“Call it an Ultrabook. Call it a Sleekbook. It’s still pretty much a wannabe MacBook Air,” Michal Lev-Ram writes for Fortune. “But for technology behemoths that count on computers like Intel and Hewlett-Packard, the new crop of thinner laptops are the latest attempt to electroshock demand.”
“What the heck is an Ultrabook? Intel defines it as a thin, lightweight and low-power laptop — a.k.a, a slightly cheaper MacBook Air,” Lev-Ram writes. “At its annual investor meeting in Santa Clara, Calif. last week, the chipmaker showed off several of the 20 Ultrabooks currently in production and said there are 110 additional designs in the works… To make sure these new devices sell, Intel has embarked on its biggest marketing campaign since its Centrino wireless line came out in 2003… Intel is hoping Ultrabooks will help get consumers excited about PCs again.”
Lev-Ram writes, “What about the new competition? Intel dismisses the threat from ARM. CEO Paul Otellini told investors the company is on track to meet its goal — that Ultrabooks will comprise 40% of consumer notebook sales by this holiday season. Intel would like to sell a lot of phones and tablets this year as well, but so far that hasn’t happened. Despite its advanced technology and brand recognition, the company still hasn’t been able to crack the mobile market.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple leads. The rest of the world follows with Apple knockoff designs packing an inferior, upside-down and backwards pretend Mac OS. As usual.
Related articles:
HP ‘designer’ on HP’s MacBook Air clone: ‘Apple may like to think they own silver, but they don’t’ – May 9, 2012
Apple to release $799 MacBook Air in 3Q12, sources say – May 7, 2012
Dell’s new XPS 13 ‘ultrabook’ not in same league as Apple’s vastly superior MacBook Air – March 14, 2012
JP Morgan: Windows PC ‘ultrabooks’ just Apple MacBook Air wannabes – February 14, 2012
Apple issues ultimatum to Pegatron over ASUS MacBook Air knockoffs: Us or them, take your pick – February 13, 2012
Ready to rumble: Apple’s MacBook Air upgrade looms – January 16, 2012