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Intel Updates Ultrabooks Specifications

By Leo Boon Yeow - on 4 Jun 2012, 11:48am

Intel Updates Ultrabooks Specifications

The HP Envy 4 comes with discrete graphics and a hybrid drive, but is still labeled an Ultrabook.

Consumers are warming up to the Ultrabook moniker, associating them with slim, lightweight form factors. However as the Ultrabook name rises, competition is heating up between the major manufacturers too, causing some of them to come up with variations that go against the original Ultrabook. One example is the HP Envy 4 (2012) model, equipped with a 14-inch screen, a hybrid hard drive, and even discrete graphics -- which adds additional heft and thickness.

That is why Intel saw fit to update the specifications on what makes an Ultrabook. One of the more easily recognizable traits of an Ultrabook is its thin design -- and the rule is that machines with displays less than 14-inches must measure 18mm or less in terms of thickness. Machines with displays that are 14-inches or above must measure less than 21mm in order to qualify. Intel didn't update the weight criteria, but should Ultrabooks follow the thickness criteria, the weight of the machines can't be too far off.

Responsiveness of the notebook -- which is tied to a solid-state-drive (SSD) or cache -- is also a major consideration. Notebooks that bear the Ultrabook name must wake from deep sleep state (S4) to full use (keyboard interaction) in less than 7 seconds, while waking from "sleep" mode must be much faster than that. Of course, to keep up with the speeds of the hard drive, the Ultrabooks must also feature USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt ports for fast connectivity.

Battery life of these machines is recommended at 8 hours, or at the very least, 5 hours for extended productivity. Intel also requires Ultrabooks to have their embedded anti-theft technology and identity protection technology enabled for added security. Lastly, Intel wants any notebook which meets the above requirements to have one last requirement -- the presence of an Intel Core processor.

As of today, Intel hasn't exactly stated what kind of resolutions Ultrabooks should have, but we feel that such a rule would benefit consumers because Ultrabooks these days come in a variety of screen resolutions. Older requirements like the Ultrabook's ideal price haven't been updated either -- likely due to the still restrictive prices of manufacturing these machines. However, as the Ultrabook gains momentum, Intel may see fit to restrict Ultrabooks to a certain price point.

Source: Intel (Via Venture Beat)

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