Intel revealed key details of its redesigned Atom microprocessor product line this morning. Code-named Silvermont, this all-new microarchitecture marks the first time that Intel will use its 22nm manufacturing process and 3D Tri-gate transistor technology to build a system-on-a-chip (SoC) platform for devices ranging from smartphones and tablets to microservers.

Intel

Intel’s current Atom line is based on the five-year-old Bonnell microarchitecture introduced back in 2008. Although Intel switched from a 45nm manufacturing process to a 32nm process in 2012, resulting in the current Saltwell platform, Saltwell is not fundamentally different from Bonnell.

As a result of the age of their underlying architecture, Atom processors have not been competitive with mobile CPUs based on designs from the UK’s ARM Holdings. The Apple A series, Nvidia Tegra, Qualcomm Snapdragon, and Samsung Exynos mobile CPUs that power the vast majority of modern smartphones (and many non-Windows tablets) are all variations on one or another ARM platform.

Intel

Intel claims that will all change with Silvermont, and that Atom processors based on this new microarchitecture will deliver three times the performance while consuming five times less power (compared to its current-generation Atom cores, at least). “This is not just a tweak of Saltwell,” said Intel Fellow and chief architect Belli Kuttanna and at an embargoed press briefing last week, “it’s a fundamentally new design.” Kuttanna explained that many of the features present in Intel’s powerful Core series of desktop CPUs have been brought over to Silvermont, and that Silvermont SoCs will be available with up to eight CPU cores.

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Intel is expected to announce its fourth-generation Core processors code-named Haswell for laptops and desktops in June, but the company is already releasing teasers that talk about their performance.

The Haswell laptop chip will deliver up to twice the graphics performance compared to third-generation Core processors code-named Ivy Bridge, according to a slide deck released by Intel on Wednesday. The company is claiming graphics performance improvement of close to three times for Haswell desktop chips.

The graphics capabilities in Haswell will enable high-definition gaming and video playback, which will reduce the need for separate graphics cards.

Intel is expected to announce the Haswell chips at the Computex trade show in early June. PC makers are expected to show laptops, desktops and tablets running on Haswell chips at the trade show, which will be held in Taipei between June 4 and 8. Intel has said that Haswell-based laptops may be released around the middle of this year.

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Your living room is no longer the only place you watch movies and TV shows.  Online streaming services, cloud storage and digital media have enabled you to take your entertainment anywhere and made viewing your favorite content more convenient than ever.

Putting an Ultrabook at the center of your entertainment network lets you harness all these technologies so you can enjoy your media where you want, the way you want.

Here’s how: 

Stream your media

That way, you can take it with you anywhere — whether it’s another room or another house — and always pick up right where you left off.  When you use an Ultrabook for this, there’s no need to spend extra bucks for a smart TV, media box, Roku, tablet, or even a Blu-ray player.  All you need to do is connect Ultrabook to your TV with an HDMI or VGA cord.  Then you’ll be sending streaming video to the TV in HD quality. 

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Traditional hard drives, solid state drives, and cloud storage are all vying for your attention, but if you balance your options just right, you can reap the benefits of each. 

In order to maximize performance and efficiency in a very tight space, Ultrabook systems rely on a variety storage options.  Some offer traditional hard drives (HDD), some use solid-state drives (SSD), and some, like the HP Envy 4, have hybrid systems with both kinds of storage.  And of course, you can also supplement your onboard storage with online “cloud” storage.  Here’s a guide to each of those storage systems, and the best way to use each one.

Traditional hard drives (HDD) 

• What it is: HDDs offer affordable, high-capacity onboard storage.  HDDs use read/write heads to record information onto a spinning disk.  Those moving parts make HDDs susceptible to damage from drops and bumps, but the low cost-per-gigabyte means manufacturers can include a substantial amount of storage space. 

• How to use it: The advantage of an HDD is that it provides plenty of local storage that’s always available.  It would be wise to store your larger files and applications on this drive, along with anything that takes up a lot of space, like your music library or video content. 

 Solid state drives (SSD) 

• What it is: SSDs use flash memory instead of spinning disks and moving arms, making them much less vulnerable to damage, likely to last longer, and more power efficient.  They’re also faster than HDDs, making data stored here more quickly available.  But, due to the higher cost-per-gigabyte of SSD storage, devices currently integrate smaller amounts in order to remain affordable.  

