If 2011 was the year of smartphones, driven by iPhone and new Android devices, and tablets, which have revolutionized the market, 2012 will be the “years of the Ultrabooks.” In addition to the smartphone market, which is still going to grow rapidly, a gadget that is believed will be the trend in 2012 is a thin laptop, the Ultrabook. Or are they?

The trend has gotten a big push during the 2012 CES event in Las Vegas, one of the most important events dedicated to the launch of the latest in technology and consumer electronics. Acer, Lenovo, Toshiba, Samsung, LG and other manufacturers have launched super thin, high performance Ultrabooks. Even Intel has introduced a new concept Ultrabook that will be thin and light with the best in performance, responsiveness, security, and battery life–filling the gap between desktop/laptop and tablet.

Sales of PCs in the fourth quarter of 2011 were decreased by 0.2% to 92.7 million units, compared to the same period last year. This is according to a recent report from IDC, attributing the decline in sales of PCs to growing competition from other devices, including tablets, and the lack of hard drive banks on the market and economic climate.

According to Gartner, which reported a drop larger than 1.4% of PC sales in the fourth quarter of 2011, the flywheel of the recovery in 2012 will be the Ultrabook.

Ultrabook:  Innovation or the Same Old Stuff?

Over the past few years with the new tablet PCs and smartphones become increasingly powerful computing power, the notebook computer market began to face a bottleneck in the development. However, this does not mean that the PC era is over.

Even as mobile devices saws rapid growth, they are still lacking in their ability to work as a true productivity device in the enterprise sector.  The PC industry, especially Ultrabooks, will look to fill this gap – an important platform for users and consumers.

To win back the lost glory, the notebook ecosystem, spearheaded by Intel, has come to the realization that it needs to undergo a makeover. Intel is re-inventing the product to suit a new generation, accustomed to thinner, lighter, faster, and more tactile devices.

Intel predicts that 50 percent of Ultrabook which will be launched in 2012 is more of a large, namely 14 and 15 inches. The company last year launched a $300 million fund to promote the development of technologies for Ultrabooks.

But are these new generation ultrathin notebooks going to stimulate massive consumer demand? Some analysts predict that If Ultrabooks are only thin light MacBook Air knockoffs, they won’t be very successful. They need to do more.

Microsoft Windows 8 will also play an important role in the future Ultrabooks’ functionality. Windows 8 supports touch interfaces, enhanced boot and recover standby capabilities, and drivers for new Ultrabooks.

Consumer Interest

How about consumer interest? A recent survey from Citrix reveals consumer interest in devices, especially when it comes to connectivity while on vacation. Fifty-seven percent of respondents said they would be checking emails few times a day over the holiday, while 27 percent said they’ll check in every 30-60 minutes, and only five percent said they wouldn’t be checking emails while on vacation.

More than 50 percent respondents said they would be using a tablet or smartphone to check emails, while 21 percent said they would use laptops or notebooks. All these stats express that consumers are yet to jump on the Ultrabook bandwagon. But with increasing popularity of ultra slim and more productive Ultrabooks, this year promises to become much more than just a pretty face for PCs.