LG are teasing us with their Ultrabooks. We have four Xnotes in the database, a couple of extra Xnotes that we’re tracking and we don’t think any of them have easy availability in Europe or North America. Should we really be concerned with the Z160?

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Image courtesy CNET

At CES Intel is showing off their latest reference design for next-generation Ultrabooks with their next-gen CPU, Haswell. If you’ve been following Intel for any amount of time, you’ll know that they love reference designs. Reference designs package the company’s latest tech into a concept machine that won’t ever make it to market, but serves to show what is possible with their latest platform. Their latest Ultrabook reference design has a detachable screen which can be used as a tablet.

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This video comes from GadjetJM and it’s a good overview of the new Samsung Series 7 Ultra that got launched a few days ago. This Series 7 is looking like a real powerhouse of an Ultrabook with touch and discreet graphics. Backlit keyboard, SSD and a Full HD screen of 1920×1080.

See our previous article for more on the details.

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Intel have just announced their Media SDK 2013, the software development kit that lets developers get to some of the unique media transcoding features found in the Intel processing platforms. As a core part of Intel Quick Sync that you find used in video conversion and video editing tools it’s something that can really help those video editing and rendering sessions and can help to improve battery life under these operations.

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In the category that we like to call ultraslates (tablets based on an Ultrabook platform) we’ve got a new entrant today. The Gigabyte S1185 is an 11.6” full-HD tablet running Windows 8. Gigabyte have not made a formal announcement on their site or social media channels yet but some details are out there in CES-land. Interestingly the image shows a USB-attached keyboard which is not what we expected when we read ‘magnetic keyboard.’

The original keyboard image has been removed as it was from a different device. We’ll update when we have new info.

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The Intel CES press event didn’t hold any major news for us yesterday. Low power 3rd-Gen Core, Perceptual Computing, Convertibles, Haswell and even a touch of Bay Trail were expected as Ultrabook-related news but to announce that all 4th-gen Core Ultrabooks (Haswell platform, Q3/Q4) will have Touchscreens was a complete surprise and I can only describe it as a massive risk-taking move by Intel. What does it really mean though? Higher pricing, consumer focus? There won’t be any Windows 7 Ultrabooks, that’s for sure.

One thing that is for sure is that the Ultrabook is going to get more difficult to use in bright light. Capacitive touchscreens mean fingers-on-glass and in general, glossy finishes. It means that all Ultrabooks will now have additional costs associated with them and it means that some users and some commentators will rebel because they don’t want a touchscreen. But there’s another view…

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I can’t say anything more than is in the title. The Samsung Series 9 2013 Ultrabooks will get a Full HD, 1920×1080 screen soon.

That’s all the detail we heard from the live stream of the Samsung CES press conference this evening. We hope to bring you some hands-on from our good friends on the floor at CES in Las Vegas during the week.

Meanwhile, what do you think of the new Samsung Series 7 Ultra?

Update: High quality video from the Intel CES 2013 press conference here.

Notes from the Intel Press Conference at CES. (Ultrabook-related only, for Bay Trail, see UMPCPortal)

Intel just announced the 7W TDP Core processors that we’ve been expecting. (see previous article)

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