由于在高端平板電腦領域的缺陷，英特爾采取了另一種途徑---降低筆記本電腦的能耗并縮小其尺寸。在Computex 臺北展上，英特爾將描述該款超薄低能耗的筆記本電腦。
該款Ultrabook筆記本正在生產(chǎn)中。Ultrabook厚度為20毫米，將采用32納米Sandy Bridge處理器，價格會低于1000美元。而華碩公司也表示，其UX21型Ultrabook也將在今年年底前上市。。
華碩董事長Jonney Shih在Computex展上針對英特爾的新款筆記本發(fā)言時指出，“我們的產(chǎn)品和英特爾的Ultrabook非常類似。將PC轉變?yōu)槌?、超快速設備將改變?nèi)藗兪褂肞C的方式。”
將于今年后期推出的Sandy Bridge芯片，將會是英特爾首款將X86處理器和顯卡放置在同一芯片的設備。Archrival Advanced Micro Devices也有類似的部件。
采用超薄、低能耗的集成式處理器的筆記本電腦已經(jīng)出現(xiàn)了很多年。英特爾公司也將通過研發(fā)新的處理器來挑戰(zhàn)極限。
當領先平板電腦廠商如蘋果的iPad、摩托羅拉的Xoom、三星的Galaxy Tab以及RIM的Playbook都采用ARM設計的芯片時，英特爾就開始研發(fā)新的平板電腦。英特爾于去年設立了一個新的筆記本和平板電腦部門；但是至今該部門僅獲得了一些二級平板電腦Design Wins。
英特爾的Ultrabook概念顯示了該公司在落后于市場趨勢的不利局面下，挑戰(zhàn)領先平板電腦廠商的勇氣。
Ultrabook產(chǎn)品路線圖
英特爾將在2012年發(fā)布采用利用了“Tri-gate”晶體管22納米處理器技術的下一代Ivy Bridge處理器。這種3D晶體管將提供低功耗性能；但是英特爾尚未透露任何消息。
英特爾公司預計，到2012年底，Ultrabooks將占領40%的消費電腦市場。
設計Ultrabooks的第三步就是于2013年推出采用新式微結構的22納米芯片第二代芯片Haswell。英特爾將其筆記本電腦設計點從目前的30-40W降低至10-20W。
英特爾在最近的分析會議上宣布了其產(chǎn)品路線圖的變更，但是沒有說明就是Haswell的設計。這種設計將會和第一代奔騰處理器以及用于Centrino筆記本平臺的Banias設計一樣重要。
Ultrabooks是為微軟公司和Apple的MacOS而設計的。英特爾并沒有可以使用Google的Android系統(tǒng)。英特爾移動平臺事業(yè)部總經(jīng)理Erik Reid指出，“如果客戶有要求，那么我們將會采用Android操作系統(tǒng)。”
英特爾中國區(qū)總經(jīng)理Sean Maloney指出，“我們相信，英特爾此次做出的產(chǎn)品路線圖變更，加上行業(yè)更緊密的合作，將在未來幾年為個人電腦帶來可喜的變化。”
Maloney在Computex上發(fā)表Ultrabook主題演講，這是他自從2010年中風后的第一次公開演講。他還將就USB 3.0和Thunderbolt技術發(fā)表演講。
英特爾還將在Computex上展出其智能手機和平板電腦參考設計方案。該智能手機將使用Android的Gingerbread版操作系統(tǒng)；而平板電腦將采用Honeycomb版操作系統(tǒng)。
英特爾Medfield系統(tǒng)的開發(fā)工作至今還未取得任何一級Design win。該公司大部分精力都集中在諾基亞手機系統(tǒng)；但諾基亞新任董事長宣布放棄Medfield系統(tǒng)而轉向微軟的Windows Phone 7。
英特爾還將在Computex上展出多達10款平板電腦設計；這些設計都利用了45納米的雙芯片Atom平臺---Oak Trail。同時還有第三代Atom平臺---Cedar Trail；該平臺是在Apple的iPad問世之后出現(xiàn)的，之后在市場上引起了轟動。(翻譯：Oscar)
附原文：
Still lacking a design win in a top tier tablet， Intel is taking another approach—pushing down the power and size of notebook computers. Meet the Ultrabook， a slim， low power laptop Intel will describe this week at theComputex trade show in Taiwan.
