Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to Deliver Preshow Keynote Address at the 2012 International CES

Arlington, Va., July 6, 2011 – The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)® announced today that Steve Ballmer, Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft Corporation, will deliver a preshow keynote address at the 2012 International CES®. Owned and produced by CEA, the 2012 International CES, the world's largest consumer technology tradeshow, is scheduled January 10-13, 2012, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

"We are pleased to welcome Microsoft back to the CES keynote stage," said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CEA. "From mobile to desktop to gaming and beyond, Microsoft has a significant impact on all aspects of the consumer technology industry, and Steve Ballmer's keynote is a great way to kick off the exciting 2012 International CES. We are excited to hear Microsoft's latest initiatives and Ballmer's vision for where consumer technology is heading."

Ballmer's preshow keynote address is slated for 6:30 p.m., Monday, January 9, in The Venetian. Microsoft has used the CES keynote stage in previous years to unveil innovative new products, including the original Xbox and Avatar Kinect.

The full line-up of 2012 International CES keynote addresses will be announced in coming months.

The 2012 International CES will feature more than 2,700 global technology companies unveiling the latest consumer technology products and services across 15 major product categories including the latest in audio, automotive electronics, connected home technologies, digital imaging, electronic gaming, entertainment/content and more. For more information on the 2012 International CES, visit CESweb.org.

About CEA
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the $186 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry. More than 2,000 companies enjoy the benefits of CEA membership, including legislative advocacy, market research, technical training and education, industry promotion, standards development and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. CEA also owns and produces the International CES – The Global Stage for Innovation. All profits from CES are reinvested into CEA's industry services. Find CEA online at www.CE.org and www.Innovation-Movement.com.

Unlike the Android-based tablets that have been multiplying in the market, the WindPad 110W is running a full-on Windows 7 Home Premium installation, and a peek under the hood reveals a beastly amount of hardware for a tablet.

At the center of the 110W is the AMD Z-01 APU, a 1GHz dual-core processor with a TDP of just 5.9 watts. Essentially a lower-clocked, much lower-power version of the E-350 we're so fond of, the Z-01 brings with it Radeon HD 6250 graphics with 80 stream processors clocked at 276MHz. Strapped to the single-channel memory controller is 4GB of DDR3, which should be more than enough for what the WindPad is intended for.

The rest of the 110W is no slouch either, with a 32GB SSD integrated, 802.11b/g/n networking, and Bluetooth 3.0 support. The 10" screen is an IPS panel with a 1280x800 resolution. External connectivity is handled by a mini-HDMI port, an SD card reader, and a single USB 2.0 port. If there's one place where the WindPad falters compared to other tablets, though, it's the integrated cameras: both the front-facing and rear-facing cameras are only 1.3 megapixel, miles behind the rest of the pack.

MSI ships it with a two-cell, 4200mAh battery, a Trusted Platform Module, and personalized software for ease of use with touch control. That's important since Windows 7's touch-based controls still leave something to be desired. At 1.87 lbs. it's not too heavy but will definitely be noticeable.

Presales are starting now at Newegg and Amazon, for a reasonable MSRP of $599.

Secaucus, NJ, June 9, 2011 – Panasonic Solutions Company, provider of collaboration, information-sharing and decision-support solutions for government and commercial enterprises, today announced a series of upgrades to its Toughbook® 19 fully-rugged convertible tablet. The updated device features a standard voltage processor, increased RAM and hard drive capacity as well as speed, a brighter sunlight-viewable screen and more. With these enhancements, the reliable Toughbook 19 continues to be the ideal PANASONIC TOUGHBOOK 19 RECEIVES SYSTEM PERFORMANCE, DISPLAY AND STORAGE UPGRADES — device for utilities, first responders, maintenance and field service workers.

