We first started reporting on WiGiG back in 2012 with a prediction that WiGiG ‘docking’ would be available in 2013. It was! Dell launched the Latitude 6430U in 2012 and a WiGig dock was available in 2013. It was a pre-spec WiGig however and when WiGig moved into the USB Alliance there was a long period where nothing happened. The next WiGig dock to hit the market was the HP unit that I checked out at CeBIT 2015. Today it’s Dell’s turn again and it looks like the wheels are rolling. The Dell Universal Dock will be available starting April 30th for €329.64.
Did you know that Intel makes own-brand tablets, laptops and 2-in-1s? I’ve had a couple and they’re pretty good. The latest is built on the next-generation Core platform codenamed Skylake which is due in late 2015. Nicole Scott from Mobilegeeks got a close look at the prototype at Intel’s developer conference in Shenzen and I’ve just taken a look at a PDF presentation describing what’s inside. It’s inspirational, and that’s the idea because these products aren’t targeted at consumers, they are early showcases that are meant to stimulate product designers and software developers into creating the next-generation PCs that you and I might want to buy in 2016. Read-on to find about E-ink, WiGig, USB-C, wireless charging and other new technologies that you’ll find inside the Skylake reference design and might find in your next 2 in 1 tablet.
Skylake, the next generation Intel Core platform, has been teased a few times and it has usually been in conjunction with Intel’s ‘no wires’ marketing and 2-in-1 designs. I expect the platform to form part of a new Core M range (probably before any other laptop or desktop versions) and for it to be a big step forward in both processing capability and features. WiGig is coming of age as is USB-C but there are other technologies like wireless power, NFC and RealSense that Intel want to push. In a presentation at IDF 15 last week Intel even highlighted E-Ink secondary screens.
E-ink secondary screen on a tablet.
You’ll see it demonstrated in the video below but before you take a look at that, look at some of the details that Intel presented to attendees at IDF. The presentation PDF (available here but you might have to go through the session catalog here first) is titled “Integration of New Technologies for 2 in 1 Detachable Systems” and although it doesn’t directly reference Skylake, it’s clear that Intel are talking about next generation high-end architecture in the presentation.
Processor block diagram. Likely to be Skylake.
Note wireless charging in base.
Intel sees USB-C playing a big part in docking connectors for tablet and keyboards. In theory this could lead to some level of standardization. You might be able to plug a wireless charging keyboard into a tablet with a small USB-C cable, for example.
USB Type C can be used for docking keyboards to tablets.
The tablet internals showing RealSense camera, 34 Wh battery and more.
This ‘showcase’ doesn’t look as tidy as the new Macbook does on the inside but then the new Macbook doesn’t have RealSense, WiGig, GPS and (given that there’s a fan) a laptop-class processor in a dockable tablet design. Finally, there’s the wireless charging and WiGi to consider…
WiGig – Critical to Intel’s ‘no wires’ strategy.
Wireless charging on a 2-in-1.
Nicole Scott from Mobilegeeks got to take a look at the real thing at IDF 15 in Shenzen. Take a look at the video below and read Nicole’s article here. Let us know what you think of these new technologies in the comments below. Which of the features do you want first and how much are you prepared to pay?
WiGig is a technology that has the potential to change the way you use computers and having tracked it since 2012 I’m hoping it’s close to maturity. With Wilocity announcing that they’ve shipped 1 million WiGig chips it’s a good sign that we’re nearing the point where the technology will start appearing on customers wish-lists.
The big CES2014 Ultrabook news summary is that there isn’t really anything major to talk about, which needs talking about.
Given that there were no major Ultrabook announcements or evidence of Ultrabook marketing at CES2014 we now have to think about the future of the Ultrabook and leading-edge notebooks. Importantly, who’s going to carry the flag for new PC technologies? Or was CES2014 just a break in the project to allow Intel to promote themselves in newer emerging technologies? What’s next for the Ultrabook, Ultrabook 2014.
Need an Ultrabook for professional use that’s going to be flexible with connectivity and be available in hundreds of variations? The Dell Latitude E7440 is one for you to take a look at because it’s available in variants that would suit most people. From a ‘basic’ Core i5 with 1366×768 screen and hard drive to this, the 8GB, SSD and FullHD version with fingerprint reader and smartcard reader.
The version I have here isn’t actually an Ultrabook although one can argue that by last years specifications it is. it doesn’t have the touchscreen and it runs Windows 7. It will be interesting to test Windows 7 on Haswell to see if it’s as efficient as Windows 8. I don’t think it will be but we’ll find out soon.
Over the next 24 hours we’ll be preparing for CES. Ultrabooknews and UMPCPortal aren’t in Las Vegas this year but we will be bringing you all the news and adding the analysis that we often don’t have time for when we’re there.
To kick of the CES 2013 analysis I’ve put together a set of technology and features that you should be watching out for during next week and expecting to hit the Ultrabook ecosystem in 2013. We’ve come a long way already but 2013 is the big year. It’s the year when Intel says that the Ultrabook ecosystem will be finally ready to deliver what they planned many years ago.
If you’ve pre-ordered the business-focused Dell Latitude 6430u, you could soon have it in your hands as Dell have announced that shipping has started. One thing you won’t be able to enjoy though is the WiGig feature because the dock is not ready yet. That’s quite the disappointment as the 6430u is the first ever laptop to offer tri-band wireless. There’s another gotcha too – the unit may not actually ship with WiGig at all. It looks like the Dell Latitude 6430u is only ‘upgradeable’ to WiGig.
Qualcomm and Wilocity have just released details of the tri-band Wireless card that’s coming to Ultrabooks. The card is already in the Dell 6430u that was announced with WiGig a few weeks ago and Wilocity think that we’ll see many more Ultrabooks, along with peripherals that include wireless docking stations, in 2013.