• How to use it: The strengths of SSDs are stability and speed, so it would be wise to store your more essential and frequently used files and applications here, like ongoing projects and email clients.

Cloud Storage 

• What it is: The cloud stores your data on offsite servers, allowing you to access it through an online account and synchronize it across multiple devices.  Storing your data online offsets some of the danger of losing files with a misplaced or damaged device.  But, since it requires Internet connectivity to access the cloud, you can run into issues if you lose your WiFi signal. 

• How to use it: Cloud storage provides fluid access across devices and locations, making it great for collaborative spreadsheets, reference files, and documents you might need in multiple locations.  It’s also great for backing up your important data.

The Ideal Storage System 

Given the complementary strengths of each storage option, an ideal setup will use a combination of SSD, HDD, and cloud storage.  You’ll use HDD to store for large files and applications, SSD storage for fast access to your most essential and frequently used files, and cloud storage for backups and anything you’ll need to access on more than one device.  That’s why Ultrabook systems like the HP Envy 4, powered by an Intel Core i5 processor, have hybrid SSD/HDD storage.  And once you sync up your cloud storage account to supplement it, there’s no limit to what you and your Ultrabook can do.

The drive towards dirt-cheap Ultrabooks is getting a big boost with the release of Western Digital’s new ultra-slim spinning hard drive, a barely there piece of hardware that is even thinner than the iPhone 5.

WD’s new WD5000MPCK, as it's clunkily called, is a 500GB traditional hard drive that measures just 5mm (0.20-inches) thick. Part of the mid-range WD Blue lineup, the hard drive is 0.10-inches thinner than the current iPhone and around half the depth of typical 2.5-inch notebook hard drives.

WD says it is able to offer such an impossibly thin hard drive because of advances in shock protection and a motor shaft that can reduce internal vibration and stabilize drive platters. Beyond depth and capacity, WD’s new ultra-thin hard drive features a 5400RPM rotational speed, 16MB cache, 6Gb/s SATA interface, and weighs 0.16 pounds.

What the new hard drive loses in bulk, however, it makes up for in price with an MSRP of $89. At less than $100, the new hard drive is still really cheap, but comparable 9mm-thick drives with a faster rotational speed of 7200RPM are priced around $50-$60.

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Windows 8 is dramatically different than its predecessors. The colorful, tiled Modern interface was designed with Intel-powered Ultrabooks, and mobile, touchscreen devices in mind. The real value of the Windows 8 Start screen, though, lies in customizing it to fit your needs.

Intel-powered Ultrabooks are designed to make your notebook PC experience better than ever. They’re sleek and powerful at the same time, with a variety of connectivity and security features to make your mobile computing simpler and more secure. Hybrid devices with both a keyboard and a touchscreen, like the Toshiba U925 Ultrabook, offer both the capability of a traditional notebook PC and the mobility of a tablet.

To get the most out of your device, you’ll want to set the tiles on your Windows 8 Start screen so you can see important information at a glance and have easy access to the apps you use most.

You can configure just about any aspect of Windows 8, from the aesthetic elements like the color scheme and wallpaper, to the features that impact productivity like the positioning of apps, and enabling Live tiles for real-time updates on apps like Mail, Calendar, or Messaging.

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We’ve had about six months to play with Windows 8 (like it or not) and with the first generation of hardware designed for the new OS. So now, with PCs based on Intel’s Haswell CPU poised on the horizon, it’s time to take stock of the best Windows 8 hardware available today. You may be able to snap one up for a bargain-basement price as the industry clears out inventory in anticipation of second-gen machines.

Our top picks among first-gen Windows 8 devices offer touch capability, along with something deeper: a new take on what it means to be a tablet, a laptop, or a hybrid that lies somewhere in between. As for desktops, members of the latest generation of all-in-ones provide generous screen real estate for both Live Tiles and touch features. We applaud all of the following machines for the way they’ve risen to the Windows 8 challenge.