Powered by the second generation Intel® Coreâ„¢ i5-2520M (2.5GHz) standard voltage processor with Intel® HD 3000 graphics, the Toughbook 19′s start-up time is more than 20 percent faster and overall CPU and graphics performance have also been improved compared to the previous model. This is also the first time a standard voltage CPU and Intel HD 3000 graphics have been included in the Toughbook 19. The device still does not require a fan, ensuring reliability in a challenging environment remains a priority. The new device also comes standard with 4GB RAM, expandable to 8GB, and runs a 32 bit or 64 bit Windows 7 professional operating system. A 320GB 7200rpm hard drive is standard, with an optional 128 or 256GB solid state drive available.

“The rugged Toughbook 19 convertible tablet has been on the market for five years, providing reliable connectivity to users in some of the most demanding environments including emergency services and utilities,” said Kyp Walls, director of product management, Panasonic Solutions Company. “With the new Intel processor and enhanced functionality, our users will benefit from improved performance and outdoor screen visibility without sacrificing battery life.”

Improved Functionality

The 10.1-inch XGA touchscreen on the Toughbook 19 now features a TransflectivePlus display, which, in addition to an adjustable LED backlight, harnesses the rays of the sun by using an internal reflecting layer to illuminate the screen and can generate up to 6000 nit of transflective brightness equivalent under 200K lx environment. This exclusive technology comes standard with anti-reflective and anti-glare screen treatments plus a circular polarizing filter for an unparalleled outdoor viewing experience. The LED backlight can deliver as little as 1 nit, useful in dimly lit areas or for concealed nighttime use, which is critical to the safety of military and public sector users.

The Toughbook 19 also includes a new dashboard designed to conveniently customize each Toughbook to the user’s preferred settings, providing a user-friendly quick launch interface for common functionalities such as brightness, volume, and tablet button backlighting. The dashboard also allows easy management of the device using helpful tools, such as the popular Panasonic Power Plan extension utility and PC information viewer utility.

To ease customer usability in the field, the Toughbook 19′s display rotation mechanism has been redesigned so mobile workers can convert from traditional laptop to tablet mode with just one hand.

Embedded Wireless Connectivity

The Toughbook 19 offers a variety of embedded wireless technologies, including Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n, Bluetooth® 2.1, optional GPS receiver and optional Gobi2000™ 3G mobile broadband technology from Qualcomm. The device is certified on the AT&T, Sprint and Verizon Wireless 3G networks, allowing workers to stay connected virtually all of the time. With certifications coming later this year, the Toughbook 19 will also offer embedded support for 4G networks.

Platform Compatibility

The upgraded Toughbook 19 maintains the same platform footprint as previous generation devices. This ensures existing customers can continue to use peripheral equipment, including vehicle docking stations, which significantly lowers the total cost of ownership.

Panasonic Toughbook 19: Key Upgraded Features

· Intel® Core™ i5-2520M (2.5GHz) standard voltage processor with Intel® HD 3000 graphics

o Intel Turbo Boost up to 3.2 GHz

· Genuine Windows 7® Professional (32-bit or 64-bit)

· Screen Brightness: Up to 6000 cd/m2 (nit) in direct sunlight (under 200K lx environment)

o TransflectivePlus

· RAM

o 4-8GB DDR3 (1333 MHz)

· Storage

o 320GB 7200rpm shock-mounted HDD

o Optional 128GB or 256GB SSD

· Embedded Connectivity

o Optional embedded 4G LTE (available later this year)

o Wi-Fi

§ Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 802.11a/b/g/n

· Interfaces

o SDXC

For a full list of Toughbook 19 specifications, go to the Toughbook website.

Pricing and Availability

The upgraded Panasonic Toughbook 19 will be available worldwide starting September 2011. In the United States, the Toughbook 19 is expected to be available starting at an estimated street price of $3,349 from authorized Panasonic resellers.

The Toughbook 19 includes a full three-year limited warranty, parts and labor, providing coverage wherever the unit may be deployed.

Follow the Toughbook Brand

The Panasonic Toughbook brand can be followed on various social media channels, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and Toughbloggers.com.

