Ultrabooks may end up more expensive than MacBook Air

Ever since Intel first introduced their "Ultrabook" concept, a sub-$1,000 price tag has been one of the main requirements. However, it now appears that Intel may be unable to deliver the goods,with new reports indicating that the company has run into trouble in lowering ultrabook costs.

According to Digitimes’s Taiwan-based supply chain sources, Intel has been hosting conferences with parts manufacturers in order to design components and achieve the targeted price. Some measures that will be implemented include mimicking the MacBook Air’s design and adopting non-user replaceable Lithium Polymer batteries in order to minimize the ultrabook’s weight.

In addition, the machines should feature a metal chassis for improved heat dissipation, SSD’s for further compactness and all components will be soldered on the notebook’s PCB (printed circuit board) in order to save space and weight.

Unfortunately, even with the aforementioned improvements, or possibly as a result of them, the ultrabooks might not manage to dip below the $1,000 mark. Ironically, Intel appears to be holding the key to the solution, as the company can reduce their own costs, which account for 1/3^rd of the overall ultrabook price. Though this may seem contrary to what we’d previously heard about Intel financially backing ultrabook manufacturers, the sources seem to believe that unless Intel compromises even further, then ultrabooks will be unable to compete with the MacBook Air’s $999-$1,599 price range.

Source(s)