<div>Analysts can say what they like, but it is not quite doom and gloom in the PC industry. The world may be gravitating towards tablets and smartphones, but that’s not to say it’s ready to give up on laptops and ultrabooks. In fact, there’s often debate on whether to consider tablets as part of the PC market, for a better picture on statistics, but research firms such as IDC disagree. The jury is still out on whether we’re in a ‘post-PC era’ or a ‘PC-plus era’. For now, both PCs and mobile devices are needed; just not in the same numbers as before.<br /> </div><div>First, there are all kinds of tasks that are still best done on a PC. Familiarity, power, ease of input, and the fact that some software just won’t work on a tablet yet, are some of the reasons why people may want tablets but not at the cost of the laptop. <br /> </div><div>A second reason is that laptops are converging with the tablet form factor and never before has there been so much innovation, with all sorts of hybrids and convertibles coming out to give you the best of both worlds. <br /> </div><div>One of the innovations that is thought to be ready to give the world of laptops a shot in the arm is Intel’s new core processors, code-named Haswell. Normally, most of us don’t want to fill our heads with information about the innards of our laptops but, in this case, there’s a lot worth knowing as it means a step change in the options soon to be available. <br /> </div><div>Haswell is the fourth generation of core processors, after Ivy Bridge. This time, there are bigger differences however, and the processors are much more aligned to portable hardware. In fact, Intel is finally beginning to look like it could be part of the mobile world and not just by making processors for a handful of smartphones. <br /> </div><div>One of the most welcome advantages of the Haswell processor is that it will mean longer battery life — 50 per cent longer at least. An ultrabook will last you the day at work. Sony’s Vaio Pro, for example, will last up to 25 hours on the Haswell processor. The MacBook Air will work for 12 hours without a charge. The standby time of laptops will also be measurable in days and will involve turning off processes to save battery only to power up again rapidly. <br /> </div><div>This isn’t done by putting in bigger, heavier batteries. In fact, devices will be lighter and thinner (the aim is thinner than a centimetre). There are design and spec changes coming up for ultrabooks which will make them compelling in more ways. Asus, innovative as ever, has come up with a hybrid that runs Windows 8 and Android, is both ultrabook and tablet, and has two processors, the Haswell and Intel’s Atom for the tablet portion. Because Intel has worked at reengineering the way power and cooling sit inside a device and merging certain components, it’s possible to make them thinner and lighter. Dell’s XPS 11 will have a very high-res screen and flip over like Lenovo’s Yoga. Ultrabooks will have touchscreens, if they stick by Intel’s specifications. Another change from previous notebooks, Intel now incorporates its own graphics, Iris and Iris Pro, onboard high-end Haswell processors, giving NVidia some competition in the gaming department. There are different series of Haswell processors for different performance levels — U, for example, is for ultrabooks. <br /> </div><div>Also adding to the improvements in ultrabooks, hybrids and other devices is the combination of Windows 8.1 (codenamed Blue) with the Haswell processor. Windows 8 is the first avatar of Microsoft’s OS to be totally touch oriented, even if it does work in the traditional way of inputting as well. Touch needs to be smooth and fast, include gestures and voice commands, make quick work of handwriting recognition, etc. And that’s where you can’t have a device that is sluggish or exhausts its power in a short while of usage. <br /> </div><div>Devices with the Haswell processor are going to start rolling out in the next couple of months and it’s by the end of the year that the real impact on the PC industry will be clearer. <br /><br />mala(at)pobox(dot)com<br />Twitter: (at)malabhargava<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;">(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 15-07-2013)</span><br /><br /> </div>
BW Reporters
Mala Bhargava has been writing on technology well before the advent of internet in Indians and before CDs made their way into computers. Mala writes on technology, social media, startups and fitness. A trained psychologist, she claims that her understanding of psychology helps her understand the human side of technology.
