AMD officially unveiled Trinity, the second generation of its A-series APU that is looking to rival Intel’s Ivy Bridge for high-performance chips with low power consumption at an even lower cost.
The Trinity line will launch in five models – three aimed at mainstream notebooks and two targeting the coveted "ultrathin" market, with designs for desktops and all-in-one PCs to follow later on.
The two ultrathin notebook chips, the quad-core A10-4655M and dual-core A6-4455M, use a sparing 25W and 17W respectively.
Additionally, AMD claims battery life lasts up to 12 hours in a "resting" state.
That’s an impressive figure – especially coming from a chip manufactured on the larger 32nm process compared to the 22nm chips Intel adopted for its Ivy Bridge processors.
Piledriving power
AMD is squeezing power efficiency out of a 32nm chip thanks to its new Piledriver architecture.
While built on the less than impressive Bulldozer architecture as a base, Piledriver makes notable improvements in dynamic power management between the onboard CPU and GPU for a 29 percent performance increase over Bulldozer.
This translates to faster startup times – 2 seconds to resume from sleep and 10 seconds for the initial boot to desktop – but also clock speed enhancements.
The quad-core 25W chip has a default CPU speed of 2GHz that can jump up to 2.8GHz in a pinch, while the dual-core 17W chip can bump from 2.1GHz to 2.6GHz.
Speaking of the Trinity’s onboard GPU, AMD will equip Trinity processors with its Radeon HD 7000 line to give it a significant graphical boost.
AMD claims a performance edge against comparable Ivy Bridge processors of up to 150 percent in mainstream games like Starcraft 2 and Dirt 3, though that statistic should be taken with a grain of salt since it hasn’t been substantiated by any third-party benchmarks.
Even so, given AMD and Intel’s respective histories, it’s fair to expect Trinity processors to have an edge.
The final factor for AMD’s Trinity processor is price, which is where the chip shines brightest.
Late to the party?
HP already set the trend for more super-thin notebooks when they announced a series of new Ultrabooks.
And, the Trinity processor may face an uphill battle, with 80 percent of PCs using Intel processors.
What’s more, Intel smartly coined the term "Ultrabooks" for slim notebooks using its low-power processors, providing an easily marketable term for retailers to display.
AMD doesn’t have that yet, with HP adopting the non-standard term Sleekbook for its new Trinity notebook and AMD opting to simply call them "ultrathin notebooks."
There’s also stiff competition from Apple with rumors of a lower-cost Macbook Air and thinner Macbook Pro slated for later this year.
Where AMD can carve a position in the ultrathin market will be through its graphics capabilities, since slim notebooks aren’t typically known for their gaming capabilities.
And if the price is right, AMD shouldn’t be counted out yet.
With a new generation of HP Ultrabooks on the way, retailers have already started dropping prices on existing models.
The HP Folio 13 – normally 9 – dropped to 7.77 at Best Buy. The business-focused Ultrabook features a 1.6GHz Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM, and zippy 128GB SSHD.
The 14-inch HP Envy Spectre also saw a price drop from its standard ,399 to ,283, and includes many of the same specs of the Folio 13 with the benefit of a much-improved screen and Beats audio technology.
These drops come right on the heels of HP announcing its new line of Ultrabooks – bafflingly named Sleekbooks, including the new HP Envy Spectre XT.
With the new line ranging in price from 9-9, Best Buy’s cuts look to push existing stock off of shelves rather than compete with the new arrivals.
The X factor…
Or rather the OS X factor, in the ultrabook market is word of a new Macbook Air launching later this year.
Ultrabooks have been the Windows rivals of Apple’s slim Macbook Air, with a lower price being one of its chief sales draws.
But Apple is looking to disrupt that trend, with speculation suggesting the price of the new base model Macbook Air could be as low as 9.
Of course, when looking at Best Buy’s computer pricing, it’s best to take it with a grain of salt.
The retailer’s laptop prices can frequently fluctuate from week to week. The HP Envy Spectre price is listed as a sale, ensuring that the price drop is temporary though for how long is unknown.
The HP Folio 13, on the other hand, has no such indications that the price change is only temporary.
HP has introduced a batch of new ultraportable laptops including the top-line Spectre XT.
