Intel launches Ultrabooks

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Having watched from the sidelines as the tablet market took off, Intel also had to endure the pain of watching arch rival ARM get a leg up in the process.

Intel could be forgiven for feeling a bit like they'd missed the tablet boat as tablet sales began to encroach on PC sales. However, not being easily deterred, Intel donned their thinking caps and developed the Ultrabook specification. Having seen some early Ultrabooks from both Acer and Toshiba, I came away pretty impressed.

While you'd be forgiven for wondering just what all the fuss is about with Ultrabooks, it's hard not to be wowed when checking them out first hand. Ultrabooks are essentially a new notebook category and are designed to be ultraportable, (and I'd wager take more than a little inspiration from the MacBook Air) and zero compromise.

Intel have also trademarked the Ultrabook brand and are injecting a whopping US$300M to stimulate development.

So just what does the Ultrabook spec consist of? Judging from the Acer and Toshiba samples, the most notable thing with an Ultrabook will be weight (that is the near complete lack thereof). With a form factor bordering on anorexic, both the Acer and Toshiba machines I handled weighed practically nothing, making them perfect travel companions.

There's little debate that size matters, but it's not the only sizzle selling the Ultrabook sausage. All Ultrabooks incorporate Intel low voltage processors complete with integrated graphics, as well as solid state hard drives.

In essence this equates to a battery life that'd leave notebook owners weeping with joy (Intel claims Ultrabooks will have five hours). Further adding to any prospective notebook owner's joy will be the ultra-fast start up time associated with Ultrabooks (the two samples I tested resumed from sleep mode in less than 30 seconds).

Most impressive of all was the fact that the Acer unit also managed to run the graphically demanding and newly-released Battlefield 3 smoothly, with no hiccups, pauses or glitches.

In short, the Ultrabook category appears to be a zero compromise solution that could re-invigorate the fortunes of the PC market in a similar fashion to what the netbook accomplished 24 months ago. Intel is understandably bullish about the outlook for Ultrabooks and estimate that by the end of 2012, 40 per cent of the consumer laptop market will be taken up Ultrabooks. If seeing is believing then I'm pretty confident that Intel is right on the money.