Acer, Lenovo,& Asustek to Launch Ultrabooks Under $999

Intel has announced that 3 major PC manufactures will release new Ultrabooks in 2011 starting under $999.  The lineup is scheduled to launch in the 3rd and 4th quarter of 2011.  Acer, Lenovo.com, and Asustek are excited to be the first to have the new Ultrabook on the market.  The Ultrabook is a new, ultra thin notebook that will be running Windows operating system while running on a flash hard drive.

Erik Reid,  Intel’s PC Client Group General Manager of Mobile Platforms Division, said “We are working very hard to bring the Ultrabook into the main stream…the prices will come down over time”.  Considering they are started at $999 and under, the price should be a great price point for consumers looking to save money, but have the latest in technology.

Intel launched Ultrabooks in May and said that they expect them to be 40% of all notebook sales by the end of 2012.   Ultrabooks will also focus on the enterprise market, with HP and Dell launching products of their own.

The company is excited about making products that will appeal to the generation that is drawn to the Apple iPad and Macbook Pro.  The success of those 2 products shows that consumers want a PC that is thin and light, yet has powerful as a bulky desktop PC.

With $300 million set aside for development of Ultrabooks for the next 3-4 years, Intel is staking a major investment in tablets and notebooks.  It won’t be easy to take over the market share that Apple has a large lead in.  With a price point significantly lower than the Macbook Pro, Intel will look to gain the consumer who is looking for a high performance notebook but at a reasonable price.

I know one thing, I will be the first in line to get one of the new Ultrabooks and see how it compares to the Macbook Pro.  If it preforms smoothly, Intel may have a hit product on their hand.