SANTA CLARA, Calif., and NEW YORK, Nov. 28, 2005 – The laptop
PC is finally ready for its close-up. Previously confined to a world of
monotone grays and blacks, touchable laptop PCs are now poised to break
into the fashion spotlight.
Intel Corporation and Toray Ultrasuede (America), Inc., innovative
leaders in technology and fashion, today unveiled “ultrafashionable”
concept laptop PCs. The unique result of their collaboration is a
laptop design that screams chic, featuring Ultrasuede to deliver a
unique and luxurious personal touch to mobile computing, along with the
performance, mobility and wireless computing capabilities provided by
Intel® Centrino® mobile technology.
They feature ultra micro-fiber Ultrasuede fabric integrated directly
into the casing of Intel Centrino mobile technology-based laptop PCs,
changing not only the look but also the feel of the system. Intel
Centrino mobile technology trims weight off a traditional laptop PC and
provides wireless communications features with great battery life,
while the unique Ultrasuede design appeals to consumers’ sense of
style, providing a sophisticated, personalized approach to tote-able,
go-everywhere technology.
As laptop PCs have become smaller and more mobile, people are
conscious of what they say about personal style. A recent
Intel/Ultrasuede Laptop Style Study1 found that 73 percent
of U.S. adult computer users want to buy technology products that
reflect their personal style, and 76 percent of those computer users
who admit to glancing at someone else’s laptop PC are checking out its
style or design.
“For many people, a laptop may be just as much an everyday accessory
as a hip belt or skyscraper stilettos, so we’re seeing an
image-conscious culture demanding that their laptop looks as great as
it performs,” said Steven Cojocaru, style expert. “The
‘ultrafashionable’ concept is a very forward illustration of what can
happen when unlikely partners shake up the status quo. This laptop is
so eye-catchingly stunning, I’m trying to find a way to wear it as a
necklace to the Golden Globe Awards.”
The Feel of Innovation
Bringing together brains and beauty in an impressive mobile package,
the “ultrafashionable” concept systems are designed to inspire the
computer industry to deliver laptop PCs that feature innovation both
inside and out, transforming them into true reflections of their
owners’ personal style.
“Intel’s technology innovation, coupled with the plush luxury of
Ultrasuede fabric, offers a marriage of form and function with
unlimited potential for fashionable personal expression,” said Jodi
Geniesse, consumer mobile education manager, Intel Corporation. “Intel
has continually evolved what goes inside laptops, making them ever more
powerful, mobile and connected, and now we are working to inspire the
industry to transform the outsides of laptops to better reflect
consumers’ mobile lifestyle.”
Forty percent of U.S. adult computer users find their laptop to be
generic, boring, dull, sterile or lackluster, and 60 percent would like
to be able to customize their laptop with options such as color,
patterns and fabric1. Ultrasuede, with its durability and
ease-of-care, wide range of colors and textures and unique luxurious
feel is an ideal candidate to transform the look and feel of laptop
PCs. It has been successfully incorporated into hundreds of products
from furniture to apparel to accessories.
“With technology becoming more and more a part of our lives, this
was a natural extension for Ultrasuede,” said Des McLaughlin, director
for sales and marketing for Toray Ultrasuede. “Our fabric has always
conveyed luxury, fashion and style, whether in high-end automobiles,
living rooms or apparel. Like Intel, we are constantly looking to
enable new and exciting products and uses for consumers. We believe the
integration of Ultrasuede onto a laptop PC can help lead to a category
shift that will add personal expression to the list of must-have laptop
PC features.”
Cutting the Wires
Once just a productivity tool for business travelers to stay in touch
with the office and customers, laptop PCs are no longer the sole domain
of business users. Industry analyst firm IDC anticipates the notebook
market for consumers to grow over the next five years with shipments in
the United States expected to grow by 34 percent in 2006.
Since the introduction of Intel Centrino mobile technology almost
three years ago, Intel has made it possible for the industry to
introduce smaller, lighter, more powerful wirelessly-enabled products
that can easily be toted anywhere. Connecting to wireless Internet
access points (hotspots) with wirelessly-enabled devices is quickly
becoming part of everyday life, as laptop PCs become the must have
communications, entertainment and information companion for many
consumers. According to the survey, 59 percent of laptop owners, in
fact, report taking their laptop with them when they leave their home
or office1.
Source: Intel Press Release
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