Laptop manufacturers are cautious with ultrabook

'The first' ultabook 'to reach the market will not reach 50,000 units, but there will be a better next wave in 2012 and 2013.

>>>4 reasons to buy ultrabook for work

Fearful and shy of dominating the market of Apple 's MacBook Air, laptop makers plan to launch ultrabook in limited quantities later this year, according to an online report. . Acer, Asus, Lenovo and Toshiba produced a total of less than 50,000 devices to explore market reactions, according to DigiTimes of Taiwan.

By comparison, Asus in May released 100,000 Eee Pad Transformer tablets, with another 200,000 coming in June, according to Netbook News . Representatives from Acer, Lenovo, and Asus have not commented.

In May, Intel announced plans to renew the computer market with a completely new type of laptop called ultrabook with longer battery life, less than 0.8 inches thin and less than $ 1,000. This new ultraportable notebook line is a combination of the traditional notebook's performance-enhancing capabilities with " pop-up tablet-like features ", Intel said. The first batch of ultrabook products came out this fall, and more high-end machines will appear in 2012 and 2013.

About six months before Intel announced ultrabook, Apple created waves with its refreshed MacBook Air. Apple's new laptop line is similar to what Intel wants to see in ultrabook, such as SSD storage, instant-on function, full-size keyboard, and at least one model sold for under $ 1,000. . The latest MacBook Air has just launched in July using Sandy Bridge Core i5 and Core i7 processors, more RAM, and integrated Thunderbolt communication port.

It is not known where the MacBook Air's capabilities are, but most observers believe that the laptop is one of the most popular MacBook models in Apple products. Market research firm NPD Group said in August that the renewal of the MacBook Air and the launch of OS X Lion pushed Mac sales by 26% over the same period last year, according to AllThingsD. In March, an analyst at Concord Securities estimated that Apple had sold more than 1 million MacBook Air between October and December 2010, about the first 10 weeks since the new product range was launched. out.

Apple seems to have hit consumers' demand for smaller and lighter laptops without sacrificing speed and performance. If PC manufacturers can produce Windows ultrabooks and sell them under Apple's Air product line (in the range of 1,000 to 1,600 USD), there's no reason ultrabook can't compete.

But how to stimulate laptop manufacturers to be excited about this new device. While DigiTimes said that laptop manufacturers are hesitant to launch ultrabook to the market, there are reports that Asus is planning to release 5-7 ultrabook versions in October. So far, Asus has announced two models, UX21 and UX31 . Acer has also launched Aspire S3 ultrabook and said it hopes S3 will become the " hot product" in the fourth quarter of the company. Lenovo's first Ultrabook is the 13.3-inch IdeaPad U300S , which will be available from mid-October until November. Toshiba's 13.3-inch Portege Z830 will be available in November.

However, although Intel expects ultrabook to sell for less than $ 1,000, Toshiba's Z830 only meets the price criteria. The IdeaPad U300S costs between $ 1,200 and Acer's Aspire S3 will cost between $ 1,100 and $ 1,700, depending on the processor and storage capacity.

Perhaps to encourage more enthusiastic laptop manufacturers, Intel recently announced a $ 300 million investment fund to help build this new type of laptop. The Intel Capital Ultrabook Fund will invest in companies for research and development of ultrabook, improving features like touch, battery life, thinness, and storage.

Initially ultrabook may be reserved, but there will be three waves of ultrabooks that can help strengthen the image of the new type of Intel laptops. The second batch will appear in the first half of 2012 with the use of Intel's Ivy Bridge processors (basically a smaller version of Sandy Bridge), and the third batch will come in 2013 with Haswell chips. , Intel's next generation of processors will be even thinner than Ivy Bridge and consume less power. Future Ultrabooks can also incorporate touch interfaces next year, when Microsoft releases Windows 8.

The market will witness the emergence of ultrabook in the next few weeks, starting with Asus UX21 announced that it will offer in September.