Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Intel Unveils Skinny New 'Ultrabook' Laptop, Tablet Roadmap

Intel voiced skeleton Monday for a new array of slim laptops powered by the company's next-generation processors, set to entrance at the finish of 2011.

Dubbed the "Ultrabook," the lean gadgets portion in at reduction than an in. thick, cost reduction than $1,000, and will primarily run on Intel's second-generation core chips.

In the initial half of 2012, Ultrabooks will run on Intel's "Ivy Bridge" chipset , the world's initial mass-produced 3-D-transistor-based chipset using Intel's 22-nanometer artwork process.

"Our customers are rigorous an uncompromised computing experience in a lightweight, rarely unstable pattern that responds to their needs quickly," mentioned Asus senior manager chairperson Jonney Shih, whose firm is producing a of the initial Ultrabooks, the UX21.

Intel VP Sean Maloney mentioned Ultrabooks will make up more than 40 percent of the marketplace by the finish of 2012, as they enclose many "tablet-like features" joined with "thin, cultured form factors" and "best-in-class performance."

When Intel voiced its "Ivy Bridge" chipset , analysts speculated it was usually a matter of time before the low-power, high-performance processors would drip in to the laptop market.

"Moore's Law is alive and well, at least is to next a few generations of processors down to 14 [nanometers] and below," Forrester researcher Rich Fichera wrote in a blog post. Named after Intel owner Gordon Moore, Moore's Law basically states the number of transistors that may be placed on a fragment will twice every two years, and will obtain cheaper as time passes. "Intel has no goal of agreeable supremacy as the world's personality in semiconductor process," Fichera wrote.

Apple's MacBook Air models ring a number of the features that Intel's Ultrabooks surveillance - inclusive a density of reduction than an inch, and a pattern identical to Asus' sharp steel finish - but they're powered by Intel's Core 2 Duo chips, that look out of date compared to Intel's second era "Sandy Bridge" chips.

Similarly, Google's not long ago voiced netbook killer, the Chromebook , boasts a sub-$1,000 cost label and an Intel Atom dual-core processor.

All 3 device lines - the Ultrabook, the MacBook Air and Google's stirring Chromebooks - are comparatively streamlined compared to past netbook and cover models, slicing down on outmost ports and inner drives to minimize density and weight.

"It's time you got absolved of a lot of the bequest ports on these devices," Gartner researcher Ken Dulaney told Wired.com. "As you pierce to more modern connectors similar to high-speed USB 3.0 or cloud-based computing, we're ready for a burst similar to this."

However, these gadgets may advance with shorter shelf lives, Dulaney added.

"All these products will probably advance with nonremovable batteries," Dulaney said, "which means they'll be cheaper, but you'll probably have to reinstate them every two years. That's disappointing, but its the way the attention is shifting."

Intel moreover suggested its inscription skeleton for 2011 on Monday. As it was formerly speculated, the firm debuted its Z670 "Oak Trail" line of processors on 10 not similar tablets at the Computex technology traffic uncover in Taipei.

Intel's chips haven't thus far done a forceful access in to the mobile space, a marketplace right away dominated by chips formed on opponent ARM architecture designs. Graphics-processing-unit and chipset-design firm Nvidia currently binds the largest interest in the inscription space, as its Tegra 2 processor powers tablets done by Samsung, Motorola and Acer, amid other leading manufacturers.

The firm moreover discussed skeleton for other chipset written especially for smartphones and tablets, codenamed "Medfield." Maloney mentioned Medfield chips will be optimized for both low power and high performance, and he highlighted this by display off a Medfield pattern powering Android chronicle 3.0 (Honeycomb).

Intel expects prolongation on Medfield-designed chips after that this year, with Medfield-powered tablets to strike shelves in the initial half of 2012. Along with Android, Medfield tablets will run on other working systems, inclusive Nokia's MeeGo.

No comments:

Post a Comment