Buyers Hang on for Cheaper, Faster Windows 8 Ultrabooks
Ultrabooks are attracting admirers at the Consumer Electronics Show, but some attendees are waiting to buy the thin laptops until prices drop and Windows 8 is released later this year.
Thu, January 12, 2012
IDG News Service — Ultrabooks are attracting admirers at the Consumer Electronics Show, but some attendees are waiting to buy the thin laptops until prices drop and Windows 8 is released later this year.
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Intel is showing off the first wave of ultrabooks at CES in Las Vegas, and PC makers are backing the new class of thin-and-light laptops with product announcements. Intel has promised a second wave of ultrabooks, which could come out by the middle of the year with lower prices, Microsoft's Windows 8 and the next generation of Core processors, code-named Ivy Bridge.
With prices starting at about US$800, the current crop of ultrabooks have been deemed by some attendees as too expensive. Intel's aim is to bring that down to $699 by the end of the year, which gives buyers all the more reason to wait. Potential buyers also scoffed at the Windows 7 OS, saying they would wait for the release of the Windows 8 OS to take advantage of tablet-like features on ultrabooks.
Intel is laying out a new course for laptops with ultrabooks, a class of thin laptops designed for always-on connectivity, long battery life and quick start times. Intel has said more than 75 ultrabooks are in the pipeline for 2012, and new hybrid designs with tablet features could be released starting later this year. Features in the second wave of ultrabooks promised by Intel include faster performance with Ivy Bridge processors, touchscreens, and voice recognition, much like Apple's Siri in the iPhone 4S.
With price drops and so many improvements on tap, it is common sense for users to wait, said Jack Gold [CQ], principal analyst at J. Gold Associates, who attended CES.
"If you can wait, in the second half of 2012 you'll probably get more functionality for less cost," Gold said.
There may be price erosion toward the end of the year as more ultrabooks come to market and compete with mainstream notebooks and higher-end tablets, Gold said.
Beyond price, the pending release of Microsoft's Windows 8 OS is a reason to wait, said Daniel Stuetz [CQ], a systems administrator at Brigham Young University, who was exploring the show floor. A Windows 8 ultrabook with a touchscreen will provide both PC and tablet functionality, which might reduce the need to buy a tablet, Stuetz said.
"Intel designed ultrabooks with Windows 8 in mind," Stuetz said.
David Kanter, [cq] an industry analyst at Real World Technologies, passed on the current ultrabooks as he sees longer battery life and significant performance improvements coming in the next wave of ultrabooks in just a few months. The current crop of Sandy Bridge processors in ultrabooks isn't bad, but the next wave of ultrabooks with Ivy Bridge will provide more bang for the buck with significant graphics and application performance improvements.
