Acer, Lenovo Asus Tap New Intel Chips for Ultrathin Laptops
by Jeffrey Burt
Thin is In
The new ultra low-voltage chips will enable OEMs to build laptops with a height that is less than a quarter.
An Inch or Less
Some ultrathin laptops will come in at an inch or less, according to Intel officials
Better Performance
Intel officials said ultrathins built with the new low-power chips — which will span the Core, Pentium and Celeron lines — will not only be thinner, but will offer better performance and battery life than current thin and light notebooks.
Acer Aspire 1830
Acer is one of several notebook OEMs who are ready to start selling products based on the new chips. Intel is hoping the ultra low-voltage chips will help ramp the sale of ultrathins, which have not gone as quickly as the chip maker had hoped.
Asus UL30
Asus’ UL30, pictured, and the UL80, also will be powered by the new chip.
Gateway EC39
Gateway, with the EC39, pictured, and EC 19, also is gearing up to sell new ultrathins powered by the Intel processors.
Lenovo U160
One of the demands from consumers of ultrathin laptops is for sleeker, more colorful machines, as illustrated by Lenovo’s U160, pictured. Lenovo also will start selling the U460, which will run on the new chips.
MSI X350
Ultrathins running on the new chips, like MSI’s X350, will not be as powerful as mainstream laptops, but they will have a good balance of performance, energy consumption and price, Intel officials said.