Image of ultrabook. – Photo by techradar.com
WHEN Intel first announced the Ultrabook category at Computex back in 2011, its sleek designs, powerful performance and a sub-$US1000 price point sounded attractive. But so far, it hasn’t quite delivered on the price promise, quoted by Tech Radar.
That could all change next year, with Digitimes reporting that the PC manufacturers are gearing up to launch a wide range of entry-level Ultrabooks at a $US699 price point.
To maintain profitability, they will also continue to sell premium machines above $US1,000.
The cheaper models will sacrifice premium materials, instead relying on fiberglass-reinforced plastic or metal-plastic hybrid bodies.
They will also run on traditional batteries, lack touchscreens for Windows 8 and use either slim hard drives or HDD/SSD hybrid drives.
Comparatively, premium versions will have Lithium Polymer batteries, touchscreen interfaces and use aluminum unibody or carbon-fiber bodies.
Pricing to boost sales
The Ultrabook market hasn’t exactly taken off like expected, failing to boost a generally flat PC market. Even Intel injecting $US300 million into the category last year couldn’t inspire massive uptake.
PC manufacturers are hoping that the lower price point will change that, with Taiwan-based Topology Research Institute proclaiming that global Ultrabook sales will increase from 16.7 million in 2012 to 31.6 million units in 2013.
Via: DigiTimes