ultrabooks

For Intel, Windows 8 is key talking point at CES

The fate of ultrabooks is intimately linked to Windows 8, as CEO Paul Otellini has made clear in recent talks--and as he is expected to reiterate at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week.

Ostensibly, CES for Intel and the PC crowd is about the crush of new Windows 7 ultrabooks hitting the market. But internally, Intel is keen on Windows 8 as a vehicle to close the yawning gap with Apple's mobile devices, particularly the iPad.

Otellini got a rude reminder of how important ultramobile devices are in 2012 and beyond when an analyst at a … Read more

Lenovo kicks off the CES 2012 laptop wars with several early debuts

Lenovo is starting the flood of CES news a bit early with several new laptop announcements.

While CES 2012 doesn't start until next week, as of today, you can start putting the new ThinkPad T430u ultrabook, and dual-OS ThinkPad X1 Hybrid, on your shopping list, as well as a few new ThinkPad Edge models and even a couple of budget-priced systems from Lenovo's B series. Check out photos and details for each below.

ThinkPad T430u ultrabook hits pre-CES 2012 The look and feel keeps to ThinkPad tradition, with a matte-black finish and an island-style keyboard similar to what … Read more

Hands on with the HP Folio 13

Editors' note, January 20, 2012: We posted our full review of the HP Folio 13. We also added our hands-on video to the end of this blog.

As ultrabooks become a major part of the laptop landscape this year, the key to finding a good one might not lie in specs--since so many have identical innards--so much as look, feel, and bang for the buck.

In that regard, the HP Folio 13 might be a winner.

The HP Folio 13, which was announced last year, is a small business-targeted ultrabook that could be equally at home in the hands of a regular Joe User. After all, the "business" differentiation is merely cosmetic and arbitrary, unless you choose to upgrade to Windows 7 Professional an optional TPM chip. What the HP Folio 13 has--a Core i5 low-voltage CPU, 128GB SSD storage, 4GB of RAM--befits any laptop in the 13-inch ultrabook universe circa 2012.

It is a thicker laptop, and a heavier one, too, compared with the MacBook Air and any of last year's ultrabooks. Not by much, though; it's a little over 3 pounds, and still thinner than any "normal" laptop. It's just not wafer-thin. Consider the side benefits, though: the HP Folio 13 only costs $899, which undercuts a lot of the ultrabook competition by at least $100. And, in terms of both specs and features, there are few compromises. The Folio 13 comes with everything that most ultrabooks do, with none of the annoying compromises such as missing SD card slots or Ethernet jacks that were common to last year's ultrabook crop.… Read more

As tablet shipments soar, notebooks take a hit, research finds

As if you needed further proof that tablet popularity is skyrocketing, NPD DisplaySearch has provided some new data to make that point even clearer.

According to the research firm, 72.7 million tablets hit store shelves worldwide in 2011, securing the form factor 25.5 percent of the entire mobile PC market. Assuming NPD DisplaySearch's fourth-quarter estimates hold up, tablet shipments last year rose 256 percent compared to 2010.

Meanwhile, the research group has revised its 2011 notebook shipment forecast down slightly to 187.5 million units from its original 188 million estimate. Still, it estimates that notebook shipments … Read more

In 2012, MacBooks, ultrabooks mix it up

2012 promises to be a watershed year for laptops. Really thin will be in and internal optical drives out, while some designs venture into hybrid territory.

Apple: Apple is expected to incorporate the MacBook Air design theme into more models, including a 15-incher sans optical drive. And since Apple popularized the really-thin aesthetic with the January 2008 introduction of the MacBook Air, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the company will continue to be a trendsetter.

Trendsetting may include a rumored 2,880-by-1,800-pixel display. That would be a remarkable feat as workstation-class 15-inch Windows laptops, such as … Read more

Ultrabook holiday pricing on the cheap

Ultrabooks are available for the first time this holiday season. That calls for a quick survey of pricing since models have debuted at unexpectedly low prices.

As a refresher, ultrabooks are skinny (typically under 0.8 inches thick), lightweight (three pounds or less) laptops that offer mainstream mobile performance.

In short, they attempt to approximate the portability of a tablet while offering more horsepower via Intel processors. And, of course, they run full-blown Windows--not a minor point.

Pricing runs the gamut but the most-recently-released ultrabooks all fall below the $1,000 mark at retailers like Best Buy. That's important … Read more

CNET Labscast 13: Onward to CES 2012, but first... (podcast)

We discuss our personal tech hits and misses of 2011; what we loved, hated and was overrated. Also, Scott and Ty weigh in on what will most likely be going on at CES 2012; the who, the what, and the why.

… Read more

Thinner laptops at CES 2012, but what about Ivy Bridge and Thunderbolt?

Laptop and desktop computers aren't always the most high-profile of products shown at CES, but with an influx of new, thin, ultrabook laptops expected, as well as an updated CPU platform from Intel, you're sure to get a detailed view of what PCs will be on shopping lists for the rest of 2012.

Laptops get thinner We've seen a good handful of ultrabooks already, but the rumor mill says that nearly every computer manufacturer will get in on the act with at least one 13- or 14-inch entry. Remember that an ultrabook (according to Intel's official definition) can include laptops in the 15-inch range, so we may see some of those as well.… Read more

Dell says goodbye to Netbooks

Dell is longer interested in selling Netbooks--that category of 10-inch class laptops that saw mild success for a couple of years but is now facing a serious existential crisis.

Rather, Dell is now concentrating on laptops that deliver real performance--a major failing of the Netbook.

"We sold through the Dell Mini some time ago. We're committed to the highly portable space and have focused on delivering thin + powerful solutions, for which we've seen strong success, particularly in our XPS line," Matthew Hutchison, director of Dell Global Consumer PR, said in a statement sent to CNET. … Read more