Intel to invest $300m in ultrabooks

Chip manufacturer Intel is set to invest $300 million to back the development of technology to speed up the introduction of notebook computers it's calling ultrabooks, reports The San Francisco Chronicle.

Intel says it will put the money in companies building hardware and software to create thinner, lighter laptops that can go all day without a battery charge. The investments will take place over the next three to four years.

Xbit Labs explains that the fund will focus on technologies built on achieving longer battery life, and enabling improved storage capacity.

The chip manufacturer says the first phase of the ultrabook platform will be based on current Sandy Bridge second generation Core processors, according to The Register.

Bloomberg states that while Intel is developing new chips for tablet computers, the company so far has struggled to translate its PC dominance into success in the tablet market.

Apple's iPad runs on mobile-phone chips, rather than Intel processors. Tablets from Samsung, Motorola, and Research In Motion also rely on non-Intel chips.