Despite earlier talk about not competing directly with Intel starting 2012, AMD is reportedly going after its rival anyway with the possible introduction of the “Ultrathin,” a super-thin MacBook Air and Ultrabook clone that uses AMD processors instead of ones supplied by Intel. Even more, Brian Slattery from AMD Australia reports that the new form factor just might become available locally next month.

AMD is reportedly taking a different approach than Intel, refraining from commanding specific configurations and aesthetics. There’s speculation that AMD will be using the Brazos 2.0 platform sporting an updated Zacate APU and a Radeon HD 7000 series GPU. Slattery said that it was up to the Ultrathin manufacturers to decide how they adopt the platform.

“They can do what they want with them,” Slattery said.

He also added that AMD had conducted talks with a number of manufacturers about ultrathins and one of them was “particularly advanced.” Unfortunately, Slattery didn’t go into further detail about AMD’s ultrathin form factor, only stating that Apple had previously prepared a version of its MacBook Air running on an AMD processor, but decided to discontinue the project before its release.

Given that AMD’s Ultrathin may be introduced in Australia next month, there’s a good chance we’ll see a few working demo units running at CES 2012 next month. We’re also hoping AMD will choose an alternative name to differentiate its own design from rival Intel’s ultrabook now appearing on store shelves.

Although ultrabooks have just arrived on the market, their biggest competitor is not only the MacBook Air, but the entire tablet sector. Consumers seemingly want thin, portable devices that let them search the internet, play HD movies and HD games without the bulk that’s associated with the standard laptop. To conquer both adversaries, it seems only natural to add touch-based capabilities to Intel’s new form factor… especially with Windows 8 on the horizon.

According to unnamed industry sources, notebook manufacturers plan to install touch panels in ultrabooks next year to accommodate the new touch-based features offered in Windows 8. LCD panel and touch module suppliers are reportedly delivering samples to these companies already. The only problem, it seems, is getting bulky touch screens inside the thin ultrabook chassis while conforming to Intel’s specifications.

To overcome this roadblock, back-light unit (BLU) manufacturers are mounting lighting devices, optical films, and light guide panels onto the upper covers of ultrabooks by using an open cell (which depends on the lid of the ultrabook for protection) or hinge-up process. This will reportedly help reduce the thickness of touch-based ultrabooks and keep them in line with Intel’s sub-0.83-inch specification while still posing a challenge to the tablet and MacBook Air market.

Meanwhile, the sources claim that shipments of Acer’s Aspire S3 and Asustek Computer’s Zenbook have so far met market expectations. As of the end of November, shipments of Aspire S3 from ODM Wistron have reached 200,000 to 210,000 units. ODM shipments of Zenbooks from Pegatron Technology are expected to top 150,000 to 170,000 units by the end of the month.

Not to be confused with the bulkier P330 13.3-incher we saw last month, the new X-Note Z330 looks to have toned up to gain membership to the mwah-mwah Ultrabook clique. It’s a mere 14.7mm (0.58-inches) in thickness, 1.21kg (2.67 pounds) in weight and sports a solid state drive to help it boot up in under ten seconds. What’s not so Ultrabookish, however, is the price: the Z330 has been announced in Korea starting at ₩1,700,000 ($1,500) for the Core i5 variant with 4GB RAM, a 120GB SSD and a fairly usual range of connectivity, including HDMI, USB 3.0 and Intel WiDi for streaming content wirelessly to your HDTV. Opting for a Core i7 and a 256GB SSD will add a hefty ₩900,000 ($800) on top of that. We’ve duly prepared a rant about value for money, but we’re going to save it until there’s official US price tag instead.

SOURCE via Akihabaranews

Having recently affirmed its commitment to the netbook, Acer is now reportedly looking to boost its Ultrabook sales, with the help of a handsome price cut. Citing company president Jim Wong, DigiTimes reports that Acer will slash the price of its Ultrabook offerings by as much as 20 percent next year, dropping them from around $1,000 to between $800 and $900. The cut, expected to go into effect during Q2 2012, will be followed by a subsequent reduction to $500 in 2013, when Acer expects more vendors to enter the market. The hope is that the manufacturer will be able to reclaim some of the ground it’s lost to competitors in recent months, though it remains to be seen whether or not the strategy pays dividends.

