Chip manufacturer Intel has revealed that ultrabooks are its number one marketing priority for 2012 and that it is driving a $300 million ultrabook fund to improve ultrabook technology and boost market share.
According to Intel, the Ultrabook Fund will invest in research and development to build software and hardware technologies that improve battery life, create slim components and increase processor performance.
The goal is to invest the funds over a three- to four-year period, in order to boost ultrabook innovation and improve customer experience of ultrabooks.
Aaron Arvizu, global HP client product director for Intel, says the fund aims to make ultrabooks more mainstream than they currently are: “The second half of this year will see a strong adoption of ultrabooks.”
HP recently rolled out its series of ultrabooks, the HP Spectre, HP Envy and enterprise version HP EliteBook Folio, all based on Intel's third-generation 22nm processor technology.
With the consumer in mind, Arvizu explains that Intel developed the ultrabook specifications based on six pillars - performance, responsiveness, form factor, protection, power and battery life, and ecosystem and cost.
“The last two years have seen the biggest revolution in PC processors. With over two billion worldwide Internet users, our entire world around us has become digital and online. The rise of mobile devices is changing the expectations of users from what they expect of their PCs.”
He says Intel mandated that anti-theft and identity technology be embedded in all ultrabooks, particularly those targeted at the enterprise environment where security is a top concern.
Battery life was another priority, Arvizu adds: “We changed our roadmap last year to build mobile processors and systems that can drive much longer battery life, which we view as a critical part of building ultrabooks.”
Arvizu says ultrabooks are consumer-focused, as Intel, along with its partners, are leveraging the consumerisation of IT trend: “Ultrabooks are about connecting with people in a very different way; meaning that it's a tablet when you want it, while providing the performance of a PC without compromising on security.”
Intel's planned 2013 products, codenamed Haswell, is the third step in its ultrabook device progression, as the chip manufacturer plans to further reduce ultrabook power consumption to half of the “thermal design point” in comparison to its present microprocessors.
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