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Ultrabook Manufacturers Limiting Initial Shipments in Face of MacBook Air Popularity

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Original poster
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macbook_air_ultrabooks.jpg



Top to bottom: MacBook Air, ASUS UX21, Toshiba Portege Z830, Acer Aspire S3, Lenovo IdeaPad U300s (Source: This is my next...)​
Apple's redesigned MacBook Air has proven popular with consumers, with the company reportedly pushing out up to 500,000 units per month to satisfy demand. The product's success has drawn the interest of Intel and Windows PC manufacturers, who are beginning to roll out their own "Ultrabook" models to compete with the MacBook Air. But a new report from Digitimes claims that those manufacturers are merely testing the waters, limiting initial shipments to a combined 50,000 units.
First-tier notebook brand vendors Acer, Lenovo, Toshiba and Asustek Computer, understanding that demand for notebooks is unlikely to recover in the fourth quarter, while Apple's products are taking up all the glory in the market, will limit their initial Ultrabook shipment volume to below 50,000 units for testing the water, according to sources from notebook makers.
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Intel has been pushing the Ultrabook concept as the future of notebook computers, but manufacturers have been having difficulties bringing costs to the point where they can compete with the MacBook Air. Intel has been pushing for Ultrabook pricing to begin at under $1000, and while some models may reach that goal, manufacturers and Intel have been at odds over how to cut costs to reach that target.

Article Link: Ultrabook Manufacturers Limiting Initial Shipments in Face of MacBook Air Popularity
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2011/09/06/ultrabook-manufacturers-limiting-initial-shipments-in-face-of-macbook-air-popularity/
Maschil

Maschil

macrumors 6502a
Jun 19, 2011
581
104
Mississippi
if im going spent +500 for a thin laptop id only do it for a mac..... i think this is what people are thinking
 
S

slrandall

macrumors 6502
Jun 15, 2011
412
0
The Air has been out for years and is still the thinnest. And now that it's becoming more and more powerful ... Good call by the Ultrabook guys restraining their optimism. Unless they can drastically undercut the MBA on price, they're going nowhere. Just look at the iPad.
 
gglockner

gglockner

macrumors 6502
Nov 25, 2007
413
52
Bellevue, WA
The $1000 ultrabooks I've read about have a 13" display. Interestingly, the $999 MacBook Air has an 11.6" display, while the 13" MacBook Air costs $1299.
 
nylonsteel

nylonsteel

macrumors 68000
Nov 5, 2010
1,550
490
re pic of ubooks

nice pic

mac air looks like the cleanest thinest profile
just needs usb 3.0 y blu-ray support
 
Kaibelf

Kaibelf

Suspended
Apr 29, 2009
2,445
7,444
Silicon Valley, CA
MultiMediaWill said:
Why even try to compete with Apple? Not worth the struggle. You can't win.
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That's what these companies do now. They just look at Apple and make cheap knock-offs, and then wonder why nobody is impressed by their offerings. It's almost sad to watch. Some of these OEMs had really impressive products, but now they all seem like junk that cannot resonate or generate even the slightest excitement.
 
J

jeffdrafttech

macrumors newbie
Aug 22, 2011
3
0
Wow. What a difference.

That image is incredible. The windows machines are so UGLY. That picture should send all of the PC guys back to the drawing board, and win a nice pat on the back for the design team at Apple.

If I wanted a Windows ultra book, I'd still buy the air, and just install Windows.
 
rainmanbk

rainmanbk

macrumors 6502
Jan 30, 2006
268
0
Can you imagine if the ultrabooks face a similar fate to iPad and its competitors? Ultrabooks have been unveiled and some of them are pretty pricey. Will people really spend more money on a new PC when you can buy a MacBook Air and use Windows AND OS X? Not to mention the fact that the Ultrabooks thus far are not as thin, or as nicely designed...

It would be crazy to see a shift this way at least for these ultra portables. If the iPad can create a new category and own it, the MacBook Air can probably do the same, benefiting from the tech / supply chains already in place for such an inexpensive computer.
 
J

jesdw

macrumors newbie
Feb 2, 2009
20
0
London
Mmm... look at all those USB 3.0 ports...

And LOOK at that beauty on top that doesn't make your eyes bleed!
 
KnightWRX

KnightWRX

macrumors Pentium
Jan 28, 2009
15,046
4
Quebec, Canada
Not surprising. Apple was very aggressive on their pricing and feature set this round. With their branding and image, it's going to be hard for other players to compete, especially since they don't have smaller prices this time around.
 
AppleScruff1

AppleScruff1

macrumors G4
Feb 10, 2011
10,026
2,949
I'm hoping that all the other companies go out of business so only Apple will remain. I personally hope that one days soon everyone on earth will have an iPhone, iPad and a MBA. That would be so good!
 
*LTD*

*LTD*

macrumors G4
Feb 5, 2009
10,703
1
Canada
Once the Air *really* starts to sell (it already is), then Apple will have shown the also-rans that it's "safe" for them to follow suit.

starflyer said:
To quote John Gruber... "PC's are too expensive."
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Wasn't that a tongue-in-cheek comment? ;)

Gruber is good with subtlety, in any case.
 
9

9822737

Cancelled
Jul 23, 2008
773
15
AppleScruff1 said:
I'm hoping that all the other companies go out of business so only Apple will remain. I personally hope that one days soon everyone on earth will have an iPhone, iPad and a MBA. That would be so good!
Click to expand...

I really hope that's sarcasm, I'm guessing (praying) it is!
 
T

tasset

macrumors 6502a
May 22, 2007
572
200
My take: all of these manufacturers are going to fight over Apple's table scraps until they grit their teeth and go with a one-device strategy. Apple owns the profitable market of "mac for these tasks, iPad for this, and a phone for that." Consumers are paying for Apple's products and manufacturers are not going to be able undercut Apple on any one device (pc, tablet, phone). They must cannibalize their own product lines and in doing so Apple's.
Something like the Motorola Atrix (but not underpowered), that you pay $200 on contract and can buy an external keyboard, mouse, and monitor as accessories. It can't rely on proprietary docks. If Ice Cream Sandwich delivers this, maybe real desktop software will make the Android market take off.
I believe this is also in Apple's roadmap to unify iOS and OS X. They are usually the ones to cannibalize their own products. I just am not sure who will have the guts to pull the trigger first, Apple or the PC makers. Probably Apple since they do not rely on Google or Microsoft for an OS.
 
AppleScruff1

AppleScruff1

macrumors G4
Feb 10, 2011
10,026
2,949
andylyon said:
I really hope that's sarcasm, I'm guessing (praying) it is!
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I thought that is what we wanted? Don't we want Apple to rule the world and all others to go by the wayside so we can feel superior and high five each other? Then since we are all so different for choosing Apple, one day soon we'll all be the same. What goes around comes around.
 
L

linuxcooldude

macrumors 68020
Mar 1, 2010
2,480
7,232
Kaibelf said:
That's what these companies do now. They just look at Apple and make cheap knock-offs, and then wonder why nobody is impressed by their offerings. It's almost sad to watch. Some of these OEMs had really impressive products, but now they all seem like junk that cannot resonate or generate even the slightest excitement.
Click to expand...

Thats the problem with the competition. They feel they must try to out do Apple instead of innovating themselves. Apple learned that themselves when Steve Jobs left the company and Apple felt the only way to get ahead was compete against Microsoft.
 
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