Intel has big plans for Ultrabooks

DigiTimes reports Intel is paying handsomely to attract downstream vendors into launching Ultrabooks, a new mobile computer that blurs the line between laptop and tablet. The chip giant hopes to shift 40 percent of global consumer notebook demand to Ultrabooks by the end of 2012, but vendors remain conservative due to high component costs. Intel claims Ultrabook products can reach pricing as low as $1,000 but vendors are concerned it will be hard to achieve this price level.

Due to the failure of Intel's Consumer Ultra Low Voltage-based (CULV-based) ultra-thin notebooks in 2009, while the notebook market has been severely impacted by tablet PCs, most notebook vendors are taking a conservative attitude toward Intel's Ultrabook concept and Intel is hoping its heavy investment will be able to attract these vendors to launch Ultrabook products, the sources noted.

Intel announced its Ultrabook concept in June with a goal of having 40% of the global consumers notebooks using its Ultrabook concept at the end of 2012. Asustek is already set to launch its first Ultrabook concept-based notebook, UX21, in September.