The Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas each January typically sets the stage for what technophiles and gadget buyers can look forward to in the coming year in -- you guessed it -- consumer electronics.
Ultrabooks are in ... the air?
Judging by the pre-extravaganza presentations and announcements, one of the key themes this year will be Intel
Intel is proud to say that more than 75 Ultrabook designs are forthcoming within the year, many of which will carry 14-inch to 15-inch screen sizes, with "many more on the way." Manufacturers will include familiar names like Lenovo, Asus, Acer, Toshiba, Dell, Hewlett-Packard
An Ultrabook by any other name would be just as thin-and-light
Instead of being grouped with other Ultrabooks, VIZIO is shunning the moniker and instead calling its lineup the cumbersome "thin-and-light." The company says its notebooks will meet or exceed Intel's reference designs. Further taking cues from Apple, it will similarly use unibody construction to bolster the build quality.
Source: The Verge.
On top of that, VIZIO is coming out with an iMac-esque all-in-one desktop PC. VIZIO's entry is interesting because there aren't many major domestic PC vendors left standing. To be precise, there are two: Dell and HP, one of which was having a high-profile identity crisis during the tail end of last year, before deciding to stay in the biz. I'll give you three guesses as to which company fits that bill.
Source: The Verge.
You want in?
There's one word I would use to describe the Microsoft
Why do you think IBM sold its PC operations to Lenovo nearly a decade ago? Why do you think HP considered doing the same? Good luck, VIZIO.
Start your engines
Intel will be launching a major marketing push throughout the year to promote its disseminated designs. April will be a pivotal month for the chip giant, since it will link its Ultrabook push to its new Ivy Bridge processors, built on next-generation 22-nanometer technology, which should also be released in that time frame.
Intel sales exec Kevin Sellers said, "By April, the marketing engines of Intel will turn on."
Can you hear me now?
Taking the future of Ultrabooks to the next level, Intel has hooked up with Nuance Communications
Not only will some Ultrabooks include voice recognition and control, but they also may sport touchscreens, NFC capabilities, and motion controls. Touchscreen laptops would differ from Apple's approach, since the Mac maker found that interacting with a vertically positioned touchscreen is ergonomically uncomfortable after extended use and opted instead to use trackpads for touch input. Incorporating touchscreens into Ultrabooks makes some sense, considering Windows 8's heavy tilt toward touch interactions.
That being said, I wouldn't be remotely surprised if Siri, which also uses Nuance behind the scenes, were to find its way into Macs in the near future.
The year of the Ultrabook
Apple is used to having its successes chased, emulated, and blatantly ripped off. The widespread popularity of the MacBook Air, which may have sold as many as 1.2 million units over the holidays, with its slim and mobile design is bound to attract others.
The coming year will see dozens of new Ultrabooks flood the scene, hoping to steal sales from the MacBook Air. With as many offerings that are in the pipeline, we might as well call 2012 the year of the Ultrabook.
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