14 DAY TRIAL // Notebook PCs have gone through important "diets" over the past years. They got lighter and thinner, but nothing compares to Intel's latest notebook design. In order to achieve a 0.7 inch thickness and a 2.25 pound weight, Intel hired the best designers from Ziba Design, who were instructed to build a fashionable device, able to connect to all manners of wireless networks and full of the latest, fastest computing capabilities.
No sooner than yesterday, the design team presented the Metro notebook, which is one-quarter of an inch thicker than Motorola's RAZR cell phone, making it the world's thinnest notebook. This prototype may actually see a commercial release later this year, as sources close to Intel point out. In this respect, market analysts acknowledge the fact that, if manufactured and sold on a wide scale, Intel's Metro concept could have a lasting impact on computer design, use and marketing in the following years.
The Metro concept could also be regarded as a fashion accessory and Intel admits that this design might particularly appeal to women more than men. However, the designers say it is a unisex product and Intel wants to ensure the laptop appeals to broad range of users. As a result, Intel includes a series of interesting and innovative features. For example, the device features an always-on wireless connection, which allows users to access cellular, Wi-Fi, or WiMax wireless broadband networks with no additional cards. This is all possible through embedded cellular connectivity and this means that the future notebooks may be sold with specific chips appropriate to each Wi-Fi Internet provider.
Other exclusive features include the so-called small array microphones from Fortemedia, designed to cancel out background noise. This type of feature will surely be appreciated by Skype and Yahoo Messenger fans. The Metro concept also comes with extensive security measures, boasting a fingerprint reader and a mechanism that lets users kill a hard drive by remote control.
Intel hasn't mentioned any pricing details on the Metro notebook, but considering it resolves into being a fashionable object, the word 'cheap' won't be suitable for the thinnest laptop of the day.