Windows 8 tablets: The best and the boldest

Yes, the Surface Pro is the best available Windows 8 tablet. Though it’s not quite the iPad killer Microsoft should have created, it’s a huge improvement over Surface RT, thanks to a vastly better display, Ultrabook-caliber components, and a full version of Windows 8 Pro.

Surface Pro can run all of the legacy desktop applications you need for serious productivity—and run them well, outpacing many full-fledged Windows 8 hybrids. And who doesn’t love its smart industrial design? Its VaporMg chassis still inspires us today, offering a level of fit and finish missing from competing tablets.

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The once-hot netbook may have been decimated by the arrival of tablets, but inexpensive, lightweight laptops are showing staying power. The latest iteration in that category is Chromebooks, laptops with Google’s Chrome OS, which is seen as a lightweight OS alternative to Windows for users who do most of their computing on the Web. There is substantial backing for Chromebooks with companies like Google, Lenovo, Samsung, Hewlett-Packard and Acer offering models with different screen sizes and hardware.

A first wave of Chromebooks released in 2011 from Samsung and Acer failed to catch on, but a new wave that went on sale late last year have better hardware and a more refined OS. Typical features include 100GB of Google Cloud storage, Wi-Fi, webcams, and in some models, 3G connectivity. However, IDC suggested that early sales of Chromebooks have been weak, and it remains to be seen if they will fill the void left by netbooks.

Acer’s Chromebook C7

The $200 Acer Chromebook C7 is the cheapest Chrome OS laptop available. It has an 11.6-inch screen and a 320GB hard drive, while other models have 16GB of local solid-state storage. One disappointment is the three-and-a-half hours of battery life, while more expensive models offer up to six-and-a-half hours. The C7 has an Intel Celeron dual-core processor running at 1.1GHz, 2GB of memory and an HDMI port. Like a majority of other Chromebooks, the screen displays images at a resolution of 1366 by 768. Acer maintains the C7 has sold better than expected, and has said it will come out with more Chromebook models in the future.

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Toshiba is launching a new luxury Ultrabook that's housed in a magnesium alloy case and boasts a 13.3-inch display with native resolution of 2560-by-1440 pixels. In a briefing with PCWorld earlier this month, Toshiba’s group product marketing manager, Young Bae, described the Kirabook as having a “MacBook Pro screen on an Ultrabook that’s lighter than a MacBook Air.”

There’s just one problem with that description: Toshiba has outfitted the Kirabook with an HDMI output that can drive an external display at only 1920-by-1080 pixels.

Apple provides HDMI out on its MacBook Pro, too. However, Apple's machine also delivers Thunderbolt, so it's capable of driving up to two external displays at resolution of 2560-by-1600 pixels each. While the HDMI standard is capable of resolutions higher than 1920-by-1080, when doing so it’s limited to refresh rates of only 24- or 30Hz (4096x2160 pixels at 24Hz, and 3840x2160 pixels at up to 30Hz). Anyone connecting the Kirabook to a 27- or 30-inch display is likely to be disappointed with the image they see on the big screen compared to what they see on the little screen next to it.

Toshiba

It’s a curious design decision considering that Toshiba is positioning the Kirabook as a luxury machine. “We intend to deliver an upscale, premium customer experience,” said Bae. “We will have a dedicated tech-support line for Kirabook owners. Their calls will be answered within 45 seconds. And the device will come with a two-year warranty during which we’ll provide paid overnight shipping on warranty claims.”

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Intel held its first quarter earnings call for 2013 on Tuesday, and the Q&A with analysts afterwards was full of bold declarations about how cheap touch-enabled PCs and other Intel-loaded touchable gadgets were going to get.

Intel executives love to talk about how the next generation of PCs powered by Intel processors is going to be surprisingly cheap. And there’s no better time to throw around price predictions than after a round of dismal reports about the future of the PC.

The most interesting price prediction came from outgoing CEO Paul Otellini who said touch-enabled laptops could get as low as $200 by the holidays.

“If you look at touch-enabled Intel-based notebooks that are ultrathin and light using non-Core processors …Those prices are going to be down to as low as $200, probably,” Otellini said. Otellini’s $200 price prediction followed earlier statements from both Otellini and Chief Financial Officer Stacy Smith claiming Bay Trail-powered devices would get into the $300 range. Bay Trail is Intel’s Atom system-on-a-chip that’s due later this year.

