It’s for sure not very Zen, although kudos to us we’ve pried hands-on the 11.6-inch UX21E-DH521 Zenbook to see closely what makes it tick. It’s machined from a piece of aluminum, with up and down brushed outline on the base and palmrest and to some extent darker circular blueprint on the lid. And it even gets exciting; Asus has tossed in a booby trap: it has the power button included in the usual keyboard, at the top right angle where you’d expect your fingers to find the equally Delete key. When you press Delete key, you’ll be prompted with a menu requesting whether you want the PC to shut down, hibernate, sleep, or do nothing at all.

Zenbook’s innards are all firmly packed together inside the oh-so-lean casing, with the UX21′s slender-line cooler casing Intel Core i5-2467M dual-core possessors. On the left side you’ll find mini-VGA including USB 2.0 ports and a microphone /headphone jack. The right side is home to USB 3.0 ports and micro-HDMI. Asus also did offer a dongle adapter for the VGA to supply USB to Ethernet (about 100Mbps, and not Gigabit) for users who would want to link to wired office LANs. As expected, 802.11n Wi-Fi is built in; you just need to make a wireless connection for surfing the Web and downloading software.

Source: Pcmag

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AMD is manufacturing chipsets for lean laptops that would slash the prices up to $200 less compared to an Intel-powered Ultrabook, in a report by Digitimes. AMD is optimistic to bring down Intel’s Ultrabooks on cost and June is where AMD will take advantage to launch, a platform for slim and light laptops (Ultrathin), actually the company mentioned this during CES 2012.

The present production of Intel Ultrabooks retails at $900 up, including some models, like the HP Envy 14, shipping at $1,400. Intel anticipates about seventy fresh Ultrabooks models this year in addition to its next-generation Ivy Bridge platform is also anticipated, it should ship by April; and this will bring down the price of Ultrabooks somewhere between $700 and $900, actually – introducing lightweight and skinny laptops into the mainstream.

AMD’s thin laptops (Ultrabooks phrase is trademarked by Intel) will make use of the company’s Trinity chips, sporting in dual- and quad-core alternatives. AMD’s chips lean to be valued lower compared to Intel’s, with ultrathin laptops appears to be no exception. Asking price for Trinity laptops is roughly from $500, up to $200 less costly than the estimated standard price of an Intel Ultrabook.

As of performance, AMD alleges its Trinity chips pencil in roughly 17 watts of power, more or less the same compared to the upcoming Ultrabook chips found on Intel’s Ivy Bridge microarchitecture. Expect Trinity chips to deliver similar performance AMD’s A-series chips presently used in standard laptops, although eats half the power.

According to Digitimes, we won’t see many models emerging as AMD-powered ultrathin laptops compared to Intel’s Ultrabooks. Just around twenty ultrathin pieces are likely for 2012, with Acer, HP and Asus showing signs of first producers of such laptops.

Source: Digitimes

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Right, expect a few new twists (ahem, Dell), Intel’s education-focused Classmate PC has learned a few new tricks this year at CES 2012.

Intel has unveiled a renovated Classmate PC line that runs on Atom Cedar Trail CPU and is allegedly to give long-lasting battery life (about 10 hours from a single charge), a six-cell lithium-ion energy source ” where students can be able to carry out their entire activities on single charge” and thanks to its latest 45nm Intel Atom CPU (of course that means pure Pine Trail, right?). Additionally, there’s more austerity in the form factor, giving it added protection on the edges, increased water opposition of at least 100cc of liquid, plus an antimicrobial veneer for a cleaner environment.

Intel has also upgraded its Learning Series Software Suite, including additional shared classroom and IT-allied features. Intel also acknowledges that for every classroom there is a special need, hence they included various configurable options on the Classmate PCs. The netbooks can be packaged with Windows 7 32-bit or 64-bit and Intel’s Learning Series software suite on board.

Source: PCMag

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Take or leave it, there’s no doubt that tablets don’t have the capacity to handle the same thoroughness (including similar efficiency levels) compared to a complete laptop, and to stress on that,  Intel’s new Ultrabook is using that very position to endorse the Ultrabook type as a whole. Since we’re just left with a few days from witnessing what’s apt to be a deluge of such staff at CES, The new Ultrabook portal (with linked “Ultra Excited For Ultrabooks” sample paper) is leading the masses for what to look forward to.

Sure, you can’t say something here is truly revolutionary, per se; however it’s indeed the first time that we’ve witnessed such a huge company assuming a significant swing at a product segment that has wedged flames for innumerable reasons. The year 2012 is pacing up to be the year of the low-priced tablet; nevertheless if Intel has its way, you’ll be kicking off the excitement and going for a fully-fledged computing machine instead.

Via Engadget

Source: Electronista

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Intel is set to increase its lead over its competitors despite a fall in sales of its Atom chips intended for the moribund netbook business, Intel Corp in the Q3 managed to widen its control position in the international microprocessor market on the muscle of its corporate sales.

Intel in the Q3 made about 83.7 percent of worldwide microprocessor sales, an increase of 1.2% points compared to 82.5% it held in the Q2 of 2011, in line with the latest IHS iSuppli Computer Systems research from data and analysis source IHS.  Intel widened its lead over No. 2 microprocessor provider Advanced Micro Devices Inc. to 73.5 % points in the Q3, up from 72% in the Q2.

In the Q3 Intel’s performance was as result of a mix of negative and positive growths in regard to the transformative blow of media tablets on the PC market.

Net decrease for Netbooks

Following a successful double-digit sales growth in2008 through 2010, the netbook market assumed a sudden drop in 2011 as consumers bowed towards media PC tablets. Worldwide netbook sales are set to further plunge to 21.4 million pieces in 2011, losing 33.5% compared to 32 million units realized in 2010. Sales are estimated to continue to decline in the coming years and in fact, shipments will decline to 13.4 million by 2015.

