Ultrabook makers turn to fibreglass to cut costs
Cheaper to make, cheaper to sell
Take this as you will, but it's claimed that many upcoming Ultrabook laptops will use a fibreglass chassis to bring production costs down to the point where their vendors can sell the machines for under $1000 (£627).
According to the inevitable 'unnanmed industry sources', cited by DigiTimes, fibreglass may be used instead of the preferred magnesium-aluminium alloy because it's half the price.
Chip maker Intel, which owns the Ultrabook trademark and defines the Ultrabook spec, is said to have recently introduced Mitac to notebook vendors as a potential supplier of fibreglass chassis parts.
Intel wants to get Ultrabooks into as many punters' hands as possible, and getting the price down below $1000 is considered to be essential to do so.
And its suggestion seems to have fallen on receptive ears. According to the report, Acer, Asus and Lenovo have all signed up Mitac to produce fibreglass frames. ®
COMMENTS
Currency Conversion
Fixed for real-world examples:
"...vendors can sell the machines for under $1000 (£1000)"
Who cares
What's wrong with using cheaper materials as long as the price reflects that. Plastic laptops have been the default since they first appeared, so I don't see the problem with ultrabooks to do likewise.
Does it matter?
What it's made of... so long as it's tough enough, looks shiny and isn't heavy then it's a winner for me... I personally dislike silver things and Apple's aluminium chassis (I think it looks like a kitchen appliance), so I won't be upset if they aren't copying that.
WhIch bounces better?
Because inevitably it's going to matter.
"Plus, you can use electrolysis if you prefer."
Are there many hairy aluminium laptops then?
I think the expression you are looking for is 'Anodising'.