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The bad news keeps rolling in for Microsoft and PC manufacturers with market research firms Gartner and IDC Wednesday reporting record declines in global PC shipments for the first three months of 2013. Gartner said PC shipments saw an 11.2 percent decline compared to the prior year, while IDC said it was closer to 14 percent.

The numbers may differ, but the basic message is the same: The PC market ain’t what it used to be, and, for PC makers, something needs to change.

Since the introduction of Window 8, PC makers have focused on high-priced ultrabooks, convertibles, and hybrids to take advantage of Windows 8’s touch-centric start screen. Take Samsung’s latest notebook, announced Thursday. The Series 9 Premium Ultrabook with Full HD is sure to appeal to road warriors looking for a sleek PC, with its 13.3-inch display featuring 1920-by-1080 resolution, a 2.0GHz Intel Core i7 processor, 4GB RAM, and a 128GB solid state drive. But with a cost of $1400, the Series 9 Premium is not exactly priced to fly off the shelves.

Computer makers like to produce machines like this because the margins earned on them are higher, meaning you can move less product for more profit. But the PC market’s bread and butter has always been about delivering large numbers of low-cost PCs to businesses and consumers year in and year out. And that’s one reason why declining PC shipments are such big news.

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A “perfect storm” of struggling PC companies, aversion to Windows 8 and wider mobile-device adoption plunged the already struggling PC market into a free fall during the first quarter this year, IDC said.

Worldwide PC shipments in the first quarter totaled 76.3 million units, down 13.9 percent compared to the same quarter last year, IDC said in research released on Wednesday. The decline was worse than 7.7 percent previously forecast by the analyst firm.

PC shipments fell across all regions worldwide, and the market is headed into a further contraction than previously expected, IDC said in a statement.

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Blackstone Group has reportedly sent a preliminary counterbid to buy out Dell, which would rival the current proposed offer of US$24.4 billion from Silver Lake Partners and Michael Dell made in early February.

Blackstone, an equity firm, submitted its offer to Dell on Friday, the New York Times reported, citing unnamed sources. The offer sets the stage for Dell to hold discussions with Blackstone about a possible buyout, and Dell has until Tuesday to respond to the offer, according to media reports.

Blackstone's proposed counterbid is in the price range of between $13.65 and $15 per share, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal on Saturday. That either matches or exceeds the $13.65 per share offered by Michael Dell and equity investor Silver Lake to take the company private.

In a letter sent to Dell, Blackstone envisions shedding Dell's financial services division as part of the buyout deal. Blackstone has already discussed selling that division to GE Financial Services, the Journal reported, citing anonymous sources.

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The HDMI audio/video interface standard has become wildly successful. It’s the most common digital connection you’ll find in TVs, set-top boxes, Blu-ray players, A/V receivers, gaming consoles, camcorders, and digital cameras. Heck, it’s even showing up in some smartphones.

You’ll also find HDMI implementations in most consumer desktop and laptop computers. No modern all-in-one is complete without an HDMI input that allows you to connect a gaming console or a set-top box to the computer so you can use its display for a second purpose.

But given HDMI’s near ubiquity, you might have forgotten the other digital audio/video standard: DisplayPort. Though you’ll find it alongside HDMI in many late-model, add-in video cards, as well as in laptops marketed to business users, it rarely appears in Windows PCs aimed at consumers.

Both HDMI and DisplayPort can send high-definition digital video and audio from a source device to a display. So what’s the difference? Is one display interface superior to or more flexible than the other? We’ll try to answer these questions in this head-to-head comparison of their feature sets and typical use scenarios. But first, let's review how the two standards came to be, and what entities control them.

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Worldwide PC shipments dropped in 2012 on an annual basis for the first time in more than a decade and that is expected to continue this year, research firm IDC said on Monday.

Worldwide PC shipments are projected to drop 1.3 percent this year, IDC said in a statement. That would be a slight recovery from 2012, in which PC shipments dropped by 3.7 percent.

