Ultrabooks Slow Sellers In Europe – Taiwan OEMs

Digitimes’ Aaron Lee and Adam Hwang report that the proportion of global notebook sales represented by Ultrabooks in 2012 is estimated at only 20%, lower than a target of 30% or even 40% as projected by Intel, attributable mainly to Ultrabooks selling sluggishly in Europe, according to Taiwan-based supply chain makers.

Lee and Hwang’s sources tell them consumers in Europe prefer notebook models of 15-inch or more, and among notebooks currently available in the global market, 40-45% are 15-inch models (there are currentlly no 15-inch Ultrabook models, but the report says Acer plans to launch 14 and 15-inch Timeline Ultra series notebooks featuring a slim design, Instant-on technology, and Always Connect technology specifically for North America and Europe), 35-40% are of 14-inch models and only Hewlett-Packard has launched a 14-inch ultrabook, the Envy 14 Spectre, but its price is as high as US$1,399.99.

Apple is widely expected to be preparing a 15-inch, thinner and lighter MacBook Pro for release in 2012, although whether there will also be a “consumer” oriented 15-inch MacBook Air as well remains a matter of conjecture.

Intel’s first-phase Ultrabook design guideline specifies notebooks less than 21 mm thick, weighing no more than 3.1 pounds, with flash-based SSD data storage and at least 5 to 8 hours of battery life, and selling for around $1,000.

Ultrabooks have so far been launched to test market response and Lee and Hwang’s sources maintain that if vendors want to increase sales, they have to lower prices from US$1,000 to US$699.

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