Acer Aspire S7
The Acer Aspire S7 was launched as the world’s first touchscreen Windows 8 Ultrabook right at the beginning of Computex 2012. It certainly got a lot of attention during its first unveiling, and it still does. The Acer Aspire S7 will be available in 11.6-inch and 13.3-inch full HD variants, with the former offering up to 9 hours of battery life and the latter going all the way up to 12.Asus Tranformer Book
This is what the Asus Zenbook Prime would look like if it had a detachable full HD IPS screen. The Asus Transformer Book is pretty much an Asus ultrabook that was designed based on the Transformer blueprint, which is what gives it the ability to function even when the display is ‘unplugged’. It will be available in 11.6-inch, 13-inch, and 14-inch versions, and will feature NVIDIA graphics, USB 3.0, and 4GB of onboard RAM. There is no info yet on its official release date or pricing, but stay tuned for those.Asus Taichi
The Asus Taichi is a reimagining of the convertible touchscreen notebook. It features a total of two screens which can both be used separately thanks to the power of Intel’s Ivy Bridge and the dual desktop environments of Windows 8. Its main display measures 13.3-inches diagonally while the secondary one on its lid is an 11.6-inch panel. Asus has not yet revealed when it plans to release the Taichi or for how much, but one thing’s for sure: its dual-display capability will definitely put its battery capacity to the test.Asus Zenbook Prime with touchscreen
The Zenbook Prime is currently Asus’s flagship Ultrabook, and it was officially launched here in the Philippines only last week. Over at Computex, it has been given the touchscreen display treatment, and the resulting product works surprisingly well. When I tested the actual Asus Zenbook Prime during the local launch, I noticed that the build quality is superb and apparently this hasn’t changed at all with the touchscreen-equipped version. In particular, the Zenbook Prime doesn’t wobble or move around when you tap its screen to navigate Windows 8′s Metro UI. The only thing is, Asus hasn’t decided to make this an official product yet. But so far, the prototype seems excellent. We’ll see if Asus decides to actually add this to their Ultrabook lineup in the near future.Asus S Series: S46 and S56
While it captured the hearts and minds of Computex attendees with some of its more quirky prototypes this year, Asus quietly released info on its upcoming S Series S46 and S56 Ultrabooks. Apparently, Asus is currently working on bringing media/gaming Ultrabooks for the masses. In a video uploaded on YouTube, the Asus S Series Ultrabooks are seen as having VGA, HDMI, USB 3.0, and built-in optical drives, apart from featuring Intel Core i7 chips and NVIDIA GT630M graphics. If you need a lot of mobile computing power on the go, this is definitely something worth looking forward to.NEO EDGE ZD2UW
Just like the Asus S Series Ultrabooks above, the EDGE ZD2UW Ultrabook from local notebook maker NEO features a built-in optical drive. But its greatest distinction is probably the fact that it could be the cheapest Ultrabook available anywhere, with an SRP coming in at just $788 USD (33,999 Pesos). All that money will get you a 14-inch 1366×768 Ultrabook with an 8.12mm thin profile and Ivy Bridge under the hood. It is scheduled to come out here in the Philippines later this month.Lenovo IdeaPad U310 and U410
Lenovo is taking a more conventional approach to Ultrabooks by delivering two mainstream offerings in the form of the 13-inch IdeaPad U310 and the 14-inch IdeaPad U410. Both Ultrabooks will be available with Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 Ivy Bridge processors from Intel and will feature hybrid storage, Intel WiDi technology, NVIDIA graphics, and Dolby Home Theater v4 audio. There’s no word yet on the official release date but pricing reportedly ranges from $750-$800 USD.MSI Slider S20
The MSI Slider S20 is the first convertible touchscreen tablet/Ultrabook hybrid from MSI. It comes equipped with a display that you can slide up or back down whenever you like. This design is based on that old Intel “Letexo” prototype that we saw showcased in IDF 2012 a few months back, and it looks just as interesting. It weirdly looks a bit thicker than most of the other Ultrabooks on display at Computex 2012, but it does pack fairly impressive hardware bits with Ivy Bridge, 4GB of RAM, Bluetooth 4.0, HDMI, and USB 3.0. There is no info yet on the MSI Slider S20′s release date or pricing as of now, but watch out for updates on that in the future.