IDC cited the growing use of tablets and people holding back on PC upgrades because they don’t want Windows 8 as reasons for the expected shipments drop. Windows 8, released last October, failed to provide a spark to the PC market in last year’s fourth quarter and the trend will continue through 2013, IDC said.

Windows 8 is optimized for touch, but a lack of touch PCs and high prices hurt demand in last year’s fourth quarter. There will continue to be a limited supply of computers that take advantage of Windows 8’s features, which will hurt PC shipments in the first half, IDC said.

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Microsoft is marketing its Surface Pro tablet as a productivity machine, but I'm a hopelessly addicted PC gamer, and have less, well, conventional plans for the hardware.

Recent Internet hubbub says Surface Pro holds its own as a gaming device, so I had to validate the claims for myself. $1000 is an expensive entry fee for playing Portal 2 on the bus, so as soon as I could pry the Surface Pro from the other editors' hands, I put it through a battery of real-world gaming tests.

Ultrabook-caliber specs suggest Surface Pro might have potential. A current-gen Core i5 processor and SSD could deliver a nice gaming experience, but RAM is capped at 4GB, and the tablet's integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000 would seem destined to disappoint anyone who wants to play anything more graphically challenging than Angry Birds. 

But enough speculation. Let's look at Surface Pro's real-world frame rates in legitimate PC games. I'll also evaluate how the tablet performs as a touch device in turn-based games, and whether battery life cripples the machine as a mobile gaming platform.

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Although it's oriented primarily towards developers, Dell's "Project Sputnik" Ubuntu Linux ultrabook has attracted considerable interest from Linux fans.

When I spoke with Barton George, a Dell director, upon the North American launch last fall of the XPS 13 Developer Edition, he noted two common requests that came up during the testing process: a "big brother version" with beefier specs, and availability outside the United States.

Earlier this week Dell offered fresh news on both of those fronts.

"On Dell.com, we’re now offering the XPS 13 Developer Edition laptop with the full HD screen for customers in the United States for $1549," wrote Dell blogger Lionel Menchaca on Monday. Not only that, but "we're also starting to roll it out in select countries in Europe."

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Increased sales of electronics and new forms of computing devices will drive the worldwide semiconductor market to growth this year after a slowdown in 2012, the nonprofit organization World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) said on Monday.

Semiconductor revenue this year will grow by 4.5 percent compared to 2012, in which yearly revenue was $290 billion. Last year's revenue dropped by 3.2 percent compared to 2011, primarily due to a challenging global economy and a slowdown in the Chinese market.

Semiconductors provide the base for computing and are used in a range of products including PCs, smartphones, tablets, cars, and medical devices. Semiconductor demand over the past few years has been closely tied to the supply and demand of products, with more product purchases helping semiconductor sales grow.

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), which represents U.S. semiconductor companies, also said the semiconductor market is poised to rebound next year.

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Another week, another major PC vendor announcing that it's planning a Chromebook offering of its own. Last week, it was Lenovo; this week, according to reports, it's none other than HP.

Acer, meanwhile, is riding high on its own Chromebook sales, and Samsung's offering is currently the No. 1 top-selling laptop on Amazon.

As Windows 8 continues to lag, it's difficult not to envision rising anxiety levels at Microsoft in Redmond.

A 14-inch display

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Looks can be deceiving, and that's definitely the case with Microsoft’s upcoming Surface Pro tablet. At first glance, the Surface Pro seems barely different than the Surface RT. Thicker, sure, but a casual once-over could miss that detail, and it otherwise mimics the size and aesthetic of its ARM-powered predecessor.

Scratching that VaporMg surface reveals a whole different story, however. The Surface Pro might appear to be a simple tablet on the outside, but its insides are pure Ultrabook, sporting notebook-grade internals and connection options. The tablet also sports an Ultrabook-esque price tag, starting at $899—and that's before you spend another $120 or $130 for a must-have Touch or Type Cover.

All in all, you're likely to drop at least $1020 on Microsoft's flagship tablet.

Comparing the Surface Pro against mainstream tablets seems a bit like comparing apples to oranges when you take all that into consideration. So how does Microsoft's slate stack up to its true competition? We decided to pit the Surface Pro's specs against five of the best laptops you can pick up for around $1000 to find out.

