HP Possibly Releasing Ultrabooks This Summer
Reports from Taiwan-based part and component suppliers claim that HP will be the first to hit the market with "ultrabook" notebooks.
While the details are scarce at this point, Taiwan-based part and component suppliers claim that HP will actually be the first to produce a mobile PC based on Intel's "ultrabook" concept, beating the Asus UX21 (seen right) to the market. The HP-branded ultrabooks will be manufactured by Foxconn and may even arrive sometime this summer.
According to unnamed sources, HP's upcoming ultra-slim notebooks will be packed with Intel's 1.7 GHz Core i7-2637M and 1.8 GHz Core i7-2677M dual-core processors. Windows 7 will also be the OS of choice. Other hardware and software specs were not provided.
During Computex 2011, Intel claimed that its tablet-like ultrabook design guidelines would dominate over 40-percent of the laptop market share within the next six to nine months. The form factor itself will supposedly be under 20-mm thick (0.8 inches) while the overall notebook will reside under the $1000 pricetag. The first wave of these super-slim notebooks will run on Intel's current Sandy Bridge processor platform, and then move to the Ivy Bridge platform next year.
"Many of the super-sleek devices today are quite pricey. The price points need to become more mainstream," Intel marketing chief Tom Kilroy told CNET. "And as volume ramps, say by the end of 2012, we think as much as 40 percent of the volume will be in this ultra category. And as the volume picks up, the price points will come down. And we think by 2013 with 'Haswell,' which is our system-on-a-chip implementation, you'll see ultrabooks in truly mainstream price points of $599."
As numerous manufacturers have tried to follow Apple's success by releasing tablets of their own, the ultrabook concept seems to follow Apple's lead by mimicking its MacBook Air design. Intel is hoping that the new blueprint will help ward off the ever-growing tablet segment from the notebook sector by offering tablet-like experiences but with laptop-like performance.
So far HP has not responded to the reports. However, the HP-branded ultrabooks are supposedly already completed and currently shipping off to the company for distribution.
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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house70 Yes, but it is an HP. I, for one, would rather wait a couple months and get an ASUS. I don't really care which comes out first.Reply -
AnUnusedUsername HP needs to revive voodooPC. They made what was essentially an "ultrabook" as their last product several years ago, and I'd love to see similarly high-quality product with more modern components. Hp branded systems with voodoo slapped on as a sidenote just dont have the same "oomph" as a new voodoo system.Reply -
LuckyDucky7 No DVD drive?Reply
Thanks, but I'll pass. The only notebook like this that I want is a ThinkPad X300/X301 since that's the only ultralight notebook I know that has that option.
Because I'm not lugging an external drive around with a notebook that slick.
Practically speaking, though, a laptop without a DVD drive is hardly a laptop at all.
Unfortunately, form is secondary to function in my mind, and that's why I don't see these things selling par Intel's projections. I need a DVD drive to do what I want to do with my laptop, like watch the odd movie and install software quickly instead of using Steam to download 8 GB of files.
Plus, why bother with that when you can get a tablet that does the same thing for the same price? I'd see something like this taking off if you could fold the computer like you do a traditional tablet PC, but other than that I don't think this is a super great innovation.
And I can see that thing breaking very very easily, by a wayward foot stepping on it. I don't think that's a great quality in a new piece of tech like this. -
AnUnusedUsername Tablets dont do the same thing, basic problem is they dont have a keyboard, but they also dont have processing power or a "normal" OS.Reply
I don't see what the problem with no DVD drive is. You'll obviously need an external drive once every few months to install something, but otherwise I don't see the point. I haven't used my own DVD drive for years. -
AnUnusedUsername Voodoo stopped making notebooks entirely. The "new" voodoo products are still HP branded, not voodoo branded.Reply -
jamie_1318 yeah, I second removing the disk drive. I don't ever use those things anymore. I don't even have one in my desktop currently even though I have a drive lying about 2 feet away just because I can't see the reason. Removing those drives from notebooks shaves off weight, add space for plugs and cooling and more room for other more useful devices like a high-end graphics card. You have to remember that in a notebook space is at a premium and CD drives are hugeReply -
Ah yes, the ultra-book... Intel's CPUs haven't seen any performance increase since Nehalem (unless synthetics and poor quality video encoding are your thing), so let's take the same ancient CULV platform, and call it some snazzy name like "Ultra Book", and maybe some sucker will side-grade his current laptop for it.Reply
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burnley14 I love this idea. Make the battery life last a day and I'm sold. Portability and practicality of a notebook in a sexy thin form factor.Reply -
danwat1234 burnley14I love this idea. Make the battery life last a day and I'm sold. Portability and practicality of a notebook in a sexy thin form factor.Reply
Sorry, not possible without a huge battery. Wait until nano-technology infused lithium ion batteries arrive to market for that kind of battery life.