Intel ultrabooks take a road trip (pictures)

Intel is hosting a pop-up store in New York's Meatpacking District from May 17 to 19 to show off ultrabooks to consumers. The chipmaker constructed the building near the Gansevoort Hotel.

After New York, Intel's pop-up shop will hit Chicago and Tokyo in June, Beijing and London in July, Sao Paulo in late August, Moscow in September, and Sydney in October.

Jon Schaller, market development manager for Toshiba, shows off his company's new ultrabook to a visitor. Schaller says there haven't been lines at the shop since it opened at 10 a.m. Friday, but that's given him plenty of one-on-one time to explain the product to visitors.

Intel has been pushing thin and light PCs known as ultrabooks for the past couple years, but they haven't helped boost the computing market so far. The devices tend to be pricey, and touchscreen shortages early on hurt supply.

The pop-up shop featured several tables with ultrabooks as well as big displays with information and images. Intel wants visitors to explore the various devices, including some that can convert to tablets. "We're trying to show there's an ultrabook that matches your personality," one Intel worker said.

One game Intel is demoing on a Lenovo computer allows users to create terrain, such as hills, using the touchscreen while in tablet mode. The user then converts the device to a more traditional PC to use the keyboard to steer a mower across the grass on that terrain. There will be a global competition to see which city gets the best score on the game.

The store displayed ultrabooks from Intel's various partners, including Toshiba, Sony, and Dell.

Intel employees show a visitor some features of a PC. The company hopes the tour will show consumers what some newer devices look like.