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Biggest, brightest, and best HDTVs at CES 2013

For more blogs, stories, photos, and video from the nation's largest consumer electronics show, check out complete coverage of CES 2013 from PCWorld and TechHive.

Intel raised the curtain at CES 2013 this week on its "reference" design for the next generation of Ultrabooks, but despite the technological verve displayed in the new design, it won't be compelling enough to pump up the sagging sales for the notebook class, according to one analyst.

"What Intel needs to do to invigorate the PC market is get people to buy PCs sooner because people have been extending the life of their PCs and buying things like tablet computers," Ken Dulaney, vice president for mobile computing for Gartner in San Jose, Calif., explained in an interview.

"While the new Ultrabook is a testimony to the engineering prowess of Intel," he continued, "it doesn't change the market for notebooks."

Cool tech is not enough

Intel's vision for the next generation of Ultrabooks expected to appear in time for this year's holiday shopping season calls for a notebook that's thin (17mm or 0.66 inches), lightweight, touchscreen equipped, and equipped with an all-day battery life and a power-sipping Haswell processor.

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LAS VEGAS—Apple caught the PC industry off-guard in June when the company delivered the MacBook Pro with Retina Display. The four-megapixel LCD renders text and graphics with extreme clarity, and most who saw the display came away impressed.

But Apple may not be the only kid on the high pixel density block for much longer. Acer plans to include retinal-class displays in several laptop models, including at least one Ultrabook, by late Spring.

I took a look at a prototype Acer laptop with the 2880 by 1620-pixel IPS display. Text and graphics looked gorgeous, though Windows users will almost certainly need to scale up text magnification for readability.

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Asus , Lenovo, Intel and Nvidia are using CES to show off their latest tablet and PC innovations headed to store shelves later in 2013. But gadget makers would be better off focusing on slates rather than notebook PCs, one market research firm suggests.

Tablets in 2013 will become more popular than ever blowing past worldwide shipments of notebook PCs for the first time. Leading the tablet charge will be one-panel touch slates with 7- to 8-inch screen sizes. That's the bullish prediction from NPD DisplaySearch in its Quarterly Mobile PC Shipment and Forecast report. The market research firm says that tablet shipments will reach 240 million units worldwide in 2013 followed by notebook PCs at 207 million units. The gadget predictors are also betting that by 2017 tablet shipments will account for nearly 75 percent of all tablet and notebook PC shipments combined.

NPD DisplaySearch

NPD did not specify what it considered a tablet (what it calls tablet PCs) so it's not clear where new Windows 8 hybrid laptops and tablets with keyboard docks fit in to the forecast.

NPD's predictions feel bullish considering tablets in their current form have only been around since 2010, with the introduction of the original iPad. Compared to notebooks, slates are still maturing in terms of computing power and functionality for business and home use.

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LAS VEGAS—Intel swaggered into their CES press briefing like an aging gunfighter ready to take on the cocky young gun. You know, John Wayne versus Clint Eastwood style.

Pundits and analysts have wondered whether Intel can handle the new competition from ARM-based systems. The many companies building many different implementations of ARM, some suggested, would result in a “death by a thousand tiny cuts.” But Intel is showing some renewed fighting spirit here at CES 2013.

Intel VP of mobile, Mike Bell, opened up by touting the performance and battery life accomplishments of its current Medfield line of mobile processors. The chief target of Intel’s bragging was Nvdia’s Tegra 3 mobile processor, which was mentioned more than once during the briefing.

He then moved on to point out its 140-plus design wins for the company’s Ultrabook standard. It’s an impressive number on the surface, though Intel’s actual sales have been less than stellar. After that initial stage setting, Intel dove into the meat of the matter: a bevy of new, and sort-of-new, processors.

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The holiday slump in PC sales—down 11% compared to 2011—means that PC makers must raise prices, not continue a race to the bottom, an analyst argued today.

Windows 8 failed to turn around slumping PC sales during the recently-concluded holidays, final data from U.S. retailers showed, confirming earlier estimates.

The answer, said Steven Baker of the NPD Group: Raise prices.

