Intel predict the future of Ultrabooks with concept

So Intel had their keynote today at CES 2012, which confirmed their further investment and specialised efforts into the Ultra portable form factor.  They even went to far as to say 2012 is to be "the year of the Ultrabook," as they presented their concept of super-thin and powerful laptops, along with what they think the future holds in the form of a concept called 'Nikiski.'

Intel Vice President of PC Client Mooley Eden took to the stage to demonstrate this new vision, along with planting his claim that the future of the Ultrabook category is in voice recognition and touch screen control.  He showed different conceptual hardware pieces to get the point across; but definitely the most fascinating for us was the aforementioned Nikiski.  Put simply, it is a laptop with a transparent touchpad, which took the entire width of the computer.  In the open form, it lent itself to the novel convenience of being fully operational with fingers, then recognising your palms when you rest to type and ignoring any touch inputs.

In the closed form, however, is where it get's rather interesting, as you're welcomed with a Windows 8-esque Metro UI, allowing the user to perform the basic tasks such as file alerts, browse the calendar, check news and social feeds.  It's a novel idea indeed, check the video below.

Beyond this, the company also showed off some gesture-based control, motion sensing control and using Near Field Communication (NFC) to perform a bank transfer.  Quick note on the last one: the claim is that each laptop is individualised, meaning that if a thief took your card, they can't use it on their own...unless they took your laptop?  Might just be us being picky there.