ultrabook

It's a software maker first and foremost, but Microsoft certainly has a vested interest in hardware.

Case in point: Digitimes is reporting today, citing sources, that Microsoft is "actively involved" in ultrabook product designs. The reason the company is taking such an active role centers on Windows 8's touch-enabled features. When displays are touched in traditional clamshell notebooks, the screens will shake and move a bit, making it difficult to handle tasks. Microsoft has now placed more stringent specifications on vendors, according to Digitimes' sources, to ensure that the touch screens will deliver a more reliable … Read more

The list of no-nos for the thinnest ultrabooks is lengthy, according to an "engineering estimate" published by Intel recently.

The specs for the thinnest of the thin laptops (15mm, 0.6 inch) shake out this way: no to the VGA port, "slim" 2.5-inch drives (7mm) are out, 18650/16650 batteries won't cut it, soDIMM memory, negative. And no "standard thermal solutions." (See charts below.)

But that's pretty thin -- even thinner than the Dell XPS 13 ultrabook, which is 0.71 inch at its thickest point. (See CNET's review of the Dell XPS 13 here -- and read how it stacks up against the Apple MacBook Air.)

Intel is more forgiving for 18mm (0.7-inch) and 21mm (0.82-inch) ultrabooks. (The latter 21mm category, for all intents and purposes, is not really an ultrabook but just a thin laptop.) … Read more

Intel showed off the latest hybrid ultrabook concept at company confab this week. But it's been preaching this best-of-both-worlds religion for a while now.

Intel's new PC business chief, Kirk Skaugen, is making the case for hybrids this week in Beijing at an Intel conference. But CEO Paul Otellini has been proselytizing the hybrid experience since last fall and other Intel executives, like Erik Reid, have been chiming in at every opportunity too.

Here's the pitch: in "consumption" mode, it's a tablet (see photos) and in productivity mode it's a standard laptop. And throw in the fact that hybrids use the latest high-performance Intel Ivy Bridge processors and run the Windows 8 Metro interface. … Read more

When it comes to ultrabooks, you have to pick between a solid-state drive (SSD) or a hard drive as the main storage drive. The former is generally limited in terms of capacity, expensive but very fast, while the latter offers much more storage space for a much lower cost.

If you're willing to go with a hard drive, WD now offers another option.

The company announced today the availability of the new single-platter WD Scorpio Blue hard drive. The drive still uses the 2.5-inch standard but is just 7mm thick, as opposed to 9.5mm in regular laptop hard drives. … Read more

Much digital ink has been spilled over ultrabooks, the new pseudo-category of very thin, very light laptops.

The idea behind the ultrabook is an excellent one: to create slim, powerful, long-lasting laptops that can compete with Apple's MacBook Pro and Air, but the name itself is a trademarked Intel marketing term. That means a PC maker has to play by Intel's (not always clearly explained) rules in order to qualify for an official ultrabook sticker.

Both before and after the launch of the ultrabook platform, there have been laptops that are as thin and light as official ultrabooks, … Read more

Ultrabooks are expected to heat up even further by this summer, according to one of their major proponents.

Currently selling at $800 and higher, the light and thin laptops will finally ring in at starting prices of $699 in time for the back-to-school shopping crowd, says Intel.

At the same time, a slew of new models will reach the market, including hybrids that can function as either a laptop or a tablet and ones that offer touchscreens to take advantage of Windows 8, reported IDG News.

Speaking at the Intel Developer Forum in Beijing today, Kirk Skaugen, Intel general manager … Read more

New Intel solid-state drives are aimed at boosting Windows startup and wake times, making them a hardware feature that will be especially applicable to Windows 8.

The Intel SSD 313 Series offers what is in effect a solid-state drive cache, increasing the "responsiveness" of PCs that are based on hard disk drives -- that being a word Intel and Microsoft throw around a lot these days.

Responsiveness is code for the kind of instant-on experience you get on a tablet or smartphone.

And both Windows 8 PCs (think: ultrabooks) and tablets should offer that kind of responsiveness as … Read more

We're more than a quarter of the way through 2012 (believe it or not), so it's time to ask: where are those hot laptops we saw back at CES?

The good news is, looking back at the products we saw back then, is that a surprising number of them weren't vaporware. Even better, a great number of them have already made their debut and have been reviewed on CNET. … Read more

For ultrabooks to succeed, the display needs to approach an iPad's quality or least match that of a MacBook--which uses higher-end displays.

A lower quality display can be a deal breaker for consumers in the age of the iPad, which boasts a high-quality, high-resolution in-plane switching (IPS) display.

IPS and high-quality TN displays offer viewing angles and contrast typically better than those used on most ultrabooks today.

This shortcoming has become apparent in more than a few reviews of the Dell XPS 13 ultrabook, which in almost every other respect is generally considered an excellent design. (Another review here … Read more