ultrabook

If the ultrabook devolves into a hodgepodge of pseudo-thin, conventional designs, the chances of success are not good.

This may -- or may not -- be on the verge of happening with designs like the Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M3 and even the Hewlett-Packard Envy 14 Spectre.

Though it's been said before, it's worth repeating: a kind-of-thin, kind-of-light laptop ain't an ultrabook.

I've handled the Acer M3, which is being marketed as an ultrabook. Sorry, no way that's an ultrabook. And the HP Spectre? That's a wonderful design in many respects (Gorilla glass screen … Read more

Despite all the buzz about Intel's new third-generation Core i-series CPUs (also known by the code name Ivy Bridge), you can't actually buy a laptop with these new parts just yet. … Read more

Apple's CEO Tim Cook may have just thrown down the gauntlet to the Windows camp about nothing less than the future of portable computing.

Cook dismissed the idea of a hybrid MacBook-iPad device, during the company's second-quarter earnings conference call this afternoon. "You can converge a toaster and a refrigerator, but those things are probably not going be pleasing to the user," he said.

The toaster-refrigerator hyperbolic analogy aside, it just so happens that Intel has begun to push the Windows 8 laptop-tablet hybrid concept. And it has even built a demo unit to prove the … Read more

Apple (the modern version of the company, anyway) is known for its product lineup minimalism, producing only a handful of versions in key categories.

Several days ago, an analyst note led to widespread speculation that the company was going to discontinue the 17-inch version of the MacBook Pro. The comments from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (reported by MacRumors and others), indicated that hybrid products combining the slim design of the MacBook Air with the power of the Pro line were the way forward for Apple, and the 17-inch Pro was a possible casualty of that shift. … Read more

With Intel's new Ivy Bridge third-generation Core i-series CPUs dominating the PC component discussion this week (or really, the last several months), it would be easy to miss today's announcement from AMD about new GPU parts.

AMD's Radeon graphics line, formerly branded under the ATI name, is found in many high-end laptops, including HP's Envy line and Apple's MacBook Pro. The current HD7000 series is now being expanded to include the HD7700M, 7800M, and 7900M.

AMD promises several new features from these updated GPUs, including smoother switching between integrated and discrete graphics. Rival Nvidia has … Read more

You've likely heard the name Ivy Bridge tossed around over the past six months or more, and might even know that it represents the next generation of Intel CPUs and chipsets. But what do these new parts mean if you're currently shopping for a laptop or desktop PC?

This basic FAQ should answer some of your most immediate shopping questions (with more background on Ivy Bridge and its new 22nm transistors here). For a more in-depth look at Ivy Bridge performance results on laptops and desktops, check out our system reviews, benchmark scores, and analysis at the related links below.

Should I look for an Ivy Bridge sticker at the store? Post-launch, you'll likely rarely hear that name again. It's an internal code name (like Sandy Bridge before it), that we use as a quick shorthand. In reality, this is Intel's third-generation Core series processor family, which will use the same Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 names as the previous two generations.

If the names are the same, how can I tell which PCs have the newest parts? On the mobile side, it's easier. The 2012 Ivy Bridge (or third-generation) CPUs have a part number that begins with the number 3. For example, one of our test systems has an Intel i7-3720QM CPU. Our Sandy Bridge test system from last year had an Intel Core i7-2820QM. The new mobile CPUs are: i7-3920XM, i7-3820QM, i7-3720QM, i7-3612QM, and 3610QM. The desktop CPUs are: i7-3770K, i7-3770, i7-3770T, i7-3770S, i5-3570K, i5-3550, i5-3450, i5-3550S, and i5-3450S. … Read more

Ivy Bridge will highlight Intel's emphasis on power-efficiency and graphics performance, but one key ingredient will be missing -- Windows 8.

Intel's Ivy Bridge chip is expected to be announced Monday, opening the floodgates for new desktops and laptops built around the chipmaker's first 22-nanometer processor. Generally, the smaller the chip geometries, the faster and/or more power efficient the silicon is. Intel's current Sandy Bridge processors use "fatter" 32-nanometer technology.

How small is 22 nanometers? More than six million 22-nanometer transistors could fit in the period at the end of this sentence, according … Read more

Dell is rolling out a series of updates to the Alienware M14x, m17x, m18x laptops, including the latest GPUs from Nvidia and AMD. This timing is odd, to say the least, as Intel's third-generation Core i-series CPUs (also known as Ivy Bridge) aren't included.

Instead, these new Alienware models have the current second-gen chips (aka Sandy Bridge). As the high-end quad-core versions of Ivy Bridge are expected to be available from PC makers starting around April 29, the message is clear -- anyone who orders one of these new Alienware laptops before that is a sucker. … Read more

Intel's CEO believes that ultrabooks and Windows 8 will combine to spark PC market growth. Is he right or is it just wishful thinking?

Here's what Paul Otellini said yesterday during the company's earnings conference call responding to an analyst's question about ultrabooks:

"The Ultrabook...we said that's going to be 40 percent of consumer notebooks at year end...[The market] has not had a lot of new and exciting products the last few years."

He continued. "And so this year, you've got a one-two punch with Intel and Microsoft, both … Read more