Ultrabooks mark a new thin, light and no-compromises computing trend

The latest trend to hit the high-tech showroom floor in Asia is a new class of beautifully designed, thin, light and portable consumer laptops called "Ultrabooks."

The term was coined by Intel Corporation Executive Vice President Sean Maloney during an opening keynote at the second largest computer exhibition in the world, Computex.

Ultrabooks 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," said Intel.

Laptops that fall into the Ultrabook family of products will be less than 20mm thick, sport low-power microprocessors (such as Intel’s latest 2nd Generation Intel Core processor), will run all day on one charge, and will have mainstream price points of US$1,000 or less, said Maloney.

ASUS Chairman Jonney Shih joined Sean Maloney on stage to show off ASUS's first Ultrabook, a MacBook Air look-alike called the UX21 laptop (also known as the UX Series Ultra Portable).

"At ASUS, we are very much aligned with Intel's vision of Ultrabook," said ASUS Chairman Jonney Shih. "Our customers are demanding an uncompromised computing experience in a lightweight, highly portable design that responds to their needs quickly. Transforming the PC into an ultra-thin, ultra-responsive device will change the way people interact with their PC."

According to Sean Maloney, Ultrabooks will make up 40 percent of the consumer laptop market segment by the end of 2012.