Ultrabook - Future or Fad?

Well, the International Consumer Electronics Show wrapped up on 16 January. Did you follow any of the news segments on this show? Did you see things that you like? Have you been waiting for a new device? I was interested to see which laptop would come out on the top of the heap this year. I didn’t have to wait long to find out. With sales of budget laptops plummeting, computer makers are swinging the pendulum toward sleeker, metallic and pricier portable PCs that they're calling Ultrabooks. Most PC giants have committed to building Ultrabooks. The laptops typically use flash memory instead of hard drives, have no disc readers in order to stay thin, and weigh less than three pounds. Some computer makers see Ultrabooks as an evolution of the laptop in response to demands created by lightweight tablet computers. This view is even shared by PC companies that produce tablets of their own. According to many of the CEOs of these companies, even though tablets are wildly popular, those and Smartphone are not the preferable way to browse the Web – not compared to computers. In spite of the rush to buy tablets and smaller, sleeker laptops, the desktop is not going anywhere. The tablet is a niche market because people still like having a keyboard and a larger screen (and I am one of them). One of the big takeoffs from this year’s conference was the Ultrabook. The Ultrabook often draws comparisons to Apple's MacBook Air, which sells well in spite of the iPad's continued dominance of the tablet computing market. Apple is expected to increase its sales of that line of laptops to 8.9 million next year, but competitors are expected to sell about 10 million Ultrabooks. Shipment of PCs fell 1.4% compared to the same time last year. Companies who pushed sales on netbooks last year were the hardest hit. Analysts have determined that the past success of netbooks was a fad born into a bleak economy. Now that the economy is starting to recover, consumers are moving away from lower-quality equipment. Goes to show that it’s not always the price that counts! Although most of the larger PC manufacturers are onboard for the ultrabooks, they are not rushing to get them out the door. Many of them are taking a wait and see attitude. It’s not always best to be the first one at market with a new product. Yet, the computer industry is embracing the Ultrabook, and at CES, the laptops have been met with enthusiasm. Lenovo showed off several new Ultrabooks at CES. All laptops are poised to be like Ultrabooks in the future according to Lenovo’s CEO. Although his research may have told him that Ultrabooks are the future, the $1200 price tag says differently. Why would you pay $1200 for an Ultrabook when you can get another laptop for $400? According to Lenovo, the laptop's screen can bend backwards creating a stand for watching video or transforming into a traditional touchscreen tablet. It will be available in the second half of the year, after the launch of Microsoft's Windows 8 Another manufacturer, Dell, may have the most practical Ultrabook for consumers. The XPS 13 has an aluminum lid and weighs about three pounds. It won major praise for its price, $999, and overall features, which includes the ability to download e-mail while the laptop is in sleep mode. Again, the price seems to be very high. It appears that most PC manufacturers are waiting for the release of Microsoft Windows 8. So, what do you think? Would you buy one of the Ultrabooks when they come out later this year? Do you think that Ultrabooks is just a marketing concept built around Apple’s success of fashionable products or do you think it has staying power and will become the next BIG item that we all got to have?