Intel 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 ultrabooks 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 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 third generation Intel Core processors and made with 22nm 3D 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, said Intel.
In addition to increased responsiveness and enhanced security features, ultrabook devices powered by the new third 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, Intel claimed.
This new wave of ultrabook devices wake up in a flash, meaning systems will transition from hibernation mode to an active state in less than seven seconds and will also load favorite applications quickly. 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 third 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 is really them when logging in.
The ultrabook is also now coming to the enterprise. Built with the third 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.
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.
Highlighting the company's progress in its smartphone business, Kilroy pointed to the imminent in-store availability in the UK 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.
Kilroy also 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.
Intel senior vice president Tom Kilroy
Photo: Company
Article translated by Joseph Tsai