SOURCE via DigiTimes

Intel has reportedly heard the plea of ultrabook manufacturers, and will supposedly offer a $100 marketing subsidy. Acer, Asustek Computer and Toshiba were already gearing up to lower ultrabook prices by the end of the year, but the subsidy will now allow them to drop prices an extra 5 to 10-percent in the first quarter of 2012.

Ultrabook manufacturers have complained for some time that it will be difficult to keep prices under Intel’s requested $1000 price cap. According to sources, the BOM (bill-of-materials) for a 13-inch ultrabook equipped with an SSD is estimated at $690 USD. Throw in OEM costs at $100, marketing/distribution costs at $150, and the device ends up costing an overall $940 USD.

Obviously there’s really no room for profit without pushing the retail price beyond the $1000 point. The CPU itself costs manufacturers around $175 to 200 USD, the 128 GB SSD around $140 to 150 USD, and the LCD panel $45 to 50 USD. Intel’s $100 subsidy may not seem like much at the end of the day, but at least it’s something.

As reported earlier, ultrabook manufacturers plan to cut costs by using cheaper materials such as replacing the magnesium alloy chassis for one made of fiberglass. The chassis may also switch from a unibody design to a cheaper hybrid design using aluminum on the outside but plastic parts on the inside. There’s even been talk about using hybrid hard drives so that ultrabooks can supply the capacity of a hard drive and the speed of an SSD while keeping the cost somewhat reasonable.

Recent reports have indicated that up to 50 ultrabooks are scheduled to make an appearance at CES 2012 in January. These will be presented by Lenovo, Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba, Dell and others.

Monday Intel announced a multi-year strategic collaboration with MasterCard that will combine the latter company’s PayPass payment system with Intel’s Identity Protection Technology (IPT). However the chip giant also revealed that the collaboration will allow users to make online purchases by simply tapping their PayPass-enabled card, tag, or smartphone against an Ultrabook packed with near field communication (NFC) technology.

“Our goal is to enable users of Ultrabook devices and future generations of Intel-based PCs to enjoy the convenience of e-commerce while making online payments safer from malware and hackers with the advanced security capabilities of Intel Identity Protection Technology,” said George Thangadurai, general manager of PC Client Services Division, Intel Corporation. “Online commerce is a key focus area for Intel, and through this partnership with MasterCard, we intend to deliver an innovative, personalized and safer e-commerce experience to consumers.”

Forrester Research claims that online sales reached $176.2 billion last year in the United States alone and are expected to grow at double-digit percentage rates annually for the next 5 years. The collaboration between Intel and MasterCard will provide online shoppers strong two-factor authentication and hardware-based display protection against malware not to mention a faster checkout process.

“MasterCard is constantly working to improve the shopping experience for consumers and merchants,” said Ed McLaughlin, chief emerging payments officer, MasterCard. “The collaboration with Intel will deliver enhanced security and faster checkout – with the convenience of a simple click or tap.”

Typically a PayPass transaction is made by tapping a plastic card, mobile phone or other NFC-enabled devices against a PayPass reader at local retailers. Google Wallet also takes advantage of MasterCard’s PayPass technology, but requires a device containing NFC technology and so far the only compatible Android device is the Samsung Nexus S 4G on Sprint. More NFC-enabled smartphones are on the way, however.

Ultrabooks with NFC technology are expected to arrive next year via the 1-chip dual-core Haswell 22-nm architecture. Haswell will reportedly be available in a 15W TDP and pull the Platform Controller Hub (PCH) into the same package as the CPU, making it a single-chip solution. Haswell will also sport performance-boosting features, Thunderbolt and anti-theft technology 4.0 in addition to the NFC tech.

