Apple's MacBook Pro line has now gotten an entirely expected upgrade to current-generation Intel CPUs, just in time for the holiday shopping season. In our hands-on initial testing, these new 13-inch and 15-inch models look and feel just like the previous generation, but the promise of longer battery life, somewhat improved performance, faster Wi-Fi, and lower starting prices is enough to make this a significant overall update...
Read the full story here... Source: CNET
Intel has agreed to buy a security software startup for $20 million, boosting its capabilities outside of its core processor business.
The Santa Clara, Calif., chip giant has reached a deal to acquire Sensory Networks, spokesmen from the two companies confirmed to CNET on Tuesday. Both declined to provide deal terms, but Intel said revenue contributions from the acquisition are not material to the company. The Sydney Morning Herald, which earlier reported the news, said Intel will pay about $20 million for the startup...
Read the full story here... Source: CNET
The PC industry is in a sharp decline as consumers gravitate more towards smartphones and tablets. Intel hopes to change that trend, largely blamed on Windows 8 itself, by introducing its new Bay Trail processors that will enable low cost Windows 8 machines. How cheap? Budget-friendly enough that notebooks will be able to compete with sub-$200 priced tablets from Amazon, Samsung, Google and other manufacturers.
“If you look at touch-enabled Intel-based notebooks that are ultrathin using [the new] processors, those prices are going to be down to as low as $200,” Intel CEO Paul Otellini said, according to a recent article from CNET. It might be easy enough for Otellini to promise those prices, especially as he plans his exit from Intel next month, so we’re going to remain skeptical until we hear manufacturers say that they can deliver on those promises.
After all, touchscreen displays themselves can cost more than $200, add in memory, a hard drive, a graphics chip and other components and you’re looking at a rather expensive device. Look at the smartphone industry, for example, where it’s common to find an off-contract flagship smartphone for $650. Still, we do know that it’s possible to create low-cost devices if you’re willing to take a hit at the point of sale. Amazon says it breaks even on its Kindle Fire devices but makes money once consumers enter its ecosystem and begin to buy eBooks, music, videos and applications.
[Source: TechnoBuffalo]
Engadget is reporting that Intel has introduced the next generation of the Thunderbolt interface at theNAB conference. The update promises data transfer rates of 20 Gbps in each direction on Thunderbolt's two channels, twice the speed of the current generation rated at 10 Gbps. The demonstration Engadget witnessed showed the new Thunderbolt running at 1,200 Mbps, which is simply remarkable. Intel says the new Thunderbolt is also capable of simultaneous 4k video file transfer and display.
In addition to the improved speed, the company will be introducing thinner cables for devices in the next year. Current users shouldn't worry too much about obsolete accessories; the new Thunderbolt is backwards-compatible with previous connectors and cables.
Look for the new Thunderbolt sometime in 2014.
[Source: TUAW]
One of the most fascinating bits of future tech on the radar is mid-air gesture control. (Think Kinect. Or Minority Report‘s computing gestures.) Leap Motion made a splash in 2012 by introducing an extremely accurate accessory that can read users’ motions within an interactive 3D space of 8 cubic feet. And unbelievably, the price is only $70 per preorder/unit. Most recently, the company has partnered with Asus, which will bundle its PCs with the wee little Leap Motion technology.
Not to be outdone, Intel has several partnerships going for its “Perceptual Computing” initiative. Intel’s director of Perceptual Computing, Achin Bhowmik, unveiled a whole host of new features today at CES (top, main) — including logging in via facial recognition, using gesture controls to execute computer commands, and even successfully playing Where’s Waldo, with a computer tracking his eyes as it found the correct spot on the screen.
[Source: TechnoBuffalo - Click here to read the full story]
Tech-infused watches have been very hit-and-miss over the years. For every Pebble watch gaining plaudits, there's an LG Watchphone that sinks without a trace. While they are becoming more popular, in various guises, none have really become an essential part of our tech get-up.
Well that could change soon, if a rumour from Chinese site Tech 163 (via PocketNow) is to be believed. Because Apple is rumoured to be working with Intel on a smart watch that could go on sale in the first half of 2013. And if Apple gets involved, expect others to up their game, sharpish.
The timepiece is rumoured to have a 1.5-inch OLED screen with indium tin oxide coated glass. It'll run iOS, which is no great surprise.
So could the rumour be true? Despite the many failed attempts, techy timepieces are improving. Sony launched an Android-powered time-teller this year, and devices like the Pebble e-paper watch gained a lot of attention on Kickstarter recently. Nike's Fuelband -- which monitors your activity to keep you fit -- while not strictly a watch, is a wrist-based piece of tech that's been a huge success. Apple's previous iPod nano could be worn as a watch as well -- just slot it into a strap. So we are getting more used to wearing our tech on our wrists.
