Intel Corp. (Insights…CES 2013 Part 2 of 5)

By Cameron Evans On February 11, 2013 · 4 Comments

Intel goes thin, light, all-day, and powerful for CES 2013.

Uber Ultrabooks

Intel Corporation announced that all future Ultrabooks, based on their 4th generation Intel® Core™ processors will have the following requirements:

Mandatory requirement for touchscreens
Intel’s Wireless Display (WiDi) technology
and a forecasted retail price of $599 by year’s end.

When Engadget.com asked why the new requirements for Ultrabooks, Intel’s Kirk Skaugen gave two perspectives:

It “eliminates game playing by the OEMs”
Provides a level of consistent consumer expectations for touch.

This is great news anyone buying a new Windows 8 device. First, multi-touch Windows 8 experiences on Intel Core processors far exceed what is possible on non-Windows devices. Also, the need to choose between a laptop or tablet is virtually eliminated. Additionally, WiDi enables educators and students to connect to LCD projectors, televisions, and classroom monitors from across the room. READ: No more cabling installation fees per classroom!

Financially, an Ultrabook class device priced at $599 has a two potential outcomes: lower-powered devices will need lower pricing to remain competitive and high-performance devices are not likely to costs significantly more. As the year closes, the buying power of the PC ecosystem will improve for consumers and educators.

The Power of the Atom

Intel announced that this holiday 2013, that the first quad-core Atom™ SoC (codenamed “Bay Trail”) for tablets would be shipping. The next generation Atom™ SoC is double the computing performance of the current generation and very capable Atom™ processors (codenamed “Clover Trail”).

Intel’s Atom™ SoC expertise is important to students and faculty that want the ability to run the over 5 million existing Windows desktop apps on their tablet, the full modern Web, the over 450 million devices, plus the new modern Windows Store apps.

It is clear from Intel’s announcements, that they are laser-focused on making personal computing more mobile for consumers, business, and education. I love that Intel is doing its part to keep the mobile market competitive on price, performance, and product variety. These factors are essential for schools that are doing BYOD programs versus 1:1 strategies for next generation learning. Students and parents can have confidence that they will not have to sacrifice or compromise equity, privacy, or performance for immersive learning devices.

Watch the full Intel CES 2013 Press Event at the link. You will likely need a real PC to see to view it, since the video is encoded in Flash