Well, LG’s 13.3-inch ultra-thin laptop, it’s finally dragged itself out of the factory and onto the shelves of a Korean retailer. Unfortunately, the Core i7 processor has been replaced by an i5-2435M running at 2.4GHz, but that’s hardly a deal breaker — and it’s possible a higher specced variant will eventually see daylight too. The other key credentials are all intact: an NVIDIA GeForce GT555M taking care of the visuals, a 40GB / 640GB SSD and HDD combo for snappier performance, and an IPS display built into an all-metal 1.7kg (3.6-pound) chassis. The price is listed as ₩1,364,000, which converts to a hefty $1,220 — but we wouldn’t be surprised if LG takes that down to below the MBP threshold when the product comes stateside.

SOURCE via Innomart

Thursday during a conference call explaining why it will be beneficial to keep the Personal Systems Group in-house, HP CEO Meg Whitman confirmed that the company has no plans to bring the TouchPad tablet back from the dead. In fact, HP will use Windows 8 instead of the defunct webOS going forward, but it’s still unclear whether the company plans to retain the “TouchPad” branding, or go with something else.

“I think we need to be in the tablet business and we’re certainly going to be there with Windows 8,” she said. “We’re going to make another run at this business.”

As for webOS, its future is still up in the air according to the conference call. But now that HP has made its final decision concerning the PC division, Whitman said the next order of business is to evaluate the platform it acquired from Palm. Right now HP is still working on the software, pumping out updates to current tablet and smartphone owners.

As indicated earlier, HP may license out the software to third parties much like Microsoft does with Windows Phone, and is supposedly negotiating with those companies now. But as of this writing, there hasn’t been an official nibble made known to the press, nor has HP publicly announced that any kind of potential licensing deal is actually on the menu.

Is HP holding out to use webOS on ultrabooks? During Thursday’s conference call, Todd Bradley, executive vice president of HP’s Personal Systems Group, revealed that the company is “very focused” on the “ultramobile” space of sub-17 millimeter notebooks. He also admitted to the pressure HP is currently facing in the short term thanks to the “hangover” caused by its August 18 revelation of exploring a spin-off.

“HP had yet to announce its intentions for the Ultrabook market and has been notably quiet as Lenovo, Asus, Acer, and Toshiba have all announced new ultra-thin models,” Deron Kershaw, an analyst at GAP Intelligence, said in a research note.

SOURCE via Geeky-Gadgets

An Intel executive recently called for an industry-wide effort to bring the prices of the devices down and indicated that it will not be up to the chipmaker to hit price points that resonate with consumers.

“More work needs to happen in the ecosystem. Even if we’re giving the chips away for free, we couldn’t hit the price point we want to hit if we don’t work with the rest of the industry,” vice president of sales and marketing and general manager for the Asia-Pacific region Navin Shenoy told Reuters in an interview.

That is a bold statement that may not sit too well with some of Intel’s best customers, who are scrambling to get ultrabooks out for retail prices of less than $1000, which means that the actual cost to build those devices is somewhere in the $600 to $700 range.

According to Shenoy, about 40 percent of the consumer PC market may be occupied by ultrabooks by the end of next year, but this price-aggressive approach indicates that all Intel may be shooting for is a replacement of an existing market and not the opening of a new market – or a future market that builds on currently evolving trends, such as touch input models. As thin as ultrabooks are, they still follow the same general idea the original notebook, the 1984 Compaq LTE had: a keyboard and an attached screen.

Touch never made sense on mainstream notebooks before and I would express some doubt that touch will suddenly make sense if notebooks are simply as thin as a Macbook Air, which the ultrabook trend aims to replicate.

SOURCE via Reuters

Google made a big splash when it revealed plans to offer Chromebooks to enterprise and education customers under a subscription model. What’s not clear is how much of a splash it actually made in those markets. While the notion of paying a monthly fee for three years, instead of buying a machine up front sounds like a game changer, some people just like the comfort of the familiar. To that end Google is now offering those same customers the option to purchase a Chromebook (with a year of support included) in one lump sum — $449 for the WiFi model or $519 for the 3G to educational customers, while business are looking at $559 and $639 respectively. After that first year is through, customers have the option to sign up for a monthly support contract, at $5 a month for education and $13 a month for enterprise.

SOURCE via Google