Fewer than 50,000 ultrabooks to ship this year

While Intel predicts a bright future for ultrabooks, first-tier notebook makers are reluctant to take on Apple. DigiTimes reports companies like Acer, ASUS Lenovo, and Toshiba will ship fewer than 50,000 units this year as demand for notebooks is expected to be lower than previously anticipated. Higher volume of ultrabook shipments should follow next year, but it remains to be seen if Intel's goal of capturing 40 percent of global notebook shipments by 2012 can be achieved.

Acer, Toshiba, Lenovo and Asustek's new Ultrabook models will all start shipping in September and products will appear in the global retail channels in October. Acer's Ultrabook is manufactured by both Compal Electronics and Quanta Computer, while Toshiba's machine is outsourced to Compal with Lenovo's device handled by Wistron and Asustek's model by Pegatron Technology.

With Ultrabook still having some issues over cost and technologies that still need to be resolved, notebook brand vendors, due to their previous experience with CULV-based ultra-thin notebook, are mostly taking a conservative attitude about their new ultra-thin machine and only placed limited orders to their upstream suppliers.