Intel is all in on the Ultrabook concept that it believes will be the next major development in notebooks where mobility, performance and battery time will be sublime. Intel has run into some obstacles though, since the notebooks will be too expensive to make, while the price is supposed to stay below $999. which is one of many requirements to meet to qualify as an Ultrabook.
The Ultrabook is hardly news by now, or that partners are complaining about the high manufacturing costs. Those who haven’t kept up; Ultrabooks are ultrathin computer sporting a profile of less than 21mm/0.8″ without sacrificing performance or battery time. The closest we have on the market today is MacBook Air, that also uses Intel’s energy efficient Sandy Bridge with a TDP at 17W.
Intel who is behind the entire concept says it has five reference design that the companies can choose from if they are interested and along with that comes a Bill of material for an Ultrabook, which includes the work cost. For a 21mm Ultrabook, which is the thickest allowed, the cost is between $475-650, while the 18mm model costs $493-710. The variation in price depends on the material and othe measures to keep the price down.
ASUS UX21 measures only 17mm in profile with 11.6″ screen
With the high material cost it is understandable that partners are having a hard time sticking to the $999 price tag. Intel will in short hold another conference call with the companies interested to discuss material costs and how to make it all cheaper to make.
It also reveals the sizes of Ultrabooks with Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge in 2011 and 2012. Ultrabooks at 18mm comes in 11-13″, while 21mm will be available in 14-17″. With the larger screen the thickness increases, which is most likely because it is hard to make it stable with only 18mm of material.
Source: Digitimes