About Panasonic Solutions Company

Panasonic Solutions Company empowers people whose jobs depend on reliable technology. The company delivers collaboration, information-sharing and decision-support solutions for customers in government, healthcare, education and a wide variety of commercial enterprises. Products and services within the company’s portfolio include Panasonic Toughbook mobile computing solutions, projectors, professional displays (including both plasma and LCD), and HD and 3D video acquisition and production solutions. As a result of its commitment to R&D, manufacturing and quality control, Panasonic is known for the reliability and longevity of its products. Panasonic Solutions Company is a Division of Panasonic Corporation of North America, which is the principal North American subsidiary of Panasonic Corporation (NYSE: PC).

All brand and company/product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of the respective companies. All specifications are subject to change without notice. Information on Panasonic Solutions Company’s full line of products can be obtained by calling 877-803-8492 or at www.panasonic.com/business-solutions.

You get a standard Windows 8 desktop as well as the new tiled start screen. USB devices will work and MS even did a demo of copying files off of a USB thumb drive.

NVIDIA had a Kal-El based notebook and tablet on display. Microsoft showed task manager displaying all four threads during H.264 decode acceleration.

On tablets Windows 8 will support PlayBook like bezel gestures (the gestures actually take place on the first pixel next to the bezel, apparently not in the bezel itself). Gestures for the OS take place on the left/right edges of the screen, while app gestures happen on the top/bottom bezel.

Swipe in from the right to reveal the start button, and swipe in from the left to multitask. You just swipe between active apps like you would on a PlayBook.

The interface doesn’t require a touchscreen, Microsoft showed how you can multitask or switch between screens using a keyboard on a standard PC as well. This will be a common interface across all Windows 8 devices, tablet or standard PC.

Tapping the start button switches between the standard Windows desktop and the new tile interface. You can even display multiple applications on the screen at the same time using Windows 8′s snap feature.

With a widescreen display (apparently snap isn’t supported yet on 4:3s) you can display two apps side by side in the new tablet style UI:

You can even have a standard Windows 8 desktop on one side and a new Windows 8 app on the other. Microsoft also mentioned that Windows 8 will have the same system requirements or lower vs Windows 7.

New Roadmaps Across Intel® Core™ and Atom™ Processor Families to Usher in Next Wave of Laptops and Connected Mobile Devices

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

Intel defines new category of mainstream thin and light mobile computers, called Ultrabookâ„¢.

Intel aims to shift 40 percent of consumer laptops to the Ultrabookâ„¢ by end of 2012.

Separately, Intel is accelerating the Atomâ„¢ processor roadmap to a one-process-generation per year cadence to enable a wider range of optimized solutions for multiple market segments.

Intel highlighted its next-generation, fanless netbook platform, codenamed “Cedar Trail,” a range of new Atom processor-based tablets available today, and a “Medfield” tablet reference design for sub-9mm designs, weighing less than 1.5 pounds and supporting a choice of operating systems.

COMPUTEX, Taipei, May 31, 2011 – Intel Corporation Executive Vice President Sean Maloney today said that by the end of 2012, 40 percent of the consumer laptop market segment will encompass an emerging new breed of no-compromise computers, called “Ultrabookâ„¢,” which will increasingly combine best-in-class performance, improved responsiveness and security in thin, elegant form factors.

During the opening keynote speech at Computex, one of the world’s largest technology trade shows, Maloney provided further details on the significant changes Intel is making to the Intel® CoreTM processor roadmap to enable this new category. He also reiterated Intel’s push to accelerate the pace of innovation for Intel® AtomTM processor-based system-on-chips (SoCs) for netbooks, smartphones, tablets, and other companion devices.

“Computing is taking many forms,” said Maloney. “Technology innovation is a catalyst, and we believe the changes Intel is making to its roadmaps, together with strong industry collaboration, will bring about an exciting change in personal computing over the next few years.”

The “Ultrabookâ„¢”

Intel’s vision is to enable a new user experience by accelerating a new class of mobile computers. These computers will marry the performance and capabilities of today’s laptops with tablet-like features and deliver a highly responsive and secure experience, in a thin, light and elegant design. The Ultrabookâ„¢ will be shaped by Moore’s Law and silicon technology in the same way they have shaped the traditional PC for the past 40 years.