"This had to happen," Baker said in a Monday interview, referring to the unsustainable razor-thin margins and the continual rush to undercut competitors' pricing. "Even if Windows 8 had been a warmed-over Windows 7, [OEMs] would still have been beaten up," Baker said of a counter-factual where Microsoft just kept doing what it had been doing, and declined to turn Windows in a different direction.

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Just 12 months ago, the ultrabook was widely regarded as the PC market's savior. Since then, it's become more of a punch line.

The ultrabook made a splash at CES 2012 with its ultra-thin form factor, touch screen and longer battery life. Intel touted the ultrabook as the device that would lead the revival of the PC against the onslaught of the tablet. Instead, a series of missteps and a global decline in PC sales kept the ultrabook from fulfilling its potential.

The question now is whether the Ultrabook can bounce back, or if ultra-thin laptops will be squeezed out of the PC market.

In early 2012, analyst firm IHS iSuppli forecast 22 million ultrabook sales by the end of the year. At the time, that prediction was relatively modest. Roughly a year ago, Intel claimed ultrabooks would account for 40% of the laptop PC market by the end of 2012. The company had even set aside a $300 million marketing fund to help meet these expectations.

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The oh-so-enchanting Steve Ballmer keynote: Gone. The sprawling, seemingly never-ending Microsoft product pavillion: Gone. The army of Microsoft marketing flacks, storming CES en masse with hive-like precision: Gone, gone, gone.

Sure, Microsoft may not be appearing at CES 2013 as a marquee exhibitor, but its presence will still loom large in Las Vegas once the show begins. Windows 8 tablets, PCs, laptops, and peripherals will be hard to avoid on the noisy tradeshow floor. In fact, the new OS might even gain some swagger, as PC makers are expected to show off Windows 8 gear with cutting-edge features such as Kinect-like gesture control and voice command navigation.

At past CES events, laptops and desktops have been overshadowed by glitzier gadgets like HDTVs and connected appliances. But this year, as Windows finds its way into tablets, hybrids, and living room all-in-ones, you can bet your mouse pad that various PCs—in all their new, fancy incarnations—will become rock star-caliber attractions.

Several major PC makers have officially announced new laptops debuting at CES, but most are tight lipped on specifics. Samsung jumped the gun on Wednesday, announcing two new Series 7 laptops, dubbed Series 7 Chronos and the Series 7 Ultra, that claim 11-hour battery life and a 150 percent speed increase in Web browsing and running apps.

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It's that time of year again. The holidays are over, people have finished their shopping splurges  and it's time to get back into the normal swing of things. Unless, of course, you're a tech enthusiast getting excited for CES next week. At CES 2013, we get our first look at what may end up on next year's Christmas list, starting with a couple announcements from Samsung.

The Series 7 line is known for powerful units, and luckily 2013 looks to continue that trend with the Series 7 Chronos and the Series 7 Ultra.

Series 7 Chronos

Samsung

The Chronos is targeted at the PC elite with the latest Intel Core i7 processor and a claimed 11-hour battery life. This laptop is intended for serious content creation and can take advantage of Samsung's new software solution, RAMaccelerator (powered by Condusiv Technologies), which will (according to Samsung) provide a 150 percent increase in speed for browsing and running apps by taking advantage of the existing memory.

Series 7 Ultra

Samsung

The Series 7 Ultra is designed to be the ultimate Ultrabook for multimedia and mobility. The Ultra's highlight feature is the inclusion of 4G LTE connectivity for Internet access anywhere at any time. The Ultra also boasts a reported 8 hour battery life and 178-degree viewing angle.

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One product class you'll see in the consumer space a lot next year is the portable all-in-one device. Sony has one available today, while Dell quietly launched one at Dell World earlier this month and Asustek Computer previewed a few at Computex earlier this year.

While these products clearly focus on the consumer market and digital board games, the fact is that we in the business world often conduct strategy sessions while sitting around a table, and no PC technology has embraced that concept like the portable all-in-one could. The old Surface Table that Microsoft used to sell comes closest to that collaborative ideal. The TV show Hawaii Five-0 uses a table for collaboration in exactly this way, though everyone could have just saved a lot of trouble by using the Microsoft Surface Table instead.

Given that most collaboration technologies suck at enhancing collaboration, it would be fascinating if a technology designed for a completely different purpose did a better job.

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