Following on from the original HP Envy 14 Spectre, the XT slots in above the also-new HP Envy 14 and Envy 15.
HP also introduced us to a new and bound-to-confound word –Sleekbook. You see, it seems the Envy 14 and 15 will be available in both AMD and Intel versions – and since Intel owns the Ultrabook name, HP has used Sleekbook as the name for the AMD versions.
Confused? You’re not alone; it took us a fair while to get our heads around the crazy marketing when we were introduced to the new laptops at an HP event in Shanghai this morning.
There was also something for business users, too; HP also took the wraps off the 14-inch, 1.6Kg HP EliteBook Folio – also an Ultrabook, it features a TPM (Trusted Platform Module) chip so it can be remotely managed.
Thin, but not too light
The Spectre XT is 14.5mm thick and weighs in at 1.4Kg – as with the original Spectre, this is pretty heavy for what is a premium Ultrabook. The various versions all feature one of the latest Intel Core processors.
In terms of other specs, the 13-incher features up to 256GB SSDs and up to eight hours of battery life plus an impressive four speakers. There’s also a full array of ports, including Gigabit Ethernet, USB 3.0 and HDMI. The Spectre XT also offers two years of Norton Internet Security plus full versions of Adobe Photoshop Elements 10 and Adobe Premiere Elements 10.
The new Envy models are from 19.8mm tick and weigh from 1.79 kg. Again, these feature the latest Intel Core processors or the latest AMD Accelerated Processing Units (APUs) and boasts up to eight or nine hours of battery life. All also feature two speakers and a subwoofer,
All the new Envy and Spectre models feature Beats Audio and Intel variants have the company’s Rapid Start Technology.
The Envy 14, Envy 15 and Spectre XT UK release date is June. Prices clock in from £899 for the Spectre XT.
Sony has officially unveiled its first Vaio branded Ultrabook – with the Sony Vaio T series bringing an ultralight and ultrathin option to Sony’s laptop range in June.
Sony remains a highly desirable brand, and the Vaio T series aims to capture some of burgeoning ultrabook market.
The Vaio T boasts a 13-inch screen, Intel Core i3 processor and the SSD version brings the promise of a nine-hour battery life.
Looksee
Of course, it’s the look of the device that is going to decide its success, and as well as the always impressive Vaio screen the Vaio T boasts a ‘smartly styled’ magnesium and aluminium chassis.
As you might expect, there are HDMI, VGA and RJ45 network ports, plus an SD/MMC media slot and Sony’s xLOUD and Clear Phase audio.
"Thin, light and portable, the responsive new Vaio T Series is always ready for action," adds Sony.
"Smartly styled in tough magnesium and aluminium, the go-anywhere VAIO T Series is tailor-made to handle daily trips to the office or lecture theatre.
"Blending durability and performance, and loaded with the latest technologies from Sony and Intel, it’s the first Ultrabook to proudly carry the Vaio name."
The Sony Vaio T release date has been set as June.
What’s better than a handful of new Ultrabook models? How about 15 such handfuls of new designs this year, including hybrid models that can morph from a tablet into a notebook — all at prices starting at a mere 9?
According to published reports, Intel has 75 Ultrabook models already in development for this year, and expects prices to plummet to a low of 9 for base models over the summer — just in time for the all-important back to school season. Current Ultrabook models start around 0.
Strength in numbers
Intel’s Ultrabook concept is barely a year old, and models with long battery life and rapid-fire boot times are expected to make these slim PCs nearly as attractive as tablets. The chipmaker invested 0 million into the technology behind Ultrabooks, which spawned 21 such devices.
What’s more, Intel plans to offer a variety of choices, ranging from Windows 8-based touchscreen models to hybrids that can serve as either a tablet or an ultra-slim notebook computer.
What to expect
Lenovo already teased Intel’s Ultrabook vision of the future at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show with the IdeaPad Yoga. The device will also run Microsoft’s Windows 8 software when it arrives later this year, and features a touchscreen display that conveniently converts into a tablet when the mood strikes.
Kirk Skaugen, Intel’s general manager of PC Clients, claims the company is kicking Ultrabook awareness into high gear with a "multi-hundred million dollar" advertising campaign aimed at TV and the internet, as well as "Ultrabook experience zones" at retail so consumers can actually get their hands on the devices.
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