The desktop market is getting its own version of Ivy Bridge 22nm platform called Maho Bay and the notebook iteration is called Chief River.

The key new features include 22nm processors that should get much faster with a reasonable TDP and higher performance. In a way Ivy Bridge is a die shrink of Sandy Bridge 32nm to 22nm a part of Intel’s Tick Tock safe passage strategy. Going to a new process and radically changing the core is too risky.

Intel promises better battery life and new and more impressive ULV platforms coming. Media capabilities should get even better as well as improved wireless display. DirectX 11 graphics also found their way to the Ivy Bridge and Chief River platform and graphics performance should get much better.

Intel also hints at RST caching that can deliver “SSD performance at a lower cost”. Let’s not forget USB 3.0 support. This is how a new notebook should look in early 2012.