Let the Gaming begin! Using the Ultrabook branding, Samsung have officially announced two interesting Ultrabooks that extend the category in a number of directions. The Samsung Series 5 Ultrabooks will offer a larger screen option, terabyte storage and AMD HD7550M discreet graphics in some models.
Samsung Series 5 Ultrabooks launched in homeland, South Korea today.
The press release introduces two models…
Here we are, a few weeks into availability of a few Ultrabook devices in a few parts of the world and the big news over the last 2 days is that sales are disappointing and orders have been cut back.
Earlier in the week, tech journalists were excited about the growth possibilities following a report from iSuppli.
Is it really sensible to make judgements now?
I looked through Amazon UK, Germany and USA today and to he honest, you’ll have trouble buying an Ultrabook right now. The same is true of most retailers. In the important European market Acer are the only manufacturer that have achieved wide availability to date. In Germany, the largest country in Europe, it’s tough to find a single device. I’m sure Australia, Canada and the big Indian, Taiwan, Japanese and South Korean markets aren’t much better. The point is that Ultrabooks are late. Is it any surprise that numbers are less than expected? Is it any surprise that no-one really has the big picture yet?
With late launches, a difficult economy and a lack of consumer awareness it would be no surprise if someone reported low shipping numbers. That report comes via Digitimes today.
Acer and Asus are reported to have shipped around 100k units each which, according to Digitimes data, is about 50% of expected shipment figures.
It’s somewhat difficult to get a handle on the number as availability is still tight across many regions. In Europe, for example, you’ll be lucky to find any Ultrabooks available for delivery. Is the low shipment number due to low customer demand or delays on production lines and marketing teams making final decisions around the world? When I met Toshiba Europe a few weeks ago they still didnt have a final decision on specifications.
It’s too early for a true picture but, I guess, never to early for a comment from Digitimes.
http://liliputing.com/2011/10/ultrabooks-off-to-a-slow-start-due-to-high-prices.html
In a Fox News TV segment (embedded below) the Ultrabook gets a very important airing with Intel CEO Paul Otellini along with commentary that made me sit up and listen. In–line with an interview we did early in September [5 more Ultrabooks coming], Paul says that there will be 11 companies offering Ultrabooks this Christmas, including Sony.
OK, Let’s count them. We’ve got Acer, Asus, Lenovo and Toshiba on board already. We believe that HP will have an offering in 2011 too. Add the revelation that Sony will offer a solution and you’re left with 4 missing from the list. Let’s assume Intel are pushing the boundaries out to include the Samsung Series 9 and the LG Xnote. Where are the other two coming from? Choose from MSI, Gigabyte (we believe that’s a 2012 product) , Fujitsu, Dell (also believed to be a 2012 product), Packard Bell and possibly some re-brands.
Paul went on to say that there were 60 designs in the pipeline that will launch with Ivy Bridge. That’s something to look forward to in Q2/Q3 2012 but surely he means SKUs. I can’t see 60 different designs being launched. If they are we’re going to nee help with the Ultrabook database!
In a meeting with Toshiba Europe today we got an update, and more hands on with the Toshiba Z830 Ultrabook. It’s light, well featured and will come in Portégé and Satellite versions meaning business, and consumer specifications. Toshiba haven’t decided on final specification line-up yet and price targets weren’t given but from what we learnt today, we can’t see the Z830 coming at under $/€1000. First though, lets give you the video, taken after the meeting. It’s one of the most complete overview’s to date so worth watching.
Read the full story
While I’m in the mood, freshly inspired by the e.quinox project, I want to write about a few more super-efficient ‘PCs’ that I’ve been using recently. Both are based on ARM CPUs and show they way for 2011. Later in this article I’ll talk a bit more about technologies to watch out for.
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