Apple currently owns the tablet market. Diehard Windows fans know it, Amazon knows it, and anyone with a basic understand of numbers knows it. That doesn't mean the iPad 2 is the best tablet on the market, though it's certainly arguable. It just means that in terms of market share, Apple is to the tablet market as Microsoft is to the browser scene. Should PC manufactures concede defeat and move on to other form factors, like Intel's Ultrabook and AMD's ultra-whatever?
It’s always nice to set goals as long as they are reasonable, for what are goals devoid of reason but mere dreams. Take for instance, Intel’s widely publicized goal of helping ultrabooks capture 40 percent of the laptop market by the end of next year. Most analysts seem to be of the opinion that Intel is hoping for too much too soon. Mark Moskowitz, Executive Director at J.P. Morgan, is the latest analyst to cast doubts over the viability of this goal.
Even though ultrabooks have managed very little in the two months that they have been around, chipmaker Intel and its PC vendor chums remain hopeful. And to be fair they are right in doing so as there is still a long way to go before we can start judging the category. While most people feel that the category could do with better specs and pricing, there are those who believe ultrabooks with touchscreens are all that is needed for a turnaround.
Reports are popping up all over the Web saying AMD is working on an Ultrabook concept of its own, an ultra-thin and light form factor just like Intel's, but obviously built around AMD's own platforms. It was even reported AMD had picked out a name for its new form factor -- 'Ultrathins' -- but don't go calling them that, AMD apparently has something else in mind.
Initial Ultrabook prices crossed the $1,000 line Intel tried to draw in the sand, and it's only recently that we've begun to see some lower priced models. But easily the least expensive Ultrabook on the market right now is Toshiba's Portégé Z835-P330, a Best Buy exclusive currently on sale for a penny shy of $700. Compare that to Apple's least expensive 13-inch MacBook Air ($1,299) and you have to like the direction Ultrabooks are going.
Details about the desktop side of the Intel Ivy Bridge CPU family surfaced on the web late last month. Now, it’s the turn of the Ivy Bridge mobile CPU lineup. Our friends over at VR-Zone on Tuesday leaked Intel’s Ivy Bridge mobile CPU roadmap. As with their desktop counterparts, the mobile chips will also arrive in the second quarter of 2012. Hit the jump for details.
Intel has made a solid investment in ultrabooks and has a lot riding on the success of these MacBook Air-esque mobile PCs. With the idea of ultrabooks being the Santa Clara-based chipmaker’s brainchild, it’s no surprise that it remains undeterred by the initial response to ultrabooks. If anything, the lukewarm response has only made Intel more committed to these ultra-thin and -light laptops. To this end, it's now trying to play matchmaker between ODMs and small PC vendors.
Hewlett-Packard joined the growing Ultrabook fracas back in November when it announced the HP Folio 13. Weighing in at 3.3 pounds and wielding a 13.3-inch display, the Folio 13 was to be one of just a few Ultrabooks with a starting price below $1,000. HP said it would be available to order beginning December 7, 2011, and true to its word, the Folio 13 is live and in stock.
By this time next year, we expect the mobile market will be inundated with Ultrabook models from manufacturers far and wide. But for now, Ultrabooks are fairly few and far between, with only a handful of notebook makers already on board. You can add LG Electronics to the list, a surprise entry who hasn't made much chatter in regard to this new class of notebook, but just unveiled its new X-Note Z330 series nonetheless.
So, Ultrabooks haven’t exactly been lighting the sales charts on fire. Theoretically, 2012 is supposed to be the year sales take off. Some critics say that can only happen if pricing comes down, but Ultrabook suppliers say it’s hard to shave off more cash because of high manufacturing costs. Well, that might be changing soon. Today, Acer president Jim Wong predicted that Ultrabooks should see $100 to $200 price cuts by midway through 2012. Heck, if that isn’t low enough for you, he thinks Ultrabooks should clock in as low as $500 by 2013.
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