Samsung is close to revealing what has been described as a “stunning” new Ultrabook as Intel claims low-power “affordable” ultrabooks will quickly become the “norm” for notebook style computing,
Samsung is close to revealing what has been described as a “stunning” new Ultrabook as Intel claims low-power “affordable” ultrabooks will quickly become the “norm” for notebook style computing,
Intel’s CEO Paul Otellini predicted the move at the opening the Intel Developer Forum in the USA.
He predicted the arrival of Intel’s Haswell chip in 2013 will see power needs reduced by a factor of 20, leading to “all-day usage, 10 days of standby”.
He was backed up by Mooly Eden, VP and GM of Intel’s PC client group and its star presenter, who declared that ultrabooks are the third “transformative moment” in the history of the PC.
(The other two, according to Mooly, are what he recalls as a transition of computers from business tools to personal devices around 1995, and a move from desktops to notebooks using – natch – Intel’s Centrino technology in 2003. No mention of the non-Intel Apple Mac introducing the graphical user interface in 1984).
Ultrabook is Intel’s term for thin, light notebooks with 13-inch displays that resemble Apple’s ultra-thin MacBook Air, and offer tablet-like features – including long battery life, constant connection, instant-on and, eventually, touchscreens – with the advantages of traditional notebooks. The first ultrabooks, from Asus, Acer, Lenovo and Toshiba will be based on the current second-generation “Sandy Bridge” processors and are due to hit the market in coming months.
Sandy Bridge will be replaced with 22nm “Ivy Bridge” processors using Intel’s 3D tri-gate architecture, leading to innovations in power management and security, said Mooly Eden. And the advent of Haswell on 2013 will bring even bigger benefits, he claimed.