Meet the Ultrabooks: OEM and ODMs Show Off Designs at IDF
by Anand Lal Shimpi on September 13, 2011 1:11 PM EST- Posted in
- CPUs
- Intel
- IDF 2011
- Trade Shows
- Ultrabook
IDF is well underway and we've just gone through the Ultrabook section of the convention center. Everyone from Foxconn to Lenovo had Sandy Bridge based Ultrabook designs at the show. Remember the Ultrabook roadmap is a three year plan, these first solutions will simply bring thinner and lighter designs. There are some common trends exhibited by all Ultrabooks: primarily the chiclet keyboard and many of them make liberal use of aluminum.
Check out the gallery below for shots of all the systems at the show.
Gallery: Ultrabooks at IDF from OEMs & ODMs
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MagickMan - Tuesday, September 13, 2011 - link
They look great, and will probably sell well, but it's such a ripoff of the MBA that I couldn't help but laugh.inighthawki - Tuesday, September 13, 2011 - link
Some of them yes, but many others I see no resemblance to the MBA other than "being thin" which I don't think counts as a design style.wogzi - Tuesday, September 13, 2011 - link
The Apple design aesthetic of simple one to three tone colors, chiclet keys, brushed aluminum, etc is seen in most of these. As much as I love the ultrabook idea, the design could use innovation; the flaws of the MBA (one to two USB plugs, big, terrible, one-click touchpads) are still there. Hell, some of them are just worse, what with their piano-poop gloss finish and terrible screens. The only one that looks like it's approaching an evolutionary step in the MBA aesthetic is the Asus and that is mostly due in part to its keyboard.Aloonatic - Wednesday, September 14, 2011 - link
You see the problem there is.... Electrical items with brushed aluminium/metal, flush buttons like those pictured above and the 2 tone metal/shiny black is a well established "premium" design aesthetic that you'll find on many electrical items like home stereos.That's been a "premium" electrical product look or quite some time, it's not an Apple thing. A lot of companies have been doing it for years.
Aloonatic - Wednesday, September 14, 2011 - link
"flush buttons", lol.Only seen those on Japanese toilets, to be fair :o) You know what I mean though?!
steven75 - Wednesday, September 14, 2011 - link
"big, terrible, one-click touchpads"Did you really just insinuate that Apple's touchpads are worse than the teeny tiny, recessed PC-equivalent?
Aloonatic - Tuesday, September 13, 2011 - link
I'm just curious about what you (and Apple fans) expect a device like this to look like? Should it have wheels, teeth, and be made out of cheese? I suppose that the makers of small/portable TVs in the 80s were ripping off Apple's G3s?TEAMSWITCHER - Tuesday, September 13, 2011 - link
The point here is that Apple did it first with the MacBook Air. Apple proved that with a bit of effort, these exciting new ultra-portable designs were possible. Without Apple, I doubt that we would bee seeing these types of PC's today. Same with the iPhone, same with iPad - everyone is chasing Apple. That makes me chuckle too.Aloonatic - Tuesday, September 13, 2011 - link
Exciting? You really must live a sheltered life if you think that a ever so slightly thinner laptop is exciting :o)As with almost every single one of these "Apple did it first" claims, I would not be surprised if someone points out that another company really did it first.
Your post does highlight what Apple were the first to do though, and that is realising the importance of making people think that they did things first, that their products are exciting [and magical] and that they world has changed for the better because of them.
Kudos to Apple and their marketing team, I'll never begrudge them a sale, and in some areas I might even have to agree with you somewhat as they have blazed a trail, but not in this case, I'm afraid.
jeremyshaw - Tuesday, September 13, 2011 - link
you must not travel a lot, with a laptop. Just saying.