.....By next year PC makers will be producing the fourth generation of ultrabooks, and the building blocks for a strong product have been coming into place, he said.

Rau thinks that touch capability will become more ubiquitous in laptops, and the devices will be increasingly lighter, thinner, and more durable and affordable than today's PCs.

Rob Enderle, an analyst at Enderle Group, said Haswell coupled with Windows 8.1 could mark the beginning of the end for large, 10-in. to 12-in. tablets.

.....Based on what Intel has disclosed on Haswell publicly I believe they could hit a 4 watts SDP in six months. Think about this. I’m speculating, yes, but this could mean a fanless tablet as thin, light, with similar battery life to today’s iPad but with PC-level performance. This could be the game changer as it would guarantee a “2 in 1” as it relates to 10” tablets. At that point, the only debate is price. No, Intel’s competition isn’t standing still, but, nonetheless, Haswell will be a real disruptor to the entire 10” tablet ecosystem over the next year and I believe provide a boost in PC sales.