Slimming sessions always had large prices attached to them.
Intel is going all out in making sure that the ultrabook category of laptops succeeds as they had planned. After recent announcements of failure to adhere to Intel’s pre-envisioned prices of below US$1000 by Acer and Asus, Intel has come out with a reference Bill of Materials (BOM) which outlines the components in which manufacturers can use as a means to achieving Intel’s target of 21mm ultrabooks at US$475-650, or US$493-710 for 18mm models. These prices exclude assembly costs.
The key to the success of the Ultrabook would lie in the fact that it is highly usable while being portable. Just like a netbook, except for the fact that it would use Sandy or Ivy Bridge processors, have more RAM, a beefier graphics card and have a larger screen. Price, however, comes at a mid-point between a capable but heavy notebook and a cheap but limited netbook.
However, Stan Shih, Acer’s founder, believes that Ultrabooks is a fad which will not last long. Brad Linder off Liliputing, on the other hand, forsees that the problem with Ultrabooks lie in its price. Linder argues that you’ll be paying for lightness, thinness and performance, but it is caught feebly in the competition between a cheaper full-size laptop with more processing power or a netbook with excellent portability and which is even cheaper.
Indeed, there are more economical choices out there, and unless you really need the thin form factor of an Ultrabook, powerful netbooks with AMD’s E-350 and E-450 seem to be a very good choice if you are looking for HD-capable computers with good processing power. And then if you’re looking for bang-for-buck, if you don’t mind weight, you can get a really good standard form factor laptop for US$1000 – to the tune of a Core i7 with the latest Geforce and lots of RAM. Or if you just want something ultraportable, cheap, and light, there’s always the trusty and cheap netbook.
Source: Digitimes
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