Ultrabooks

Ultrabook

Asus Zenbook UX21
Developer	Intel Corporation (2011-present)
Type	Laptop

Ultrabook was created as a specification and trademarked brand by Intel for a class of high-end subnotebooks designed to feature reduced bulk without compromising battery life. They used low-power Intel Core processors, solid-state drives, and unibody chassis to help meet these criteria. Due to their limited size, Ultrabooks typically omitted common laptop features such as optical disc drives and Ethernet ports. Ultrabook is a portmanteau of words ultraportable and notebook.

In 2012, Intel Capital press officer Jordan Balk Schaer announced a new fund to support startups working on technologies in line with the company's concept for next generation notebooks. The company set aside a $300 million fund to be spent over the next three to four years in areas related to Ultrabooks. Intel announced the Ultrabook concept at Computex in 2011. The Ultrabook would be a thin (less than 0.8 inches thick) notebook that utilized Intel processors, and would emphasize portability and a longer battery life than other laptops By this marketing initiative and an associated $300 million fund, Intel hoped to influence the slumping PC market against rising competition from smartphones and tablet computers, which are typically powered by competing ARM-based processors.

The Ultrabook directly competes against other subnotebooks, including Apple’s MacBook Air, which has similar form specifications and is powered by Intel CPUs, but is not advertised under the Ultrabook brand.

At the Intel Developer Forum in 2011, four Taiwan ODMs showed prototype Ultrabooks that used Intel's Ivy Bridge chips. Intel plans to reduce power consumption of its chips for Ultrabooks, like Ivy Bridge processors, which will feature 17W default thermal design power.