Research Firm Thrashes Ultrabook Prices and Marketing

[Guest]

The Ultrabook is praised as the savior for the PC industry in 2012, and is the flagship product for the launch of Windows 8.

Research Firm Thrashes Ultrabook Prices and Marketing : Read more

 

[A Bad Day]

And meanwhile, Apple's ever loyal customers are more than happy to spend significantly over $1000 for non-repairable, non-upgradable lappies...

 

[A Bad Day]

EDIT: And what about the Ultrathins? I wonder how will they perform on the market?

 

[nforce4max]

If they can shrink them down to 11 and 13 inch models they could turn them out in the $300-$600 range which would replace the netops that occupy that price range.

 

[vision33r]

People pay high prices for Apple stuff because they know if something goes wrong they can bring it to the Apple store. None of the cheap copycat crap that Dell and HP put out will make any money and not selling.

 

[husker]

“With the economy languishing, ultrabook sellers may have trouble finding buyers at the current pricing, especially with fierce competition from new mobile computing gadgets such as the iPhone 5, Kindle Fire HD and forthcoming Microsoft Surface,” said Craig Stice, senior principal analyst for compute platforms at IHS.
Really? Someone is going to decide to buy an iPhone 5 to write their research paper, or create those spreadsheets vital to the marketing department at work?

 

[dalethepcman]

Here is the problem with Ultrabooks.

Toshiba / Intel laptop. $349
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834214599

3rd Gen iPad 16GB $510
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16858753079

-or-

Cheapest ASUS ultrabook $780
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230466

That's the lowest price ultrabook model available. If they can make a 15" laptop and sell it for $350-$1000, then how come a 13" laptop costs $800-$2000?

 

[joytech22]

Acer has been doing a damn good job at keeping prices low for Ultrabooks.
You can snag one for $600 AUSD (Which is pretty good).

Not sure why Ultrabooks are a better choice over laptops though..
Scored a 15" Acer/w i7 3610QM, GT640M and 4GB of RAM for $1000.

A comparable ultrabook for that price is more like a 3rd gen i5/w HD4000 graphics and 4GB of RAM with a bad screen.

 

[Guest]

Yes and Intel has made thunderbolt so $$$ for laptop OEM's that most windows laptops still do not offer thunderbolt ports! How many ultrabooks come standard with Thunderbolt ports? Several companies are about to begin offering PCIe docks for more powerful extrenal GPUs to be used with a laptop, but they will require thunderbolt ports! Apple has not had exclusivity for Thunderbolt for how long now?

 

[Guest]

"If they can shrink them down to 11 and 13 inch models they could turn them out in the $300-$600 range which would replace the netops that occupy that price range."

It's not the size of the screen that's affecting the price so much, it's the solid state hard drives they have (which is why they're so thin). The technology is still pretty nascent, and they have tiny capacity compared with traditional hard-disks.

 

[Guest]

Lots of dumb comments today. Ultrabooks are expensive because they are compact AND powerful. They take sophisticated hardware to run them. It's not just the CPU either. Most of these have anywhere from 13" to 15" ultra thin screens. By definition, they must have a hybrid or SSD drive. Those drives are still expensive. They must be extremely light and tend to have expensive batteries (just due to the form factor). These aren't just ordinary laptops due to the constaints. The problem is, they haven't figured out how to market these additions as necessary. Why should someone pay nearly 1k for an ultrabook when an equally powerful notebook wll sell for $799? Well, that notebook is heavier, will not last as long on battery, may not have the touch interface, and likely doesn't have an SSD for better hard drive performance. They are not selling these facts hard enough.

As for Thunderbolt, I dont think Intel is making it that expensive. Intel has several variants and one of which is fairly inexpensive. The problem is when the entire system goes for $1k, adding a $30 adapter that has very few available products out for it is probably not a great selling point. Apple creates an entire echosystem so they can do Thunderbolt. The PC world is shared amongst each other though and 1 system costing even a few dollars more than another for some Thunderbolt interface few people believe they need is not a strong selling point. $$$ isn't the entire problem. Intel needs to convince companies to build more Thunderbolt devices an make it an exciting option so vendors can differentiate their products by offering Thunderbolt.

 

[Solandri]

[citation][nom]dalethepcman[/nom]If they can make a 15" laptop and sell it for $350-$1000, then how come a 13" laptop costs $800-$2000?[/citation]
Until netbooks, the highly-portable end of the laptop market was always higher priced for fewer features. I tend to carry a lot of gear in my bag (camera, 2 lenses, flash, laptop, accessories) so I've usually paid the premium for the ultralight. It hasn't been cheap. And no, Apple did not invent the category with the Air. My past laptops have included:
http://www.lenzg.net/portege3440CT/
http://www.links.net/re/equip/laptop/thinkpad/560.html (4 lbs was featherweight back then)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_ThinkPad_Butterfly_keyboard

So ultrabook pricing is not at all surprising. The people who need/want the extra portability are willing to pay for it. Most of those retailed for over $3000 when they first came out, vs. about $1500-$2000 for the regular 6-8 lb laptop.

 

[Au_equus]

So what's stopping the likes of asus/acer/toshiba of producing AMD-based ultrabooks or has intel pretty much blocked them out of the market? Not only could they knock $100 off, but they would also add a punch compared to the lame intel igp.

 

[teh_chem]

This same research company predicted Ultrabook sales to soar in late 2011, to compose 13% of the global computer shipments: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ultrabook-sales-expected-to-soar-ihs-predicts-2011-11-07 Point being that they're not necessarily wrong, but they've still made wrong predictions in the past.

