Intel has promised a second wave of ultrabooks

Intel is showing off the first wave of ultrabooks at CES in Las Vegas, and PC makers are backing the new class of thin-and-light laptops with product announcements. Intel has promised a second wave of ultrabooks, which could come out by the middle of the year with lower prices, Microsoft’s Windows 8 and the next generation of Core processors, code-named Ivy Bridge.With prices starting at about US$800, the current crop of ultrabooks have been deemed by some attendees as too expensive. Intel’s aim is to bring that down to $699 by the end of the year, which gives buyers all the more reason to wait. Potential buyers also scoffed at the Windows 7 OS, saying they would wait for the release of the Windows 8 OS to take advantage of tablet-like features on ultrabooks.Intel is laying out a new course for laptops with ultrabooks, a class of thin laptops designed for always-on connectivity, long battery life and quick start times. Intel has said more than 75 ultrabooks are in the pipeline for 2012, and new hybrid designs with tablet features could be released starting later this year. Features in the second wave of ultrabooks promised by Intel include faster performance with Ivy Bridge processors, touchscreens, and voice recognition, much like Apple’s Siri in the iPhone 4S.