Posts Tagged ‘ultrabooks’

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.

Intel to Invest $300 Million into Ultrabooks

Intel announced today that it plans to invest $300 million in a new breed of PCs, ultra thin PCs that will be called Ultrabooks.  They also plan to partner with other technology companies in the area of sensors and touchscreen hardware and software that will make Ultrabooks a success.

It is no secret that Intel is aiming at the Apple iPad and Macbook Air crowd.   The iPad and Macbook Air have been very successful for Apple, giving them the market share in the portable notebook and tablet market.

The Ultrabooks are rumored to be less than 21 millimeters thick, a tab bit thicker than the 17 milimeter Macbook Air.  A few versions maybe even thinner than that and it will wake up from sleep mode in under 7 seconds, thanks to the flash hard drive.

If Intel is going to be successful with the Ultrabook, they will have to make this Windows based PC/Tablet stand out from not only the current lineup of  Windows PCs, but also Apple products.  Other Smartbooks have failed to dent the iPad market share, but with $300 million to be  invested, I would not count Intel out of the tablet market.

The first Ultrabooks are scheduled to hit the market in September, with more models coming out towards the end of the year.  Competition is good, is ALWAYS helps the consumer.  Let’s just hope that Intel hits one out of the park with the Ultrabooks.  Tablets and ultra thin PCs are the future of computing, large bulky desktops will soon be a thing of the past.