Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/02/13/ultrabooks_will_not_hit_mainstream_price_points_before_2013_say_vendors/
Cheap Ultrabooks? Not before 2013
Laptop maker moles offer gloomy forecast
Posted in Laptops, 13th February 2012 10:23 GMT
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Hoping for Ultrabook prices to plummet before you take the plunge? You may have to wait a while. These skinny laptops won't hit the $599-699 (£379-442) band until 2013, notebook manufacturers reckon.
And this glum forecast is shared by component makers [1], DigiTimes says. They believe that while SSDs in particular are so pricey, as too are come of the custom-made casing parts and thinner display panels that Ultrabooks use, prices are not going to fall significantly in the short term.
The raft of second-generation Ultrabooks expected in Q2, all on the back of Intel's new Ivy Bridge chip platform, will come in at around $799 - rather better than the $999 price point the first generation was pegged at.
However, say the moles, getting the price to that new, lower level will stop vendors making much of a profit on the machines they sell. ®