I think if Apple was to venture into watch territory, it would be more of a 'hobby' product than a huge launch. Maybe as an extension of the old iPod nano, with a few fitness apps to rival Nike's Fuelband. Apple tends to wait until a product area is quite mature before going into it, so it can learn from others, so it could be the time is almost right. But let's wait and see.
[Source: CNET]
Intel has just announced that CEO Paul Otellini will be stepping down in May of 2013. The long time executive will be retiring from the company and industry that he has dedicated the last 40 years of his life to, leaving behind a legacy that has seen Intel's dominance in the x86 field grow to almost unapproachable levels. As the fifth chief executive in the company's history he's overseen not only the processor reboot that followed the inefficient Pentium 4, but also played a roll in Apple's famous transition from PowerPC to Intel. Otellini and the board of directors will work together over the next six months to ensure a seamless transition of power, however a successor has yet to be chosen.
[Source: Engadget]
According to Bloomberg Apple is considering a move away from Intel chips for its cherished Mac line. The move would be the third major CPU shift for the brand which has previously relied on Motorola 68000 and Power PC chips. The move away from Intel could also mean a move away from x86 as Apple has been heavily invested in its own ARM-based chip designs in recent years. Bloomberg's sources suggest that Cupertino is actively working on a version of its tweaked ARM architecture that would run inside Mac PC, in particular its laptop products could stand to benefit from its battery sipping design.
The change will not happen immediately. In fact, the sources said such a move was years away, potentially not happening till 2017. But, as the gulf between "mobile" and "desktop" products begins to shrink and the boundaries blend, it would only seem to make sense that Apple would look to leverage its high-profile purchase of P.A. Semi to good use and inch ever closer to being a completely self-reliant corporate entity. We don't think it's any secret that Apple would, if it could, design and manufacture every component itself.
[Source: Engadget]
After four months of DJ submissions, voting and club nights across the UK, the PowerUp with Ultrabook story has come to a close with the London final taking place in a converted gallery in Shoreditch.
onedotzero and Marshmallow Laser Feast created an interactive digital set, powered entirely by Ultrabooks, especially for the finale of Intel's PowerUp with Ultrabook DJ talent search. Our six breakthrough DJs played alongside Benji B backed by the biggest set of their lives.
Visit the Facebook page to learn all about how the incredible set was created and find out the stories behind our winners:
http://bit.ly/ultrabookP
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Motorola's revealed the first smartphone to be borne from its team-up with Intel. Here in London, UK, it's a familiar-looking Android smartphone with an important internal difference. The RAZR i will be running on one of Intel's latest mobile chips (2GHz processor), differentiating it from what we saw from the Google-owned phone-maker a few weeks earlier. Motorola's calling the phone its biggest launch in the UK since the original RAZR.
Motorola's touting the (almost "edge-to-edge") 4.3-inch AMOLED display, 2,000mAh of battery and the same Kevlar coating -- it's water repellent this time. But this event is also about Intel's 2GHz processor inside. The chipmaker says it's optimized the architecture for web browsing, especially for Java-based activities. It's also pushing for power consumption even on processor-intensive activities like gaming -- but we'll have to wait for our own tests to check it out.
The RAZR i also packs a similar 8-megapixel camera and interface to those other new Motorola phones, with under a second start-up to get the camera app running -- we bet that dedicated camera button helps there. Intel made similar promises with the Orange San Diego, but were already intrigued by that Vanilla-looking interface.
NFC is already baked in, with Android Beam taking control of what you need, while its bootloader arrives unlocked. The RAZR i appears to be packing some iteration of Android 4 -- but we're still checking on whether it'll be coming with ICS or the newer Jelly Bean. The phone will arrive in the likes of UK, France, Germany and Brazil -- but no news on whether it'll appear inside North America's borders.
[Source: Engadget] [Photos: Geekanoids]
In not particularly surprising, yet reassuring news, Intel has confirmed that they are indeed working on a port of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean for use on their Atom chips. While we're still waiting for Intel to really make headway in the Android space, working on Jelly Bean reaffirms that they're here for the long haul. There was no timeframe provided, and we still haven't seen a timeframe for Ice Cream Sandwich either, but the following statement from a company spokesman confirmed the news. Intel continues to work closely with Google to enable future versions of Android, including Jelly Bean, on our family of low power Atom processors Currently, Intel devices are being pushed out carrying Android 2.3 Gingerbread -- such as the Orange San Diego -- which works superbly, but is still hideously outdated at this point in time. We're still waiting to see the partnership with Motorola take off, and even Vizio is supposed to be using Intel architecture in a forthcoming 10-inch tablet. Hopefully these two companies will at least launch with ICS on board -- else face a monstrous failure -- but to see that Intel is working towards catching up remains positive.
[Source: Android Central]
I spend most of my day on the Internet, using a computer that has an Intel processor. So when I saw this rather cool video I just had to share it with you. After you have watched the video, head on over to the Intel UK Museum of Me Facebook page, hit the LIKE button to stay informed on all the latest Intel news.