Notebook OEMs playing it safe with Ultrabooks, limiting shipment volumes
It seems that the big name notebook OEMs - Acer, Lenovo, Toshiba and Asustek Computer - are playing it safe when it comes to Intel Ultrabooks and keeping keeping shipment volumes low when they begin shipping later this month.
How low? Below 50,000 units according to DigiTimes sources.
Apple might be having an easy time shipping ultralight and ultrathin devices, but OEMs are right to be cautious when it comes to hoping that what works to Apple will work for them. OEMs are playing it safe because they don't see the notebook market picking up much in Q4 of this year and feel that it will be hard for them to achieve the goal of having Ultrabook account for 40% of the global consumer notebook shipments by 2012.
OEMs don't want to have a TouchPad on their hands and be forced into a firesale situation to get rid of units. The Ultrabook market is untested and OEMs are playing it safe.
So what are ‘Ultrabooks?' They're mobile systems defined by two words - thin and light. The idea is to take the performance and capabilities of a modern notebook and package this into a 'thin, light and elegant design' and slap ‘Ultrabook‘ stickers on them.
Ultrabook systems will be powered by 22nm Ivy Bridge 2nd generation Intel Core processors which allow the system to be packaged into a shell less than 20mm (0.8 inch) thick, and sell for under $1,000.
There are two reference specification designs:
- An 18mm thick device with a screen size between 11-13-inches with a reference BOM (bill of materials) of between $475 - $650
- A 21mm thick device with a 14-17-inch screen with a reference BOM (bill of materials) of between $493 - $710
What do you think? Interested in an Ultrabook?