Intel kicks off ultrabook road trip in New York
The chipmaker is traveling the globe to show consumers some of the newest PCs and tablets.
The chip giant opened a temporary pop-up shop in Manhattan's Meatpacking District from May 17 to 19 to give New Yorkers the chance to try out new computers firsthand. The "Experience Intel: Look Inside" world tour will move on to Chicago and Tokyo next month, Beijing and London in July, Sao Paulo in late August, Moscow in September, and Sydney in October.
"When consumers touch and play with these new devices we are confident that they will be as excited about them as we are," said Kevin Sellers, Intel vice president of sales and marketing and director of creative services and digital marketing.Intel has been pushing ultrabooks for the past couple years, but the thin and light PCs so far haven't spurred a recovery in the computer market. The devices typically are pricey, and touchscreen shortages early on hurt ultrabook supply. Intel hopes its newest chip, dubbed Haswell, will help boost ultrabook development.
It's vital that Intel reinvigorates consumer interest in PCs. Tech research firms Gartner and IDC last month said PC shipments posted an ugly slump in the first three months of the year,the worst since IDC started tracking the figures in 1994. The period marked the fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year shipments decline, and the market is widely expected to slump for all of 2013. Intel, however, has said it should grow, and it's counting on new devices later this year to attract more buyers.
