Computex 2011 presented plenty of lovely technological gems up to us slavering geeks and one of these was the concept of the Ultrabook. This vision was put forward by Intel and ASUS already had one model ready for us to eyeball when the announcement was made – the UX21.
For those of you not quite in the Ultrabook know, this idea is essentially a stunningly thin and light machine that doesn’t come with the equivalent price tag. You get the benefits of a tablet, the power of a laptop, and the capabilities of both. It is a merging of markets into a sleek device that won’t leave those of us with thinner pockets without thinner devices.
The Ultrabook would be powered by the new 22nm Ivy Bridge processors with the first of these gently wafting onto a lap near you sometime in 2012. 2013 would see these powered by the next generation of chips that will be even less demanding on power resources and able to deliver even thinner machines.
The first of these Ultrabooks will still feature the Sandy Bridge architecture but have all the benefits already outlined here. The ASUS UX21, for example, is 11.6 inches and runs off the Intel Core i5 CPU (it can go up to the Core i7). It has several ports, weighs 1.1kg, is 17mm thin, a SATA III SSD, and a metal keyboard.
The UX21 also resumes from sleep in two seconds and it can hibernate for up to a week. When you consider how valuable most people find a responsive and fast machine, these features seem to have been designed with our concerns in mind.
The ASUS UX21 is set for a September release and has had quite a lot of favourable feedback in the media. It is a fabulous hybrid of the convenience of the pad along with the prowess of the laptop. I, for one, am definitely excited about how this is going to change the face of the market, and to see how people respond to its arrival…
What do you think? Is the Ultrabook an idea you believe worthy of further investment? Or do you think it is a passing phase?
Mrs Mario
Mrs.Mario is a freelance journalist who loves to write about anything and everything. She accidentally fell into the cauldron of technology about eight years ago and has been slowly simmering in there ever since. She’s a geek but still has tons to learn about the wonderful world of technology. She also suffers from a rare disease known as “need to game” that demands it’s sufferers play at least one videogame a week. So far, she’s been coping with her ailment admirably.