ultrabook

Intel's upcoming Ivy Bridge processors are causing a ripple effect in the lineups of laptops everywhere, and HP's freshly unveiled series of ultrabooks, "sleekbooks," and professional slim laptops reveals that thin's spreading beyond ultrabooks.

Of particular interest is the fact that HP's consumer line of ultrabooks is falling entirely into the Envy brand, which was previously exclusive to higher-priced laptops optimized for Beats Audio.

Call them fauxtrabooks, call them sleekbooks, call them ultrathins: these new 14- and 15-inch ultrabooks along with AMD-powered ultrabooklike laptops are bound to create some consumer confusion. But, based on limited time with these systems, they're also likely to make a lot of people happy: these thin laptops are actually impressively affordable. Let's hope it's a trend. … Read more

In addition to new Envy ultrabooks and fauxtrabooks, HP's mainstream Pavilion laptops have also gotten an update. While these midprice systems are not as exciting as the ultrabooks and high-end Envy models, there are a couple of noteworthy twists, and one promising new system.

All the new Pavilions fall under a new HP design philosophy called HP Mosaic, which is apparently a follow-up (but not a replacement) to the last HP design philosophy we heard about, called Muse (materials, usability, sensory appeal, and experience).

The company says: "The Mosaic design fuses together the multifaceted elements of Muse, including … Read more

We could see a $799 MacBook Air as early as the third quarter, according to the folks at DigiTimes.

Citing the usual "sources from the upstream supply chain," the site says that a more aggressively priced MacBook Air could crimp rival ultrabooks, especially if Intel is unable to bring their average selling price down to its goal of $699. A $799 offering from Apple may also keep competing machines from becoming more standardized.

Intel has been on a quest to push ultrabooks as the latest and greatest technology. Last year the chipmaker created a $300 fund to aid … Read more

The only laptops available right now with Intel's new third-generation Core i-series CPUs (also known as Ivy Bridge) are those that use high-end quad-core Core i7 processors. That means the vast majority of mainstream laptops won't get updated CPUs until the dual-core versions of Ivy Bridge are released, probably sometime in June.

Dell already has a few Ivy Bridge laptops in the Alienware M14x, M15x, and M17x gaming systems, and now the company is adding a couple of Inspiron models as well. The Dell Inspiron 14R and 15R Special Edition are higher-end machines available with quad-core processors, so … Read more

Sony has jumped into the ultrabook business with the new Sony Vaio T series laptop, announced May 2 in Europe (with U.S. details forthcoming, we assume).

The initial specs, reported by CNET UK, include an Intel Core i3 CPU and a 1,366x768-pixel display.

The CPU is potentially problematic because it's the previous second-generation Intel Core i-series model (also known as Sandy Bridge), rather than one of the new third-generation chips (sometimes referred to as Ivy Bridge).

The high-end quad-core Ivy Bridge chips are available now, the more-mainstream dual-core Core i3 and i5 versions are expected imminently.

According … Read more

Intel's second wave of Ivy Bridge chips for ultrabooks are due by early June, when Computex gets under way, an industry source told CNET.

In the first week of June, consumers can expect to see a new wave of ultrabooks based on Intel's just-announced Ivy Bridge processor, according to the source, who is familiar with the plans of Intel and PC makers.

That's the time frame in which Intel is expected to roll out power-efficient versions of Ivy Bridge. Last week, Intel announced only high-performance, quad-core versions of the processor that typically goes into larger laptops, like … Read more

Every weekday afternoon, CNET Update delivers the top tech stories of the day. The show keeps a close eye on emerging trends, hot devices and new apps. And it's all in less than three minutes.

In today's show, Microsoft's got the hots for Nook, LG has its head in the cloud, and we're battling pigs in space! (space! space! space!):

Microsoft is investing $300 million in a new Barnes & Noble subsidiary that will handle digital and college business. With this investment, expect the Nook to become a stronger player against the Kindle and iPad.

A … Read more

The third generation of Core i-series CPUs has been benchmarked, written about, and discussed for months now, but PC makers could only sell them starting April 29.

Even then, only the very high-end models, the quad-core Core i7 chips, are currently available. The more mainstream dual-core Core i3 and Core i5 processors found in most laptops won't get updated until sometime in May or June (and then probably won't be physically available for some time after that).

A handful of hearty manufacturers have already put the high-end new Core i7 chips up on their sites, allowing you to … Read more

The XPS 13 ultrabook is selling well above expectations, a Dell executive told CNET this week, offering some hope for the new class of skinny laptops.

"We can't build enough of them at the moment," said Sam Burd, vice president of Dell's Consumer and SMB (small and medium business) product group, speaking about the higher-end laptop announced back in January.

"A little bit less than 3X the expected demand," he said. Burd declined to be more specific, saying Dell "never" discloses numbers.

Still, an upbeat statement about sales -- however nonspecific -- … Read more