ultrabooks

Having reviewed the first four ultrabook laptops to hit stores, and spent some hands-on time with a just-announced HP version, it's clear Apple's dominance of the superthin laptop category faces a serious challenge.

Acer, Asus, Toshiba, and Lenovo all have impressive systems, all under 18 millimeters thick, and all with second-generation Intel Core i-series processors and solid-state drives (SSDs). The key is that these 13-inch laptops start at $799, while the 13-inch MacBook Air starts at $1,299.

That said, stack all of these systems together on a table and we'll still pick the Air for general everyday use, as long as price is no object. To date, no one has matched the multitouch trackpad experience of the MacBook, along with its excellent keyboard, and simple sleep/hibernate quick-start states.

But, if you're looking for the best value based on system specs, the field is suddenly wide open.… Read more

With Apple likely forgoing optical drives across all or most of its MacBooks, and ultrabooks doing the same, it's no surprise that the venerable whirring drive will spin away, albeit gradually, into obscurity.

Next to go driveless at Apple is the 15-inch MacBook Air. 9to5Mac says Apple almost brought out a 15-inch Air in late 2010 (but didn't because of a problem with the hinges). Apple now has plans to make this happen next year when Intel's graphics-centric Ivy Bridge processor ships.

Ultrabooks will do their part to hurry the otherwise slow demise of the optical drive. … Read more

At an Intel Capital conference this week an Intel executive spelled out how and why the market will transition to ultrabooks over the next few years. In a word, ultrabooks need to be "cool."

Intel is driving the PC industry to ultrabooks with a $300 million ultrabook fund--principally for hardware development--and a second fund announced this week, the $100 million AppUpSM Fund, targeted at applications for future ultrabooks.

Erik Reid, the general manager of the Mobile Platforms Division at Intel's PC Client Group, detailed Intel's thinking in a session at the Intel conference this week in Huntington Beach, Calif.

The coolness factor: "Users want something that's cool," said Reid. Intel research shows that when people see an ultrabook they think that "it must be better engineered because it's thin. It's harder to make a thin device than a thick device. It's more forward-looking." … Read more

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif.--Intel CEO Paul Otellini said today at an Intel conference that touch-based ultrathin notebooks running Windows 8 will be a big focus for the company in the coming 12 months.

Otellini said that to lure mainstream laptop buyers, Intel and its partners need to get the cost of touch technology under control. "To hit the volume price points, we need to span $699 and up, and that's the goal for next year," he said, speaking at the Intel Capital Global Summit in Huntington Beach, Calif.

"To do that, we have to get touch … Read more

With Best Buy getting ready to sell a $799.99 Toshiba ultrabook and the Acer Aspire S3 now going for $839.99, the prospect of affordable ultrabooks is real.

Surprisingly, this didn't take long to happen.

"I think Intel is cheering right now--that the price came down that low that fast," said Deron Kershaw, an analyst at Gap Intelligence.

"What's the magical price point that sales really begin to take off? That's probably $599 to $699 next year. But we didn't think we were going to see anything around $800 this year," … Read more

We're going hands-on with the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet, released ahead of schedule to a few lucky customers today.

Also leaked from today's 404 podcast: Apple replacing original iPod Nanos, breaking up on Facebook, waging war on infographics, and tap-to-pay apps coming to Ultrabook laptops.

Also, a big congrats to CNET's Bonnie Cha, the new chief correspondent at Crave!

Stream the podcast on audio or video after the page break!… Read more

Google negotiates with music labels, ultrabooks could add tap-to-pay, and Kobo copies Amazon by putting ads in its cheaper Touch e-reader.

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded:

Toshiba is poised to launch a model in its Z830 Portege Ultrabook series for $799.99 at Best Buy, which will be a new low price point for this emerging laptop category.

The Portege Z835 at Best Buy (model: Z835-P330) packs a "Sandy Bridge" 1.4GHz Core i3-2367M processor, 4GB DDR3 memory, 13.3" LED-backlit display (1366x768), and 128GB solid-state drive.

The 0.6-inch thick, 2.5-pound laptop also includes Intel HD 3000 graphics, built-in webcam and microphone, one USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet LAN, Wi-Fi, and Windows 7 Home Premium.

Interestingly, … Read more

Next year is shaping up to be the year that the Ultrabook takes on the MacBook Air in earnest, with a new report hinting at an $800 ThinkPad from Lenovo and even talk of a fall release of Windows 8.

Intel has been espousing Ultrabooks as the next wave in Windows-based laptop computing. An important part of the argument is price: Ultrabooks have to be considerably cheaper than the popular MacBook Air in order to get consumers interested. (Note to picky Ultrabook reviewers: PC makers are going have to cut some corners to get the price down.)

Well, Lenovo appears … Read more