Back at CES Intel declared that 75 Ultrabook designs were in the pipeline. Today, at IDF, they gave a breakdown of that number by screen size.
By my reckoning, you’ve got the following numbers…
- <13” – 10 models
- 13-13.9 – 20 models
- 14-14.9” – 22 models
- =>15” – 16 models
- Remaining – Unknown
[Numbers are estimated.]
Intel may be counting slight variants and re-brands in these numbers and don’t expect them all to appear in your country but the chances are that you’re going to have a choice of at least half of those numbers by the end of the year. There’s something in there for everyone. Quite what the remaining ‘unknown’ segment is remains unclear but these could be private or devices that aren’t finalised designs. For the ultra mobile fans, it would be nice to see how low that it goes. Will be see 11.6” Ultrabooks for the first time, for example.
April 11th, 2012 at 6:23 pm
I see a big proportion will be 15 inchers. But seriously, a 15 incher will be at least 2.3kgs. So, is Intel going to give guidelines as to the definition of ultrabook? After all, they started all the hype about the ultrabook being thin and light. I am sure many won’t consider anything above 2kgs as ‘light’ and being in the ultrabook definition.
April 11th, 2012 at 7:05 pm
Only about 10 models under 13″… Wish quite a few of those are convertibles and have Wacom/active digitizer pen on-board.
April 12th, 2012 at 3:10 am
I thought intel said ultrabooks can’t weigh more than 3 lb.s.
April 12th, 2012 at 3:22 am
Who cares about the size in inches, give the size in PIXELS. Nearly every ultrabook on the market today sports the near-useless standard 1366×768 resolution. If the makers want to really impress let’s see 1440×900 or 1600×900 as the new standard.
I recently bought another laptop and went with a 14″ 1600×900 unit after looking at all the ultrabooks and dismissing them. I don’t care if they are ~3lbs and <1", if the screen doesn't let me get work done it's a doorstop.
April 12th, 2012 at 4:41 am
Who in the world needs 75 Macbook Air want-to-bes? I will not buy first generation hardware ever… This whole category will choke its self off before years end… The very thought of taking a premium product and making it a also-ran is totally ridiculous… To make this product complete all you need to do is bundle it with something practical say, Microsoft Office. Oh, wait, been there done that…
April 12th, 2012 at 5:56 am
@santlouisranger are you some kinda apple fanboy? someone has issues with competition. not here to knock apple by any means, great products, but there is room for other players and that is what drives the push of technological boundaries. apples were powered by intel chips last time i checked so even they appreciate intel products. and have you tried win 8 ? metro is a very compelling operating system with an extremely intuitive approach to UI. just because apple hit the tablet niche first doesn’t mean other companies can’t deliver outstanding alternatives.
April 12th, 2012 at 8:49 pm
All of your points are well taken… I have been in the computer business for over four decades and the one thing I have seen over and over again — price competition leads to cheaper prices and ultimately shoddy products. I would love to be proven wrong in this case but, Windows based PC manufactures have shot themselves in the foot far too many times. Those same manufactures equate with the old adage, “What we lose in profit, we’ll make up in volume.” With razor thin margins to start with, in a very crowed field, lowering prices on a premium product like a ultrabooks is tantamount to financial suicide. I wish them all good luck… Dollars to doughnuts, my guess — less than 10% will survive this battle. Let the shake out began!
April 12th, 2012 at 7:52 am
Instead of flooding the market with so many models, manufaturers should concentrate on a few, and try to reduce the cost ie giving consumers a cheaper ultrabook. Infact if manufacturers cannot do so, they should merge or collaborate to bring cheaper ultrabooks for consumers.
April 12th, 2012 at 7:05 pm
competition is what helps drive prices down and (hopefully) quality up, and make cost reflective of quality (if I pay more for this one than that one, than it needs to offer something more). Various competing brands will come up with their own models, offering features that make a given model more suitable for some needs than others. Choice is important in consumerism these days. Fewer options means higher prices, just ask the apple users. Also, note that intel has stated that starting prices will reach as low as $699 in this lineup. So there’s your price drop.
April 13th, 2012 at 12:08 am
In reality this isn’t too many models. About 30% of this number will be ‘variants’ leaving about 50 models. Of that, about 20% is likely to be local ‘brands’ leaving about 40 models that will arrive in your local market over the next year. Split that across the screen sizes and there will be about 5-10 models in your preferred screen size. Half will be aimed at business (guess) and the rest, at the consumer. You’ll have a shortlist of about 2-5 models before you even start looking at detailed specs.
Intel is pretty good at pitching ‘design wins’ high. We haven’t even considered the percentage that will fail to reach the market.
April 12th, 2012 at 1:09 pm
UltraNote , I think that FUJITSU JOIN . Super Highly Real Mobile Personal Computer, KODAWARI is New Blance!
April 13th, 2012 at 12:38 am
Hoping there’s a good (to me) 11.6 incher in there. Mainly great battery life and small bezels.
April 13th, 2012 at 12:56 am
Me too. Hoping for the first sub 1KG Ultrabook with 5hr+ battery life.
April 22nd, 2012 at 2:37 am
I really hope that the next generation of Ultrabooks will have a greater number of models with smaller than 13 inches screens. and also hopefully better battery time. And that the right shift key remains to so big and well located (in relation to the arrow keys, which should be grouped together).
The keyboard layout with a right shift key “squeezed in” between the keys that surround it (often arrow keys) is the worst and user unfriendly layout, at least for us who writes a lot.