Windows 7 sparks the “ultrathin” laptop
Intel is launching a new range of integrated chips and ultrathin laptops to coincide with the launch of Windows 7. It’s a practical example of a theory that the system will spark a major growth in spending on new hardware and technologies.
An Intel “technology summit” detailed two fundamental hardware changes which will appear in models debuting after Windows 7 is released. The first is a single chip which acts as the processor for both memory and graphics functions, reducing power demands and improving performance.
The second is a system adapting laminar cooling technology – the same system used to cool jet engines – to allow the firm to produce even thinner (and lighter) laptops without the surface becoming uncomfortably hot.
However, these machines won’t be able to take advantage of the Windows 7 netbook edition. That’s because they will mainly be in the 13- to 15-inch screen size range, which is well above the 10.2-inch maximum allowable for manufacturers to license the cheapest Windows 7 edition, Starter. It’s not necessarily a major loss as these machines are likely to be expensive enough that the higher operating system costs is a comparatively small proportion of the overall system cost.
If analysts at Deutsche Bank are correct, there’ll be plenty more examples of the hardware business getting a boost from Windows 7. They surveyed 120 corporate buyers and forecast that the new system will be used on as many machines as Vista within 12-18 months of release.
The survey also found that 75 percent of firms planning to upgrade to Windows 7 in the near future are also planning to upgrade their hardware. The analysts noted that this could reverse a trend for firms to hold on to machines longer which appears coincide with the relative lack of Vista upgrades: whereas the average PC in 2005 was 5.5 years old, by 2008 that had grown to 6.1 years.
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