Toshiba Satellite U845W
This is something that’s bound to be seen as quite strange in the normal order of Ultrabooks at Computex this year. The Toshiba Satellite U845W is designed for movie-viewing fanatics out there who want to enjoy watching movies without those bothersome black bars. As such, it comes with a 14-inch screen that sports a 21:9 aspect ratio with its 1792×768 resolution. The Toshiba Satellite U845W is decidedly thicker than pretty much all other Ultrabooks that have been unveiled so far, but it makes fine use of all the extra heft by packing in an Ivy Bridge processor, support for up to 10 gigs of RAM, hybrid storage (500GB HDD + 32GB SSD), USB 3.0, Intel WiDi support, and a built-in full QWERTY backlit keyboard. It is scheduled to become available in the US next month for $999 USD or around 43,000 Pesos. It has also been revealed in an Intel presentation that Toshiba is currently working on a convertible touchscreen tablet/Ultrabook hybrid based on the Intel “Letexo” design just like the MSI Slider S20 above.Fujitsu Lifebook UH572 and UH722
The latest from Fujitsu are definitely worth a gander. The Fujitsu Lifebook U722 features what is being referred to as a “frameless” display, but really it’s just marketing-speak for “what bezel?” It will become available with either Core i5 or Core i7 Ivy Bridge processors from Intel and will support HDMI, USB 3.0, SD cards, and up to 8GB of RAM. In true Fujitsu fashion, the Lifebook U722 boasts a built-in biometric fingerprint scanner and support for a docking port for improved usability. Storage has been set up as a mix of HDD and SSD options, and the model at the high end of its availability spectrum is expected to cost $1149 USD when it comes out at the end of June.Meanwhile, there’s also the Fujitsu Lifebook UH572, which is a tad thicker but still manages to fall within the boundaries of what an Ultrabook should be. It will come with an Intel Core i5 Ivy Bridge chip as standard, 4GB of RAM, and hybrid storage with a 500GB HDD and 32GB SSD. You won’t find a fingerprint scanner here, but perhaps that’s because this one isn’t meant to be sold to business users. The Fujitsu Lifebook UH572 is already available in the US for $999 USD.
Samsung Series 5 Ultra Convertible
Samsung tries to one up Lenovo and its IdeaPad Yoga with this, the Samsung Series 5 Ultra Convertible, which is essentially a laptop that can turn into a tablet simply by bending the screen a full 360 degrees all the way back. It packs a 1.7GHz Intel Core i7 Ivy Bridge processor, 4GB of RAM, hybrid storage with a 500GB HDD and 24GB SSD, 3 USB ports, a hidden Ethernet port, HDMI-out, and a built-in card reader. The display is only of the 14-inch 1366×768 variety, but the rest of the body screams quality as it is made entirely out of brushed aluminum. The Samsung Series 5 Ultra Convertible is still a work in progress, so don’t expect to see it in store shelves near you any time soon.Samsung Series 5 Ultra Touch
The Samsung Series 5 Ultra Touch is basically a Series 5 Ultra notebook from Samsung that has been fitted with a touchscreen display, much like the touchscreen display-equipped Asus Zenbook Prime mentioned above. This little number is meant for users who don’t want any of the extra features that can be afforded by a detachable or fully bendable screen on a convertible or transforming notebook computer, but simply want to have the ability to use Windows 8 with Metro by way of touching the screen instead of relying on a keyboard and trackpad combo. It comes with a 1.7GHz Intel Core i5 Ivy Bridge processor, 4GB of RAM, 500GB HDD + 24GB SSD hybrid storage, USB 3.0, and HDMI-out. Expect to see it in stores by the time Windows 8 finally ships.NEC LaVie Z
The NEC LaVie Z was spotted by the folks over at Pocket-Lint and can be seen pictured here as an ultra-thin and ultra-light Ultrabook that’s headed straight for Japan. Its feature set is somewhat limited, what with it having only a single USB 2.0 port, a single USB 3.0 port, an HDMI-out port, and a built-in card reader on the sides. But what’s interesting about it is that it will be one of the lightest Ultrabooks ever which will probably make it a hit with mobile professionals when it becomes available in the land of the rising sun some time soon.Foxconn F210 and Inventec Roti 11CV
Finally, here are a couple of prototype devices from OEM Foxconn and Inventec, the F210 and the Roti 11CV. These two were spotted by the people from Pocket-Lint as well. The Inventec Roti 11CV utilizes the traditional central pivoting hinge-based design that was popular among tablet computers before the modern tablet computer era. Its design seems a bit more conservative than most, which is probably an indication that it is geared towards business users more.Without missing a beat, Pocket-Lint describes the Foxconn F210 as “easily the wackiest model” in Computex 2012. Its screen design is described as “odd” and the glossy keys really look quite different, especially when compared with the traditional chiclet keyboard key appearance. Otherwise, it seems to be a fairly normal Ultrabook made with a rotating screen that allows it to go from notebook mode to tablet mode in just a few seconds.
Wrap-up
All in, that’s a total of 18 working Ultrabook prototypes showcased at Computex 2012. And this list isn’t even complete. There are many more Ultrabooks and Ultrabook-like devices in the pipeline, most of which were only mentioned briefly in Powerpoint presentations and keynote speeches.Clearly, 2012 is shaping up to be the year of the Ultrabook. And now I am even more convinced that the laptop as a form factor will finally be able to regain its place as king of the mobile computing category and dethrone tablets, all because of the rise of Ivy Bridge-powered models like these. Whether or not that actually happens still remains to be seen, though. We’ll find out for sure by the end of 2012, when Windows 8 finally becomes available and the majority of these devices can be bought in stores.
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