Ultrabooks: thinner, more powerful, cheaper
In May 2011, at Taiwanese Computex, Intel executive vice president Sean Maloney told the press and public about plans to launch an Ultrabook, personal computers that combine notebook performance and tablet dimensions.
Today at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, we were described in detail and showed the first devices in this category: powerful enough, even by the standards of the second generation of Intel Core processors, up to two thick (to be exact, in the segment from 14 "to 17 "- 2.1 cm) centimeters, weighing no more than one and a half kilograms, with a battery life of up to 10 hours.
One may argue about the demand for ultraportable laptops, but the market still dictates its own wishes - today a huge number of buyers, including myself, want to get an affordable offer from computer manufacturers in the segment of light, stylish and powerful laptops.
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Intel since the launch of the Centrino platform (the platform for building mobile solutions that included the CPU, chipset and Wi-Fi adapter manufactured by Intel) was interested in unifying the iron of laptops. This allows you to reduce production prices, reduce the size of the boards and devices, which ultimately leads to the creation of a new form factor devices. Add to this a special high-volume batteries and get a tremendous (by standard standards) operating time without recharging. Finally, a large-scale release of such a platform will dramatically reduce its cost, which will enable the manufacturer to present the product in the price range that is optimal for the buyer (in the US market, this is $ 700-1000).
But back to the ultrabooks, to assist in the production of which Intel has created a $ 300 million fund, aimed at popularizing "ultra" solutions among computer manufacturers, because the main work on the introduction of such devices to the market will still have to be done by them.
Muli Eden, general manager of the Intel PC Client Group, says: "Ultrabooks are transforming the category of mobile personal computers." Despite the fact that today the PC market is still growing (Intel has already sold more than 75 million Sandy Bridge processors, and this is the maximum amount of chipsets sold in the world!), In order to ensure further growth in the modern line, the transformation is inevitable.
Actually, progress in this area is already now. A number of samples were presented on stage during Mouli’s speech, and companies such as Asus, Acer, Toshiba and Lenovo have already announced speedy deliveries, including to Russia, but of course we will see the main growth of this segment in 2012, when Intel will present the public processor “Ivy Bridge”, created by 22-nm process technology, carrying on board about one and a half billion semiconductors and is characterized, first of all, by extremely low power consumption.
In this sense, an indisputable advantage of Intel gives the use of an integrated GPU - in ultra-thin laptops there is no place for an external video adapter, so the user will have to rely only on the power of the integrated video accelerator. Fortunately for him, graphics integrated into the current Intel Core processors of the second generation already provide considerable performance, and in early 2013, Haswell will be released - the next chip after the Ivy Bridge, sharpened for video and graphics, including 3D.
Thunderbolt, a high-speed two-way input / output technology that will allow you to connect most digital devices with one thin cable in the future, also plays a significant role in the development of ultrabooks.
Muli Eden also talked a lot about the changes that will have to be taken by Intel and all the other players in the industry in order to bring to market a decent class of new devices. He noted that the central processor had always been designed before, which at the very end was integrated into the operating system and software running on the computer.
Now everything looks different - researchers at Intel are working to identify factors important to the buyer and user, trying to determine the software that solves various problems and only at the end of this chain a central processor is created that meets these joint requirements.
The technologies that Intel has been developing in recent years will become an integral part of new devices. So, performance and fast response to user actions will be improved using Turbo Boost technology, which allows the low-voltage 17W processor to raise the frequency to 35W standard values ​​for short periods of time, and Intel Rapid Start Technology will allow the laptop to get out of sleep in less than 5 seconds. In the picture above one of the first ultrabooks: Toshiba's Z830, will appear in November of this year.
The battery life will be increased by technology, thanks to which the picture will “freeze” on the screen until it needs to be changed - then the processor will pull up the next frame and display it on the screen, again “frozen”. These effective idle times often constitute a large percentage of the operating time and using this technique will reduce the load on the battery that the display carries. Something like the system "start / stop" of modern cars that turn off part or all of the engine during downtime, for example, at intersections.