Maloney described three key phases in the company’s strategy to accelerate this vision, which begins to unfold today with the company’s latest 2nd Generation Intel® CoreTM processors. This family of products will enable thin, light and beautiful designs that are less than 20mm (0.8 inch) thick, and mainstream price points under US$1,000. Systems based on these chips will be available for the 2011 winter holiday shopping season and include the UX21, ASUS* Ultrabookâ„¢. ASUS Chairman Jonney Shih joined Maloney on stage to showcase the company’s new ultra-thin laptop based on the latest 2nd Generation Intel Core processor.

“At ASUS, we are very much aligned with Intel’s vision of Ultrabookâ„¢,” said Shih. “Our customers are demanding an uncompromised computing experience in a lightweight, highly portable design that responds to their needs quickly. Transforming the PC into an ultra thin, ultra responsive device will change the way people interact with their PC.”

Building on the latest 2nd Generation Intel Core technology, Maloney outlined the next generation Intel processor family codenamed “Ivy Bridge,” which is scheduled for availability in systems in the first half of 2012. Laptops based on “Ivy Bridge” will bring improved power efficiency, smart visual performance, increased responsiveness and enhanced security. “Ivy Bridge” is the first high-volume chip based on Intel’s 22 nanometer (nm) manufacturing technology that uses a revolutionary 3-D transistor design called Tri-Gate announced in May. Maloney also highlighted complementary USB 3.0 and Thunderboltâ„¢ technologies which are part of Intel’s ongoing work to drive the PC platform forward.

Following “Ivy Bridge,” planned 2013 products codenamed “Haswell” are the third step toward achieving the Ultrabookâ„¢ and reinventing the capabilities of the laptop in ultra thin and light, responsive and more secure designs. With “Haswell,” Intel will change the mainstream laptop thermal design point by reducing the microprocessor power to half of today’s design point.

Accelerating the Intel® Atom™ Processor Roadmap

Maloney highlighted key milestones and additional details on upcoming generations of Intel Atom processor-based platforms for tablets, netbooks and smartphones. The Atom processor will outpace Moore’s Law, accelerating from 32nm through 22nm to 14nm within 3 successive years. Having a cadence of a new-process-generation every year will result in significant reduction in transistor leakage, lower active power and an increase of transistor density to enable more powerful smartphones, tablets, and netbooks with more features and longer battery life.

Reaching its 100 million-unit milestone this month, Intel is preparing its next-generation netbook platform, codenamed “Cedar Trail.” “Cedar Trail” is the first netbook platform based on Intel’s 32nm technology, and will enable ultra-thin, fanless designs with new capabilities such as Intel® Rapid Start technology which provides fast resume, Intel® Smart Connect Technology which enables an always updated experience even during standby, Intel® Wireless Display and PC Synch, which let users wirelessly update and synchronize documents, content and media across multiple devices. In addition, the new platform is expected to enable more than 10 hours of battery life and weeks of standby. “Cedar Trail” will support leading operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows*, Google Chrome* and MeeGo*.

In addition, Maloney showcased more than 10 tablets, running on three different operating systems, that are available today based on the Intel Atom processor Z670. The platform already has more than 35 design wins since its launch in April, with several convertibles, sliders and other innovative designs on shelves now and more coming through the rest of the year.

Maloney also discussed “Medfield,” Intel’s first purpose-built 32nm platform for smartphones and tablets. “Medfield” has been optimized for both low power and high performance and will deliver long use-time, rich media and gaming, and advanced imaging capabilities. To illustrate this point in tablets, Intel showcased a “Medfield” design running Google Android* 3.0 (“Honeycomb”) for the first time. In production later this year, the platform will enable sub-9mm designs that weigh less than 1.5 pounds for tablet designs in market the first half of 2012. It will support a range of operating systems including Android and MeeGo.

According to Maloney, “The work Intel is doing with the Intel® Atomâ„¢ processor roadmap, coupled with the significant changes we are making to our Intel® Coreâ„¢ processor roadmaps, will continue to enhance Intel’s ability to deliver complete hardware solutions with a choice of software platforms across a full spectrum of computing — from back-end servers that power the cloud to the billions of devices that access the cloud.”

