CES 2012: Intel to focus on ultrabook technology for 2012

This will be the company's biggest marketing campaign since 2003 when it promoted wireless internet. The chip giant made the announcement at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2012) in Las Vegas. A number of gesture controlled ultrabooks with built in tilt sensors and touch free credit card readers are being demonstrated at the event. While Mooly Eden, vice president and general manager of Intel's PC group, touched on the technology behind the company's imminent Ivy Bridge and Haswell processors, he primarily discussed Intel's focus on ultrabooks. By reducing prices and increasing screen sizes, Eden believes that this will encourage consumers to adopt the platform. Sensors are planned to be incorporated further down the line, enabling the ultrabooks to be controlled by touch free gestures or tilts. New ultrabook innovations include an identity protection and anti theft programme. Near field communication technology has also been used to give online shoppers the option of swiping credit cards over the ultrabook instead of typing in details. According to Eden, the devices could be paired to specific credit cards, so a thief could not activate the process using a stolen card with a different device. Working with Nuance, one of the companies behind Apple's Siri smartphone assistant, Intel says its systems will not need to go to the cloud as 'it will all happen on the ultrabook, so you will get great performance'. Even further down the line, there may even be plans to create laptops that provide live translation. Intel's chief executive Paul Otellini makes his keynote speech on Tuesday.