The Ultrabook is a work in progress. Early versions will arrive in cases just 20mm thick and price points under $1，000 using versions of Intel 32nm Sandy Bridge processor later this year. AsusTek will be among the companies to ship the systems with its UX21 debuting before the end of the year.
“We are very much aligned with Intel’s vision of the Ultrabook，” Jonney Shih， chairman of Asus will say in scripted comments at an Intel keynote at Computex. ”Transforming the PC into an ultra thin， ultra responsive device will change the way people interact with their PC，“ Shih said.
The Sandy Bridge chips， shipping later this year， will be Intel‘s first to put an x86 and graphics core on the same die， sharing cache memory over a ring bus. Archrival Advanced Micro Devices is sampling similar parts.
Ultrathin， low power laptops running integrated processors have been around for years. Intel aims to push the envelope on the concept with new processors dedicated to such systems.
The move comes at a time when leading tablets such as the Apple iPad， Motorola Xoom， Samsung Galaxy Tab and RIM Playbook all have adopted ARM-based chips. Intel launched a new netbook and tablet division last year， but to date it has only garnered a handful of second tier tablet design wins.
The Ultrabook concept shows both Intel’s frustration at falling behind market trends and gives a gutsy ”bring it on“ call to leading tablet makers. Recently， Intel refocused its road map toward mobile systems for both its Core and Atom chips in an effort to catch up.
The Ultrabook road map
In 2012， Intel will ship versions of its next-generation Ivy Bridge processors for notebooks using its recently announced 22nm process technology with tri-gate transistors. The 3-D transistors will provide significant Mips/Watt gains and sport new chip- or system-level features Intel has promised， but not yet disclosed.
By the end of 2012， as many as 40 percent of shipping consumer portable PCs will be Ultrabooks， Intel predicts.
A third step toward Ultrabooks will come in 2013 when Intel ships Haswell， a second-generation of 22nm chips using a new micro architecture. With Haswell， Intel will shift its notebook design point from the current 30-40W operating target range down to about 10-20W.
Intel announced the road map change at its recent analyst conference， but did not specifically tie it to the Haswell designs. It day say the design shift will be as significant as the first Pentium or the low power Banias design used in its Centrino notebook platform.
Ultrabooks are designed for Microsoft Windows and Apple‘s MacOS. Intel is not actively working on running Google’s Android on the systems. ”We‘ll look at Android if our customers ask for it，“ said Erik Reid， general manager of mobile client platforms at Intel.
”We believe the changes Intel is making to its roadmaps， together with strong industry collaboration， will bring about an exciting change in personal computing over the next few years，“ said Sean Maloney， Intel’s new general manager for China.
Maloney is introducing the Ultrabook concept in a keynote at Computex， his first public address since he suffered a stroke in 2010. He will also make the case that USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt， both emerging in PCs now， are complementary I/O technologies.
Also at Computex， Intel will show smartphone and tablet reference designs for its 32nm Medfield， a single-chip Atom-based SoC. The smartphone will run the Gingerbread version of Android and the tablet will run the Honeycomb version， still being ported to the x86.
So far， Intel has also failed to gain any tier-one design wins for Medfield. It focused most of its attention on Nokia， but the company‘s new chief executive dropped Medfield to embrace Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7.
Intel also will show at Computex as many as ten tablet designs using Oak Trail （Z670）， a two-chip Atom platform using 45nm technology. It will also talk about Cedar Trail， its next Atom-based platform for netbooks， a concept that surged then quickly peaked in the market after the Apple iPad was introduced.
下載文檔
