“Apple’s MacBook Air will generate huge sales and retain its dominant market share despite the growing onslaught of rival ultrabooks–at least for now, says a new report from J.P. Morgan,” Lance Whitney reports for CNET.
“As other vendors try to mimic Apple’s model by introducing their own lightweight laptops, the ultrabook field stands to get increasingly crowded,” Whitney reports. “Acer, Hewlett-Packard, Sony, and other major players have all been hitting this potentially lucrative new market.”
Whitney reports, “But cost has been an issue. Most ultrabooks have been priced above $1,000 and only a few around $900. But that’s not quite low enough to make a dent in the MacBook Air, analyst Mark Moskowitz said. ‘Ultrabooks are not a competitive threat, yet,’ Moskowitz said in an investor’s note released today. ‘In general, we think that ultrabooks are highly discretionary devices, and pricing on competitive offerings must fall below $800 before posing a viable threat to Apple’s MacBook Air’ …The firm is now expecting [MacBook Air] sales as high as $7 billion over the next 12 months, or around 1.6 million units each quarter.”
Read more in the full article here.
Yea.
I was a little bit confused when Intel introduced this “NEW” category because Apple has had the Air for a long time and it fits right into this “Ultrabook” thing.
People have complained over the Air since it was introduced that it does not sell enough, it’s too expensive etc. I even think there were rumours about Apple discontinuing the Air and now here we are… THE ULTRABOOK category is the next big “Invention” by Intel.
It isn’t as though even if cheaper (in quality,etc.) PC Ultrabooks come out people will ditch their Mac Airs anyway. One problem with PC UB’s – Windows is installed. This alone pretty much makes them a no-starter.
“In general, we think that ultrabooks are highly discretionary devices…”
We have an entire office running on MacBook Airs as primary computers. They run 27″ monitors on the desk, and can tuck them into a slim portfolio/case when heading to meetings.
Sleek, slim, powerful, and sexy. 🙂
I love my macbook air.
Let’s be clear here:
There’s the MacBook Air market. That’s been around for years.
Then there’s the ultrabook market, which can also be described as the ‘MacBook Air wannabe’ market.
They are NOT the same thing. Apple defined its market. Everything else only hopes to tag along, at best.
My MBA is light, easy to pack, and surprisingly powerful. Worth every penny of the $1299.00. Nothing the windows box makers do even comes close.