But the most important thing that Intel needs to do is achieve a reduction in the cost of the entire iron aggregate in ultrabooks, Muli Eden, and the rest of the company agrees. In order to achieve maximum availability and adoption of a new form factor, it must really meet all expectations, including financial ones. According to Mr. Eden, if all parties work on a common concept, then by 2013 the share of ultrabooks in the personal computer market will be 40%.
Today at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, we were described in detail and showed the first devices in this category: powerful enough, even by the standards of the second generation of Intel Core processors, up to two thick (to be exact, in the segment from 14 "to 17 "- 2.1 cm) centimeters, weighing no more than one and a half kilograms, with a battery life of up to 10 hours.
One may argue about the demand for ultraportable laptops, but the market still dictates its own wishes - today a huge number of buyers, including myself, want to get an affordable offer from computer manufacturers in the segment of light, stylish and powerful laptops.
')
Intel since the launch of the Centrino platform (the platform for building mobile solutions that included the CPU, chipset and Wi-Fi adapter manufactured by Intel) was interested in unifying the iron of laptops. This allows you to reduce production prices, reduce the size of the boards and devices, which ultimately leads to the creation of a new form factor devices. Add to this a special high-volume batteries and get a tremendous (by standard standards) operating time without recharging. Finally, a large-scale release of such a platform will dramatically reduce its cost, which will enable the manufacturer to present the product in the price range that is optimal for the buyer (in the US market, this is $ 700-1000).
What's inside
But back to the ultrabooks, to assist in the production of which Intel has created a $ 300 million fund, aimed at popularizing "ultra" solutions among computer manufacturers, because the main work on the introduction of such devices to the market will still have to be done by them.
Muli Eden, general manager of the Intel PC Client Group, says: "Ultrabooks are transforming the category of mobile personal computers." Despite the fact that today the PC market is still growing (Intel has already sold more than 75 million Sandy Bridge processors, and this is the maximum amount of chipsets sold in the world!), In order to ensure further growth in the modern line, the transformation is inevitable.Actually, progress in this area is already now. A number of samples were presented on stage during Mouli’s speech, and companies such as Asus, Acer, Toshiba and Lenovo have already announced speedy deliveries, including to Russia, but of course we will see the main growth of this segment in 2012, when Intel will present the public processor “Ivy Bridge”, created by 22-nm process technology, carrying on board about one and a half billion semiconductors and is characterized, first of all, by extremely low power consumption.
In this sense, an indisputable advantage of Intel gives the use of an integrated GPU - in ultra-thin laptops there is no place for an external video adapter, so the user will have to rely only on the power of the integrated video accelerator. Fortunately for him, graphics integrated into the current Intel Core processors of the second generation already provide considerable performance, and in early 2013, Haswell will be released - the next chip after the Ivy Bridge, sharpened for video and graphics, including 3D.
Thunderbolt, a high-speed two-way input / output technology that will allow you to connect most digital devices with one thin cable in the future, also plays a significant role in the development of ultrabooks.
Paradigm reversal
Muli Eden also talked a lot about the changes that will have to be taken by Intel and all the other players in the industry in order to bring to market a decent class of new devices. He noted that the central processor had always been designed before, which at the very end was integrated into the operating system and software running on the computer.
Now everything looks different - researchers at Intel are working to identify factors important to the buyer and user, trying to determine the software that solves various problems and only at the end of this chain a central processor is created that meets these joint requirements.
The battery life will be increased by technology, thanks to which the picture will “freeze” on the screen until it needs to be changed - then the processor will pull up the next frame and display it on the screen, again “frozen”. These effective idle times often constitute a large percentage of the operating time and using this technique will reduce the load on the battery that the display carries. Something like the system "start / stop" of modern cars that turn off part or all of the engine during downtime, for example, at intersections.
But the most important thing that Intel needs to do is achieve a reduction in the cost of the entire iron aggregate in ultrabooks, Muli Eden, and the rest of the company agrees. In order to achieve maximum availability and adoption of a new form factor, it must really meet all expectations, including financial ones. According to Mr. Eden, if all parties work on a common concept, then by 2013 the share of ultrabooks in the personal computer market will be 40%.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/128579/
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