Semiconductor History | TICC Plenary Hall, 31 May 2011 — Ultrabook Tries to Standardize the Thin Laptop
· 2011-5
Personal memoryBy kevin · · Report an issue
Find memories left by people near you.
Distribute Bounty
This will distribute the bounty equally among all qualifying memories. This action cannot be undone.
Cancel Bounty
Are you sure you want to cancel this bounty? The remaining amount will be refunded to your account.
Success!
Operation completed successfully.
Error
Something went wrong.
Semiconductor History | TICC Plenary Hall, 31 May 2011 — Ultrabook Tries to Standardize the Thin Laptop
kevin
This Intel reference design represents the ambition behind Ultrabook: make a thin Windows laptop feel immediate and desirable enough to compete with tablets and Apple's MacBook Air.
Intel unveiled the category on 31 May 2011 during its Computex keynote in the third-floor Plenary Hall of the Taipei International Convention Center. The first public example was Asus's slender UX21, while Intel described a broader class that would combine laptop performance with tablet-like responsiveness in a thin, light design.
Ultrabook was not a new processor architecture.
It was an Intel-controlled specification and trademark that coordinated processors, storage, firmware, chassis, and marketing. Early targets called for systems thinner than 20 millimeters and priced below $1,000, with fast wake, strong battery life, and features such as Rapid Start and Smart Connect.
The program addressed a real weakness in the Windows ecosystem.
PC makers had produced thin notebooks before, but quality varied and many designs sacrificed responsiveness. Intel supplied reference designs, engineering targets, and a $300 million fund intended to help component makers redesign batteries, displays, cooling, storage, and motherboards for slimmer machines.
The industrial effect outlasted the label.
Solid-state storage, quick resume, efficient processors, better touchpads, thinner enclosures, and long battery life became normal expectations for premium laptops. Later Ultrabook phases also encouraged touchscreens and convertible forms that helped define the modern two-in-one PC.
The launch forecast was much too optimistic.
Intel expected Ultrabook designs to reach 40 percent of consumer notebooks by the end of 2012. TrendForce estimated only 2 percent market share in 2011, and Gartner later described 2012 shipment volumes as small; many first-wave machines cost $900 to well above $1,000, colliding directly with the established MacBook Air.
The category also tied the desired thin-laptop experience to Intel processors and compliance rules. That strengthened the Windows PC supply chain, but it did not solve the larger shift toward smartphones and tablets or prevent a stagnant PC market.
Ultrabook succeeded more as a design campaign than as a lasting consumer brand.
The good was a coordinated push that raised the baseline for portable PCs. The bad was a proprietary label, an unrealistic sales target, premium early pricing, and an attempt to claim a category whose clearest model already existed outside Intel's ecosystem.
The pin marks TICC at No. 1, Section 5, Xinyi Road. The convention center remains active under TAITRA; access to the Plenary Hall depends on the event schedule.
The photograph shows Intel's 2012 touchscreen reference design, not the Asus UX21 displayed at the 2011 unveiling.
Photo: Intel Free Press, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
changes?
delete this memory?
We detected that you have a Blox in your crypto wallet! We will import the Blox into your account.
Click on done below to complete the import.
Welcome Back!
Sign in to preserve cherished moments
Don't have an account?
Welcome!!
Sign up and start preserving cherished moments
?
?
Choose your payment method
Buy with Metablox Credit
Do you want to mint Blox with Metablox Credit?
Which Crypto would you like to use?
Purchase Confirmed!
Your Blox is being minted on-chain and will appear in your profile shortly.
Log in or sign up to claim your Blox.
How many credits do you want to buy?
$100 USD = 1 Metablox Credit = 1 Blox.
Use Metablox Credit to mint any Blox you want on the map.
expand_more