Ultrabook Prices Unlikely To Achieve “Sweet Spot” Until 2013

Digitimes’s Aaron Lee and Joseph Tsai report that despite notebook vendors all understanding that price is key to significantly driving demand for Ultrabooks, especially when approaching the “sweet spot” at about US$599-699, considering their profitability, the vendors believe ultrabook ASPs are unlikely reach that level until 2013, according to insider sources at notebook vendors.

They also say intelligence received from inside the the supply chain is pointing out that production cost of Ultrabooks is still relatively high, especially the cost of SSDs, which are stll a whopping 10 times dearer than traditional hard disk drive, and that custom-made ultra-thin panels and components also represent large factors in vendors’ overall cost, although there is a chance that Ultrabook ASPs could reach as low as US$799 in the second quarter – albeit with profitability “significantly pressed” and improves shipment volume the key to sustainability.

Unfortunately for the Ultrabook brigade, volume thius far has been disappointing, with Acer and Asus reportedly struggling to gain traction in a MacBook Air dominated market, obliging them to reduce initial Ultrabook orders by as much as 40% and looking for more generous marketing subsidies from Intel to help keep prices competitive.

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