We’ve known about the sleek-looking MSI S20 Ultrabook convertible as far back as June of 2012. With Windows 8, MSI couldn’t launch the S20 until the official Windows 8 release date on October 26th. But in an Asus-like fashion, MSI left the S20 linger and left any details regarding its release date and price up in the air. Earlier this month, some 7 months after the first announcement, MSI is finally dropping details on when you can get your hands on the S20 Ultrabook and how much it will cost. Additionally we’ve got a fresh gallery of what is likely the final renders of the S20.

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Every major computer manufacturer is now offering Windows 8 Ultrabooks since the launch of the new operating system on October 26th. For many, Windows 8 is going to offer some welcomed improvements. For others it is going to offer little but confusion and frustration. RetroUI is a piece of software by Thinix which brings back the things you’ve gotten used to in Windows over the last many versions of the OS.

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Intel has made live a significant refresh of the Ultrabook section of their website. If it wasn’t already clear from their $300 million Ultrabook fund, Intel is serious about Ultrabooks; the redesign of their site’s Ultrabook section is quite significant next to the old version and reinforces their commitment to the segment. The launch of Windows 8 and a wave of new devices provides an great opportunity that Intel is using highlight some of the most interesting new devices to hit the PC market in several years, most of which are Ultrabooks.

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Asus is launching new Zenbooks apparently in the hopes of appealing to everyone. What once consisted of only Ultrabooks now features six devices, one of which is not an Ultrabook. Most recently Asus has announced the UX42 and UX52. It looks like the company is keeping somewhat reasonable conventions though, devices prefixed with ‘UX’ all seem to be Ultrabooks while the lone ‘U’ device is a non-Ultrabook (even if it is still relatively thin and light).

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Asus has prepared a full device assault to coincide with the launch of Windows 8. Tomorrow at 2PM EST the company will be unveiling their Windows 8 lineup at their Windows 8 touch teaser site. Though Asus is trying to tease the identity of the lineup (see icons below with no names) a quick look into the website source reveals the names of these devices: TaiChi, Transformer Book, Zenbook Touch, Vivo Book, and Vivo Tab (not that we couldn’t have guessed before!) [there’s also an AIO touchscreen desktop but that doesn’t really concern us!].

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Sony has now officially revealed their Windows 8 Ultrabook lineup; release date for all products is on the 26th as the new OS launches. There’s the Duo 11 slider hybrid and the T13 (with touchscreen variants). Prices have been confirmed and Sony has dropped the non-touchscreen model of the T13 down to $669 making it one of the most attractive value Ultrabooks on the market. Whether or not the T11 will make a Windows 8 or touchscreen appearance has yet to be seen

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Today HP is announcing a new variant of their premium Ultrabook, the Spectre XT TouchSmart. With the addition of a Thunderbolt port, a larger 15.6″ full HD IPS touchscreen, and Windows 8, HP is bumping the price up from the $999 Spectre XT to $1,399 for the Spectre XT TouchSmart.  The Ultrabooks are nearly identical aside from the additions and change to the price. It would appear as though HP will be selling them concurrently.

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Dell may be looking to reboot it’s screen-flipping netbook in Ultrabook form. The Inspiron Duo was a netbook offering from Dell which featured interesting convertible mechanics, wherein the screen flips around right inside of the bezel, allowing the device to function as a standard clamshell or tablet device. The netbook version of this didn’t sell very well, but the convertible concept might not have died with it. With Windows 8’s vastly improved touch functionality just around the corner, we’d love to see the XPS 12 from Dell.

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