This of course has contributed to downside for Intel, where most of netbook PCs in the market were powered by its Atom microprocessors. Intel confirmed its chipset and Atom microprocessor revenue in the Q3 decreased to 32% in contrast to the previous year.

Up in the Cloud

Nevertheless Intel saw a continued growth in the Q3 emerging from shipments of microprocessors that are used in data centers due to the rising demand for cloud computing services and the mobile markets.

Today, cloud computing business is on the route into the stratosphere as providers seek to provide services designed to serve smartphones tablet PCs, and other portable devices. Enterprise and consumer spending on the open segment of the cloud is estimated to experience growths of up to $110 billion in 2015, up compared to $23 billion in 2010.

Intel also confirmed that it gained from firm notebook sales coming from the corporate market, which remains to perform well despite amid challenging conditions in the consumer computer segment.

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Apparently, Intel still won’t budge and just won’t give PC makers such as Acer the CPU price subsidy necessary to launch sub-$1000 ultrabooks. And even though people like Acer Taiwan president Scott Lin appear confident about future sales of ultrabooks (compared with tablet PCs), it seems that the whole industry is a bit cautiously optimistic about the whole thing.

Knowing that PC makers are at least going to need something to help further adoption of ultrabooks once they actually become available, Intel plans on increasing its marketing subsidies to notebook vendors to attract them into promoting the new devices, according to a report on DigiTimes. Now, this might mean that Acer, Asus, and other ultrabook vendors will have to come up with some ridiculous promos to get people to buy their stuff, but let’s just give them the benefit of the doubt.

The good news is that sub-$1000 ultrabooks are still indeed on their way. Unfortunately, these might not make it to market until the 2nd quarter of 2012, in April, with the introduction of Intel’s Ivy Bridge platform. So if you aren’t in a hurry to purchase an ultrabook, you’re in for a great big discount provided that you can keep waiting it out for the next six months.

Via DigiTimes

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With Nokia’s defection and Intel’s relative silence regarding the subject, you might think that you’ve already seen the last of the MeeGo operating system. Well, perhaps, but Intel is keeping MeeGo alive in cooperation with Samsung in a new Linux-based open-source mobile OS initiative called the Tizen project. A post on the official Tizen web site says that it is a new platform intended for use in a number of different ways such as in smartphones, tablets, netbooks, smart TVs and even in-vehicle entertainment devices. Since it was announced only yesterday, Tizen is currently still picking up steam. So far, Intel and Samsung are onboard, and a report on DigiTimes says that it has already won support from the likes of SK Telecom, NTT DoCoMo, and Panasonic Mobile Communications.

At the same time, it is said that Asus and Acer are also coming on board, to add development to this new fledgeling OS. HTC is undecided. This new alliance of tech giants will have to go through a lot of hoops in order to surpass the success of current mainstream options like iOS and Android in the mobile space, but perhaps it will find better luck in other sectors of the consumer electronics market. For Asus, working on Tizen would probably be just like putting out a new netbook that runs MeeGo instead of Windows or Linux.

Via DigiTimes

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We are back again with an ultrabook news. Intel indeed is pushing the thin-and-light laptop form factor valiantly. Intel even estimated that ultrabooks will take 40% of the laptop market by 2012. Ultrabook features are going to be introduced by stages. The first run of the system will have the 2nd generation of Intel core processors by 2012 the 3rd generation will take over with the promise of increased security. There will be a technology of which the device will not be usable if the hard drive is taken out and replaced.

In the middle of 2012 the ultrabooks will include rapid start technology, constant security updates and features. This “always updated” technology will feature the ultrabook to wake itself up from hibernation to update feeds and email, keeping the user updated.

There will be an experimentation of ultrabooks to push the form factor further. Expected are touch and slate systems and Thunderbolt technology.

Source: Netbooknews

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A whirlwind of ultrabook news, announcements and leaks swept through IFA 2011. The major PC manufacturers namely Acer, Asus, Lenovo and Toshiba are all releasing their ultrabook models before the year ends. These ultrabooks are made to compete with MacBookAir which arguably remains unrivaled. The manufacturers, however, are not confident to engage in full production.

Reports state that the mentioned manufacturers are only producing a maximum of 50,000 units this year. Manufacturers are also having a hard time keeping the price below $1000– the price Intel is fighting for with the introduction of the technology. There will be an Ultrabook conference in the 14th September hosted by Intel to sort things out with the current ultrabook adopters as well as enticing other manufacturers to join the fray.

Source: Netbooknews

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Malata is not a household name in the US but this Chinese computer maker continues to roll out products with interesting designs. An Italian notebook website, Notebook Italia, acquired a product roadmap from Malata and as the image above shows, that’s a lot of netbooks and tablets being planned.

For the netbook department, a super-slim 10 incher inspired by Intel’s Canoe Lake is being developed. There will be an 11.6 incher based on Intel’s Keeley Lake. Both of these models will use the Intel Atom Cedartrail platform. There are also additional slim netbooks. Some of these slim notebooks willprioritize battery life while other models are leaning more on slim design. There will be 3G-enabled models too.

Malata’s planned tablets are ranging from slate computers to convertible ones. They will all run Windows. There is a model that has 9.7 inch IPS display with an Intel Atom Oak Trail processor. There are boatloads of 10 inchers with resolutions ranging from 1024 x 600 to 1280 x 800. Additionally, Malata is working on tablets using the the Intel Atom Pine Trail chips.

Source: Liliputing and Notebook Italia

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