Intel Envisions the Rise of an entirely new kind of laptop, the Ultrabook

Ultrabooks are the future of mobile computing, according to Intel. The company says thin, lightweight notebook computers from manufacturers like Apple, Lenovo and Acer are on the way, and they're going to take a huge chunk of the laptop market. An Ultrabook, according to Intel, features long battery life, a thin profile, no optical drive and, of course, specially designed Intel processors.

Intel has unveiled details of its plans for the breed of super-thin, rapid-on, tablet-like laptops which it calls "Ultrabooks".

The computer chip giant expects Ultrabooks to take over 40 percent of the laptop market within six to nine months. The new super-thin laptops run on Intel's Sandy Bridge processor. The models will include a new edition of the Apple MacBook Air, the Samsung Series 9, the Lenovo Thinkpad X1 and the Asus UX21. Ultrabooks will begin shipping as early as this year's holiday season.

New features, which could launch Ultrabooks as a new subset of PCs, include Smart Connect and Rapid Start Ideal features for a small business owner or manager.

Smart Connect, according to Intel, is a new form of updating which can reload sites such as Twitter and Facebook and will function even if the computer is in sleep mode.

Rapid Start takes advantage of on-board flash memory to speed up start-up times to mere seconds. Even if the computer is off and without a battery, it will still recall the programs and data which were open when it was turned off.

Ultrabooks share an extremely thin profile, variants of these instant-on technologies, long battery life, lack of an optical drive and use of the Sandy Bridge processor, according to Intel. The company projects Ultrabooks will sell for under $1,000.