Lenovo: Ultrabooks just natural evolution of the notebook

The new Ultrabook category that Intel is championing is often referred to as an extension of the notebook. These Ultrabooks are to be very thin notebooks with Intel processors that provide reasonable battery life. The key specification by Intel is that Ultrabooks will come in under $1,000, something that OEMs are reportedly having trouble doing currently. Lenovo, one of the top notebook makers globally, has addressed the Ultrabook category for its future plans.

CNET points out an interesting statement by Lenovo's COO Rory Read that goes beyond committing Lenovo to producing Ultrabooks in the future:

"You'll see us introduce over the coming quarters the ability to reach mainstream price points with [Ultrabook] solutions that were only 18 months ago in premium segments. That's just a natural evolution of the space."

Intel may be trying to push the Ultrabook category into the limelight to compete with the MacBook Air from Apple, but this statement by Lenovo makes it plain they were coming anyway. The notebook has been getting thinner and lighter for a couple of years, and the only real "innovation" with Intel's definition of Ultrabooks is the sub-$1,000 price point.

Notebook pricing has been falling for some time and Lenovo's outlook that this was going to happen anyway is spot on. Intel may wish to make it happen today, but likely Lenovo is correct in its belief that "I wouldn't say by the end of the year necessarily but...that's definitely going to happen."

Lenovo released the ThinkPad X1 earlier this year (ZDNet review here) that meets all of the criteria of an Ultrabook except the starting price. The X1 is the thinnest ThinkPad to date, and the thin and light device appropriate for the enterprise.

Related:

• Review: ThinkPad X1, solid MacBook Air competitor
• When the out of box experience becomes an out of mind nightmare
• Lenovo IdeaPad K1 tablet: First impressions
• MacBook Air and OS X Lion synergy: A big hurdle for Windows 8