TAIPEI, Taiwan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Intel Corporation Senior Vice President Tom Kilroy officially introduced the next wave of Ultrabook™ systems during a keynote address at Computex Taipei 2012. Making a bold statement around the importance of touch technology, Kilroy also announced that Intel has signed agreements with several leading touch panel manufacturers to ensure adequate capacity to meet the expected demand for touch-enabled Ultrabook experiences over the next several years.
He also highlighted the company’s efforts to deliver user-centric experiences across a range of mobile devices from the Ultrabook to smartphones and tablets, pointing to momentum across all three.
More than 35 new ultra-sleek, ultra-responsive Ultrabook systems are available now or will be for purchase within 30 days, with more than 110 designs expected in the next year. Powered by 3rd generation Intel® Core™ processors and made with the world’s most advanced 22nm 3-D tri-gate transistors, these new Ultrabook devices are more responsive and offer enhanced security in a selection of stylish designs for consumers and business users.
“Our life experiences are defined by our senses -- by what we see, hear and touch,” said Kilroy. “These human senses are also at the foundation of Intel’s vision for the Ultrabook to deliver a no-compromise, must-have computing experience.
“Today, thanks to the work of the industry at-large, we are one step closer to meeting that vision with the arrival of the next wave of 3rd generation Intel Core processor-powered devices. The innovation must continue as we move to touch-based Ultrabook convertible designs, and in the future aim to give them and other devices senses, making our interaction with them natural and intuitive.”
Next Wave of Ultrabook Devices Bring More Responsiveness, Enhanced Security
In addition to increased responsiveness and enhanced security features, Ultrabook devices powered by the new 3rd generation Intel Core processors deliver up to two times the media and graphics performance compared to the previous generation, long battery life and offer more choice of stylish, thin designs.
This new wave of Ultrabook devices wakes up in a flash, meaning systems will transition from hibernation mode to an active state in less than 7 seconds and will also load favorite applications quickly1. Intel® Smart Connect Technology helps keep email and social networks automatically updated even while the Ultrabook sleeps, thus conserving power and battery life.
As security becomes more important to consumers who want peace of mind in the protection of their data and personal assets, the next wave of Ultrabook systems is equipped with enhanced security features, including Intel® Anti-Theft technology that lets users automatically disable the system if it is lost or stolen. Kilroy announced that people in several major markets worldwide can activate free, limited-time service subscriptions right out of the box from Absolute Software*, McAfee*, Norton* and Intel.
Additionally, all 3rd generation Intel Core processor-based Ultrabook devices have Intel® Identity Protection technology built in to keep peoples’ identity safe and ensure that their favorite websites and social networks know it’s really them when logging in.
The Ultrabook is also now coming to the enterprise. Built with the 3rd generation Intel® Core™ vPro™ processor platform, these Ultrabook devices provide businesses the security and performance to compute with confidence in the stylish and innovate designs business users desire.
Touch-Enabled, Ultrabook Convertible Designs Offer No-Compromise Experiences
First announced by Intel just over a year ago, the Ultrabook category ushers in a new era of computing that has been quickly fueled by innovation from the broad industry.
“Thank you to our partners here in Taiwan and the computing industry at-large for the unprecedented innovation to bring the Ultrabook to life in such a short time,” said Kilroy. “But we’re just getting started.”
Later this year, Intel and the industry will further evolve Ultrabook devices with the addition of touch-based experiences. Intel believes that touch capability is a key component to the Ultrabook experience and will be increasingly important across a wide range of devices. Kilroy said touch will also help fuel even more innovation and new experiences, particularly for Ultrabook convertibles that offer a truly no-compromise computing experience.
To that end, Kilroy announced touch capacity agreements with several leading touch vendors including Cando, HannsTouch, TPK and Wintek. The agreements are an important element of Intel’s overall industry enabling effort and the future of the Ultrabook experience.
Bringing the Best of Intel Technology to Smartphones, Tablets
Highlighting the company’s progress in its smartphone business, Kilroy pointed to the imminent in-store availability in the United Kingdom and France of Orange’s new high-performance Android* smartphone based on Intel technology. The Intel-powered Lenovo* LePhone* K800 launched online and in retail stores on May 30 in China. These phones join Lava’s XOLO* X900, the first smartphone with Intel inside, which launched in India in April.
Kilroy said Intel is committed to delivering a great all-around and secure smartphone experience, including fast browsing and downloads, great multitasking, a brilliant camera, great graphics and video performance with competitive battery life.
He also said Intel-based tablets will extend the smartphone experience while offering compatibility with the extensive library of existing applications and devices. The company has 20 design wins based on the forthcoming 32nm Intel® Atom™ SoC, codenamed “Clover Trail,” and designed for Microsoft* Windows* 8. Whether in slate, convertible or other innovative designs, these tablets will be capable of delivering an always-on, always-connected experience that includes very thin solutions and all-day battery life.
The combination of Windows 8 with Intel inside is designed to give users the ability to run new applications offered in the fast and fluid Windows 8 user interface, while also supporting the existing Windows applications people know and use today.
The Future: Computers that See, Hear and Feel
Kilroy challenged the industry to shape the future of computing experiences by giving computers senses, or the ability to see, hear and feel much like people do. The addition of the touch-enabled experiences to the Ultrabook is only the beginning.
Kilroy demonstrated for the first time a multi-language voice experience based on Nuance’s Dragon* engine and speech technology optimized for Intel® architecture on an Ultrabook™. Announced in January, the companies are collaborating to provide a great voice experience to consumers. With this solution, users can check and update their social media sites, initiate voice over IP calls, search the Internet and control their media. Users can also control the Ultrabook when not connected to the Internet by using their voice to quickly and easily launch applications, play local media and multi-task.
Kilroy said the company is working on future technologies that could let people engage more naturally and intuitively with a variety of devices, from the Ultrabook or smartphone to everyday intelligent systems. Such applications could include perceptual computing, intuitive and immersive short-range gesture recognition, using smartphones to interact with and control an Ultrabook or desktop PC, or even track a person’s heart rate through technology that “sees” and analyzes the movement of a person’s cheeks.
About Intel
Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. The company designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world’s computing devices. Additional information about Intel is available at newsroom.intel.com and blogs.intel.com.
Intel, Intel Atom, Intel Core, Ultrabook, Thunderbolt and the Intel logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the United States and other countries.
* Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
Any codenames featured are used internally within Intel to identify products that are in development and not yet publicly announced for release. Customers, licensees and other third parties are not authorized by Intel to use code names in advertising, promotion or marketing of any product or services and any such use of Intel's internal code names is at the sole risk of the user.
All products, dates, and figures specified are preliminary based on current expectations, and are subject to change without notice.
Intel may make changes to specifications and product descriptions at any time, without notice.
No system can provide absolute security under all conditions. Requires an Intel® Identity Protection Technology-enabled system, including a 2nd generation Intel® Core™ processor enabled chipset, firmware and software, and participating website. Consult your system manufacturer. Intel assumes no liability for lost or stolen data and/or systems or any resulting damages. For more information, visit http://ipt.intel.com. No system can provide absolute security under all conditions. Requires an enabled chipset, BIOS, firmware and software, and a subscription with a capable service provider. Consult your system manufacturer and Service Provider for availability and functionality. Intel assumes no liability for lost or stolen data and/or systems or any other damages resulting thereof. For more information, visit www.intel.com/go/anti-theft.
1 Requires 16GB of NAND cache and minimum PCMark Vantage benchmark scores.