Acer: Ultrabooks and tablet PCs are a fad

Acer founder Stan Shih believes that ultrabooks and tablet PCs are a short-term fad.

Not only does Shih believe that these devices are fads, but that notebooks OEMs need to innovate and offer consumers more value added products, claims DigiTimes.

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Shih attributes Apple's success with the iPad to outside-the-box thinking and that this is something that other players in the ultraportable market are going to need to adopt in order to be successful.

Acer does have a 7-inch tablet PC in the pipeline that is expected to $345 that Shih believes will stir up the market and generate competition. Given that so far we've been seeing tablets in the $500+ price bracket, then I agree with Shih that what's needed is a significant drop in price. So far OEMs have seen tablets as a cash cow. Devices such as the Motorola Xoom and RIM PlayBook sell for $500+ - that sort of money buys you quite a PC, so there's room for the price to come down.

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If Shih is right and ultrabooks and tablet PCs are a fad then OEMs had better hurry up and start getting devices on the shelves that customers actually want, because at the rate that Apple is selling iPads, everyone who wants a tablet (at least those willing to pay a decent price for one) will have one.