ntel defines new Ultrabook category by PKILLERH

Intel has used Computex 2011 to launch a new category of computer called the Ultrabook that it hopes will dominate over the coming years.
Much like it has rethought its Atom processor roadmap to embrace mobile computing as well as hitting a 14nm process by 2014, Intel is now realigning its Core processor chips to allow for a whole new class of laptops.
The Ultrabook is, in a nutshell, a secure, performance laptop that comes in a “thin, light and elegant design”. In other words, it’s the performance you’d expect in a laptop, but with the aesthetics, weight, and size that better aligns with tablets (and most likely better competes with Apple’s premium laptop range). The best example of this so far has got to be Asus’ UX21, which Intel is already classing as an Ultrabook.
To be classed as an Ultrabook a machine will need to be running a Sandy Bridge Core processor, be no more than 20mm thick, and have a price point below $1,000. A number of these Ultrabook class computers are expected to land before the end of 2011 according to Intel. The good news is, Intel also plans to switch Ultrabooks over to the new Ivy Bridge processors early in 2012.
While an Ultrabook such as the UX21 may be desirable this year, the move to Ivy Bridge warrants waiting to buy. It will be Intel’s first 22nm Core processor that uses the Tri-Gate 3D transistor. 2012 Ultrabooks will also be the first to embrace Thunderbolt as well as USB 3.0 which Intel said it would support from next year.
So how confident is Intel that the Ultrabook platform will take off? During its announcement at Computex, Intel’s executive vice president Sean Maloney predicted that by the end of 2012 they would make up 40% of the consumer laptop market. If that’s the case, many of us will be carrying around some very light and pwoerful hardware next year.