Intel Launches Ultrabooks to Compete with iPad and MacBook

Intel has unveiled design guidelines for a new category of thin-and-light laptops, dubbed "Ultrabooks", that take cues from Apple's iPad and MacBook Air.

Intel executives detailed the new designs at the Computex trade show, Engadget reports. Ultrabooks will marry the performance and capabilities of a laptop with "tablet-like features" in a "thin, light and elegant design," Executive Vice President Sean Maloney said in a statement.

The first Ultrabooks will utilize the current-generation Sandy Bridge architecture, but, beginning in the first half of 2012, Intel plans to transition Ultrabooks to the next-generation "Ivy Bridge" processors.

The first Ultrabook laptops will arrive in time for the 2011 holiday shopping season, Intel said. ASUS will be one of the initial launch partners of the Ultrabook specification with the UX21 Ultrabook.

Pundits expressed skepticism at the new Ultrabook design, calling it a "makeover" of the struggling netbook category. They also noted that, several years ago, Intel attempted to introduce a thin-and-light specification called Ultra-Low Voltage, but the category failed to catch on. However, Intel says it has learned from its mistakes. "We really didn't get behind marketing [ULV]," said Thomas Kilroy, senior vice president and general manager of Intel's sales and marketing group. Ultrabooks will receive "a massive campaign by Intel in 2012," he said.

The new category closely resembles Apple's own vision for "the future of the MacBook:" the MacBook Air. CEO Steve Jobs said last year that the design team for the newly redesigned ultra-thin portable had drawn from popular features on the iPad, such as instant-on capability and battery standby time.