Posts tagged intel

More than one year since its release, the iPad is starting to come up against some hefty competition. Make can anyone really knock this crown off the Apple head?

Intel is in the middle of promoting a new, thinner and lighter mobile computer called an ultrabook in a bid to challenge the growing dominance of Apple’s iPad and the tablet computer market.

Intel’s vision is to enable a new user experience by accelerating a new class of mobile computers.

The world’s largest chipmaker said in a statement, “These computers will marry the performance and capabilities of today’s laptops with tablet-like features and deliver a highly responsive and secure experience, in a thin, light and elegant design.

“The Ultrabook will be shaped by Moore’s Law and silicon technology in the same way they have shaped the traditional PC for the past 40 years.”

Hardly a ‘sexy’ brand, despite its cool singing geeks ads, Intel has a lot of bricks to lay in order to build a path to first place in the light computer market – with in which the tablet sits.

Nic Newman, managing director and head of strategy at personal media company TigerSpike reckons that while the personal media landscape is rapidly evolving and for publishers across the UK, no device has sparked such a change in consumer behaviour as the iPad.

And Apple is a tough act to follow.

Newman said, “Through our own research, we have found that average engagement time on a publishers’ iPad app is 30 – 34 minutes. This is a significant time for a reader to dedicate to a specific application. When you compare this to time spent on a publisher’s website, it is far higher – we’re seeing page views five times higher on a publisher’s tablet app than on the website.”

Intel said that Ultrabooks based on its latest 2nd Generation Intel Core processors will be on shelves later this year. So there’s a long lead time if you want to back the underdog.

The company is aiming to convert 40% of consumer laptops to the new category by the end of 2012.

Desktop computers and laptops continue to outsell tablets. Last year, nearly 18 million tablets were shipped, with Apple’s iPad accounting for nearly 83% of the market. More than 346 million personal computers were shipped in 2010, with Hewlett Packard grabbing 18.5% of the market, and Dell having 12.3%.

However, while PC sales have slowed down in the past two years, iPad sales have skyrocketed.

Research firm International Data Corporation said last month it expects that there will be 50 million tablet shipments in 2011, with Apple maintaining 70% to 80% of the tablet market.

Jefferies & Co. projects that 70 million tablets will be sold this year, with the total expected to increase to 246 million in three years.

But Intel is adamant, “We want to find new ways to propel the PC forward. With what has happened in the tablet space, there is a ‘hurry-up’ to the PC industry.”

Apple is also expected to face more competition this year from Research in Motion’s PlayBook, Samsung Electronics’s Galaxy Tab and Motorola Mobility Holdings’s Xoom.

Question is, are we even ready for something new yet? I’m certainly not over my iPad yet.