Report: Intel to Pay for $100 of Your New Ultrabook [UPD]
Ultrabook prices will begin to fall next quarter partially thanks to a $100 subsidy finally offered by Intel.
Intel has reportedly heard the plea of ultrabook manufacturers, and will supposedly offer a $100 marketing subsidy. Acer, Asustek Computer and Toshiba were already gearing up to lower ultrabook prices by the end of the year, but the subsidy will now allow them to drop prices an extra 5 to 10-percent in the first quarter of 2012.
Ultrabook manufacturers have complained for some time that it will be difficult to keep prices under Intel's requested $1000 price cap. According to sources, the BOM (bill-of-materials) for a 13-inch ultrabook equipped with an SSD is estimated at $690 USD. Throw in OEM costs at $100, marketing/distribution costs at $150, and the device ends up costing an overall $940 USD.
Obviously there's really no room for profit without pushing the retail price beyond the $1000 point. The CPU itself costs manufacturers around $175 to 200 USD, the 128 GB SSD around $140 to 150 USD, and the LCD panel $45 to 50 USD. Intel's $100 subsidy may not seem like much at the end of the day, but at least it's something.
As reported earlier, ultrabook manufacturers plan to cut costs by using cheaper materials such as replacing the magnesium alloy chassis for one made of fiberglass. The chassis may also switch from a unibody design to a cheaper hybrid design using aluminum on the outside but plastic parts on the inside. There's even been talk about using hybrid hard drives so that ultrabooks can supply the capacity of a hard drive and the speed of an SSD while keeping the cost somewhat reasonable.
Recent reports have indicated that up to 50 ultrabooks are scheduled to make an appearance at CES 2012 in January. These will be presented by Lenovo, Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba, Dell and others.
UPDATE
We just spoke directly to Intel and were told flat out that no such $100 subsidy will exist for ultrabook manufacturers. That's not to say that prices of ultrabooks won't be coming down in 2012--but if they do, it'll be from improvements and innovations in design rather than from Intel's pocketbook.
As a person who actually knows a thing or two about computers, I can honestly say you don't. Apple components aren't magically better because Apple has stamped them with their seal of approval. In fact, many of the parts are literally identical to non-Apple counterparts, they've just been digitally signed by Apple.
In some areas, components are actually inferior to what you can get on a Windows machine (particularly, video cards) because Apple sometimes lags behind a generation on adopting the new hardware. It's actually pretty rare for Apple to offer new hardware before retailers like Dell or DIY builders can get their hands on it for a Windows build.
And Apple computers are most certainly not a similar price, with the exception of the ultrabooks. The phrase "Apple Tax" exists for a reason, and that reason isn't because Apple hardware is similarly priced.
As a person who actually knows a thing or two about computers, I can honestly say you don't. Apple components aren't magically better because Apple has stamped them with their seal of approval. In fact, many of the parts are literally identical to non-Apple counterparts, they've just been digitally signed by Apple.
In some areas, components are actually inferior to what you can get on a Windows machine (particularly, video cards) because Apple sometimes lags behind a generation on adopting the new hardware. It's actually pretty rare for Apple to offer new hardware before retailers like Dell or DIY builders can get their hands on it for a Windows build.
And Apple computers are most certainly not a similar price, with the exception of the ultrabooks. The phrase "Apple Tax" exists for a reason, and that reason isn't because Apple hardware is similarly priced.
spoken like a true apple "genius" and i use the term genius loosely....The airs are not made with better parts at all infact the only manufacturer to produce everything in house is samsung...Apple source most of there gear externally and as willard posted stamp it with a little half eaten apple and call it theres...
"As a salesman I can honestly say that everyday people will not buy these"
I can see your speaking for every consumer on the market....nice to see your actually talking about the benefits of an ultrabook to a customer as opposed to get that quick sale to boost your commission...ultrabooks are a great category for the PC market. It finally has something to upstage the macbook air muppets and bring some attention back to ever decreasing pc sales...
but as a salesperson i wouldnt expect you to know this.
"As a person who actually knows a thing or two about computers, I can honestly say you don't"
LOL
I really hope you don't work for Best Buy. I do, and I would hope someone who makes those kinds of generalizations is not a coworker of mine.
Most people who come into the store looking for a computer are just that... looking for a computer. You don't know if they want an ultrabook or a mac or a desktop or a PC laptop or a tablet until you talk to the customer and ask them their intended uses. You have to figure out what they want the device to do for them. Macbook Air isn't made with better parts. The chassis is very sturdy, I'll give it that - the screen has less flex than a lot of the Ultrabooks do. But honestly you're paying extra for it being an Apple, in order to have their support. If you have a question or a problem with your Mac they tend to be very helpful at an Apple store, and that along with the better chassis and the easier-to-use interface for first-time computer users and computer illiterate people, those are the reasons a Macbook Air would be worth the extra expense.
Ultrabooks are great for people who are familiar with Windows and want to continue using it, who want something that will perform very well but be extremely light, and want a very long battery life.
ok, a 300mm wafer has 70685.8mm to work with
here are numbers from wiki
2 core - 139-141mm
4 core - 216
lga 2011 - 435
lets not go into all the numbers and variables, and just look at these facts i have heard in the past, and also not worry about chip placement, also assume that 100% work, 50% work, and 25% work, and finally 10%
i have heard that from start to finish a wafer costs 50000$
508-501 = 98$ - 99$ a chip
327 = 152$ a chip
162 = 308$ a chip
thats the base cost of manufacturing from wafer to cpu, not including r&d and not including the fab plants.
r&d costs about 1billion per architecture, fab plants cost about 2-3 billion but this was 45nm when i knew about this cost.
on that note, bulldozer has 223 chips and 224$ per chip
thank you intel!
but you could do even better by not jacking up cpu prices not so high in the first place!
I don't run a company - I would likely have no weekends then and no time for gaming.
I'm a regular but loyal and hard-working employee and you should realize that without people like me, your company would be screwed (in case you're not a one-man "company").