The problem with ultrabooks is that generally people don't require them--they're nice-to-have items, but not really a mass-market computer. Anyone who expected them to do well--I mean, compose any significant number of computer shipments--probably didn't understand the market in the first place. They're excellent for mobile people who will pay a premium for that mobility without taking a hit on specs. Otherwise, they're not appealing in any way.

Here's a thinker--despite poor spec's, people jumped on netbooks when initially released. Why? Because they mostly satisfied most users requirements for a mobile computer, and didn't cost a lot of money. Who is buying laptops, generally? Corporations--and they don't want to pay a premium over standard laptops. And students--who also don't want to pay a premium over standard laptops. I'm not saying they don't have their use, but they're still not a mass-market item. Of course they wouldn't compose a majority of computer shipments.

 

[assasin32]

Don't see much use of ultrabooks for myself, I almost picked up a i5 laptop with 6000mah battery (integrated) with dvd burner, 14in screen, etc. And it advertised an 8h battery life and people were getting it and it weight 4-5lb's. I could have easily went into the bios and disabled the ethernet, dvd burner and memory card slot to cut back on power and after wiping the OS of junk or putting in a very low power SSD I bet I could extend the battery life even more. If by some miracle I could get access to the voltage to the CPU which I am not sure of with how locked down things are I would have undervolted it too.

 

[arlandi]

i dont care about the name. Laptop, Ultrathin, Ultrabook, Portable, whatever. as long as there is a balance between: Price - Weight - Size (Screen/Keyboard) - Hardware Spec. with price as the ultimate factor in deciding which device to buy.

 

[s3anister]

IHS now expects only 10.3 million Ultrabooks will be shipped in 2012, down from a previous forecast of 22 million units.

I can't speak for the general public, however, I and those I know will not be purchasing an Ultrabook. No, we're waiting for the Trinity Ultrathins.

 

[Guest]

Trinity ultrathins are already out as Trinity for laptops has been out for a while now. Do you mean Trinity ULV parts? They are out too, just not in high quantity. The reason you and your "others" don't have them is because they are not very good parts. The performance is terrible in both CPU and GPU. AMD is not where Intel is in terms of mobility. They are cheap mobile parts that satisfy a niche market of a niche market. They offer very little over regular AMD Trinity laptops unlike the ultrabook (which at least has a compelling story). There will be no Thunderbolt (unless you think Lightning bolt is anything) on any, few will have SSD's (due to pricing), and most will come with cheapened motherboard parts that will probably send your laptop to the scrap heap earlier than expected. You will save $300, but your system will be nothing more than a thinner, slower, featureless, laptop.

 

[ojas]

ultrabook sellers may have trouble finding buyers at the current pricing, especially with fierce competition from new mobile computing gadgets such as the iPhone 5, Kindle Fire HD and forthcoming Microsoft Surface

yes the competition for an ultrabook is a phone, an e-reader and an unreleased convertible.
even though i agree with the fact that prices are too high to be effective, IHS (and Wolfgang's articles) always lose my respect because of statements like these.

 

[pereks]

I've been waiting to buy an ultrabook for several months now. But only if it comes with Thunderbolt !
The few out there already are not of interest, like Acers with the stupid motor driven hatch in the back that hides the port. Thunderbolt could bring an unprecedented flexibility ans scalability to mobile computing. Without this, ultrabook is just a lame attempt that has no postion in the market place.

 

[captainblacko]

ultraGAMINGbook is what i want.

 

[Nspace]

From Teh-chen..."The problem with ultrabooks is that generally people don't require them--they're nice-to-have items, but not really a mass-market computer. Anyone who expected them to do well--I mean, compose any significant number of computer shipments--probably didn't understand the market in the first place. They're excellent for mobile people who will pay a premium for that mobility without taking a hit on specs. Otherwise, they're not appealing in any way."

Agreed, plus manufacturers haven't yet realized that an important part of that mobile demand are working professionals from IT, visual/audio industries, counseling, sales, commuters, etc. areas... that require several features not yet implemented, namely; all-day-work battery, reliability in terms of serviceability & upgradeability, and finally, the inclusion of versatile pro-connectors like ExpressCard or Thunderbolt.
Without those, as mobile workers we will not take unable-but-light laptops into the road and will continue to rely on limited functioning while on the move (pendrives, smartphones, tablets) or seldom take away the office /home our reliable professional laptop lines like Lenovo, Dell or Apple.

 

[Nspace]

Allow me to emphasize,
ULTRABOOKS so far LACK:

1-All-day-work lasting battery.
2-Reliability in terms of serviceability & upgradeability,
3-Versatile Pro-connectors like ExpressCard or Thunderbolt.

At 2011, Intel and manufacturers did not adequately read the demand. At 2012,
Intel seems to have realized their gravitation in this, hence the latest Haswell advancements.
We'll see...

 

[daglesj]

The problem I have with Ultrabooks is that they all have one bizarre spec choice or an Achilles heel, which at those prices they shouldn't have.

Such as -

Crappy cheap low res screens
Low ram
Intel graphics
No USB3 or Thunderbolt
Large but slow 5400rpm HDD
Too small SSD
Etc. Etc.

A $40 saving just ruins the deal.

 

[dark_lord69]

I agree... the prices are too high and if I was to buy a portable device today I'd get the Nexus 7. Not some overpriced wannabe laptop. (Real laptops are so much more powerful because of the extra space available for cooling it allows much higher clock speeds and a dedicated video card if you want to game.)