium notebooks, the Z330 and Z430, which are labeled "super ultrabooks" and feature compact housings and a metallic silver finish.
We had an opportunity to try the HP Envy 14 Spectre this evening. The ultrabook is HP's most advanced and bears an uncanny similarity to a cross between the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro through its attention to design. Is it a replacement for a Mac, though, or a try at riding Apple's coattails? Read on for our take.
Lenovo brought two last devices out for CES that Electronista had the opportunity to see first-hand. The IdeaPad Yoga is intended to take on the ultrabook (MacBook Air) and tablet (iPad) spaces at once through a unique folding design. Although it measures just 0.67 inches thick and 3.1 pounds, the 13-inch, 1600x900 screen has a unique 360-degree hinge that folds the display back completely to turn it into a heavier tablet, or partway to form a stand.
Intel has previewed the capabilities of Windows 8-based ultrabooks, some of which take advantage of touchscreen technology and voice recognition. The chip maker suggests more than 75 ultrabook designs will arrive on the market this year, as the company's third-generation Core-series processors become available this spring.
Lenovo has introduced a range of new notebooks, including U-series ultrabooks, S-series mini notebooks, Y-series performance offerings, and midrange Z-series models. The U310 and U410 feature 0.7-inch thick housings and weigh in at 3.74 lbs., falling close to the 13-inch MacBook Air's external specs.
We've had the opportunity to try Acer's Aspire S5, and we've come back pleasantly surprised so far. The magnesium and metal chassis, which is matte, feels good to the touch, is thin and light, and isn't cutting corners like some others. More importantly, the keyboard and trackpad are genuinely nice to use; it doesn't have the full suite of multi-touch gestures, but it's generally responsive, supports two-finger scrolling, and isn't too hard to properly right-click with the invisible buttons.
Acer ahead of its formal keynote has unveiled two ultrabook-class systems. The Aspire S5 is billed as the world's thinnest ultrabook and measures just under 0.6 inches thick. The black, magnesium-and-metal body weighs 2.97 pounds. Along with the thinnest, Acer touts the S5 as one of the first Windows-based ultrabooks to carry Thunderbolt, which it backs with USB 3.0.
HP has teased the Envy Spectre for the second time ahead of CES 2012. The new notebook looks as though it will be the first Envy notebook to fall into Intel’s new ultrabook category. As the photo (and the video below) shows, the new device appears to be quite thin as well as sport the look of the recent HP Envy 15.
LG formally threw its hat into the ultrabook ring beyond Korea on Wednesday night with two new models joined both by regular notebooks and an all-in-one. In a sense of pride, LG calls the 13-inch Z330 (already in Korea) and 14-inch Z430 "Super Ultrabooks" for their passing the minimum requirements Intel set in the category first defined by the MacBook Air. The Z330 is consistently 0.58 inches thick and 2.67 pounds, well under the limits, while the category-breaking Z430 is still 0.78 inches thick and a heavier but still close 3.3 pounds despite the larger screen.
HP has teased that it might have more at CES than it has told the media in a teaser slipped out Monday. Called just the Spectre in the video (below) seeded to Engadget and multiple other sites, and believed to be part of the Envy line, it looks to be an extremely thin notebook with a flat lid. Very little else is shown other than patterns that infer the very thin design.
Intel has pitched ultrabooks as the answer to ARM-based tablet shortcomings. In a document titled "Ultra Excited for Ultrabook" referenced at the home page of its newly launched Ultrabook Community, Intel outlines why it believes that ultrabooks offer users a better alternative to tablets. In its materials, Intel argues that notebooks based on its ultrabook specification “marry thin and light” (the best of tablets) with the “best in performance, responsiveness, security and battery life.”
PC builder slips on Wednesday may have locked down release timing for Intel's Ivy Bridge roster. About 25 processors should be available on or near April 8, Digitimes said, 17 of which would be for desktops. The desktops would range from the Core i5-3450 through to the Core i7-3770 and would have a narrow initial price spread of between $184 to $332.