The Cloud’s Rapid Expansion

More people and devices connecting to the Internet will lead to unprecedented growth in cloud-based services for storage, synchronization and entertainment, according to Maloney, and Intel is poised to grow with it. He said that one new Intel-based server is needed for roughly every additional 600 new smartphones or 122 new tablets connecting to the Internet. He also reiterated the company’s “Cloud 2015″ vision of a world of interoperable “federated” clouds that allow enterprises to share data securely across public and private clouds; “automated” networks that allow the movement of workloads between servers in the data center for better utilization and energy efficiency, and “device-aware” clouds that know what types of applications, commands and processing.

In closing, Maloney stressed the critical role of the Taiwan IT industry in the next transformation of computing. He called for collective innovations that will lead the industry into the next era as computing takes many new forms and becomes ever more pervasive and affordable. “The Taiwan IT industry will be instrumental in realizing this vision,” said Maloney.

More information about today’s announcements is available at www.intel.com/newsroom/computex/index.htm

About Intel

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. The company designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world’s computing devices. Additional information about Intel is available at newsroom.intel.com and blogs.intel.com.

Intel, Intel Core, Atom, the Intel logo and Ultrabook are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the United States and other countries. * Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.

The smartphone is actually the only smart aspect of this hardware pair — the slate part acts as a display, a set of speakers, an extended battery, and an I/O extender, but it doesn’t work by itself. ASUS also tells us there’ll be other functionality enabled by the tablet panel, but that’s being kept under wraps for now. Compatibility between the display dock and subsequent phone generations is being contemplated but couldn’t be confirmed, and as to the UI, ASUS says it’ll be almost the same as its second-gen Android tablets. You heard that right, second generation ASUS Android tablets — to succeed the Transformer and Slider — will be coming around the same time as the Padfone.

The U.K. company, which licenses its designs for use in chips made by companies such as Samsung and Nvidia, is betting that growing consumer interest in tablets will translate into a big jump in its market share. Chips based on its technology already power most of the leading tablets including Apple’s iPad, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab and Motorola’s Xoom.

“Today we have about 10 percent market share [in mobile PCs]. By the end of 2011 we believe we will have about 15 percent of that market share as tablets grow,” said Tudor Brown, president of the U.K.-based company, during a news conference at the Computex trade show in Taipei. “By 2015, we expect that to be over 50 percent of the mobile PC market.”

ARM-based chips already power most of the smartphones on sale today and its procesors can also be found in a majority of standard mobile phones.

Intel, the world’s biggest chip maker, was caught off guard by the sudden popularity in tablets — sparked by Apple’s iPad — and has been trying to catch up. Intel is expected to discuss its latest attempt to crack the smartphone market, with a chip code-named Medfield, later this week at the Computex show.

ARM’s chances in the mobile PC market got a boost in January when Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said the next version of the Windows operating system would be available in a version that runs on ARM-based chips. It was a nod to ARM’s lead in the tablet market, where Microsoft has also struggled.

But to maintain that lead and build on its current success, ARM will have to continue developing more advanced processors.

The company’s next processor design, the Cortex A15, promises a five-times performance improvement over current smartphone processors while drawing about the same amount of energy, the company said when the design was announced in September last year.

ARM has already begun licensing the design to chip makers, and the first prototypes of chips based around the A15 design could be out around the end of the year, Brown said. Commercial chips based on the A15 will likely follow in 2012.

The A15 is currently based on a 32 nanometer or 28 nanometer production process. The nanometer measurement defines the size of the smallest feature on the chip’s surface and a smaller number denotes a more advanced manufacturing process. It also typically means chips can be made more powerful and less power-hungry.

ARM, which works on chip production technology with IBM, is also planning more advanced chips.

“We’ve been working at 20 nanometer and we’ve had test chips at 20 nanometer for over a year,” Brown said. Earlier this year the company said its partnership with IBM will be extended to 14 nanometer.