Like MacBook, Ultrabook will tap lots of new tech
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Ultrabooks will adopt lots of cutting-edge laptop technology, not unlike what Apple did to perfect the design of its MacBook Air, according to research from TrendForce.
The first Ultrabooks from Lenovo, Toshiba, and Asus already tap into some impressive technology. Lenovo's 0.6-inch thick U300s, for example, boasts a "breathable" keyboard to reduce heat and RapidDrive solid-state drive technology to deliver a 10.5-second boot time.
Apple's MacBook Air has been the highest profile example of a laptop that continues to push the envelope on design with novel display, battery, and motherboard designs. "Intel, along with the rest of the PC industry, aims to produce an Ultrabook as thin and light as the MacBook Air...[as a result] we believe the Ultrabook market share will jump from under 2 percent in 2011 to 10 percent in 2012, stimulating renewed growth in the PC industry," TrendForce CEO Kevin Lin said in a report released Tuesday.
Source: CNET
Great debate: iPad vs laptop
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Apple’s iPad tablet has been on a path to the technology hall of fame since its debut. When students start cooking up their wish lists for back-to-school supplies, many are now putting much thought into which device, laptop or iPad, will best suit their Facebooking, ahem, studying needs. Each device has its own merits and its own drawbacks, so the choice really depends on the computing habits of the student.
For starters, compatibility issues with the various software Cal State Fullerton uses can be a problem. PowerPoints have missing content, Google Docs is handicapped on the iPad and apparently, links don’t download anything when clicked in the new TITANium virtual classroom. The Blackboard successor uses “blocks” to provide content like PDFs and slideshows, none of which display properly on the tablet or can be saved for offline viewing. Also, the inability to view flash videos online is getting in the way of me and my stories on Hulu, and I am not about to start paying for Hulu Plus or Netflix.
Source: The Daily Titan
From HP, a laptop that bounces (OK, not really)
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Hewlett-Packard is launching a new laptop today with a soft rubber surface that gives it some extra protection and a cooler style.
The new HP Pavilion dm1 is an “ultraportable PC,” or a light laptop with an 11.6-inch screen. It’s a middle of the road laptop that won’t sink Apple when it ships later this fall. But it does have an innovative rubberized surface that HP hasn’t used before. This feature in the laptop shows it is possible to innovate with design, rather than technology. Of course, as far as designs go, it’s not earthshattering and it won’t shake up the PC world. But it looks better.
Source: VentureBeat