Notebook players to ship less than 50k Ultrabooks initially

Notebook vendors Acer, Lenovo, Toshiba and Asustek Computer are limiting initial availibility of Ultrabooks to fewer than 50,000 units to test the market. The collective group is well aware that demand for notebook computers isn’t likely to recover by the end of the year, according to sources from notebook makers as reported by DigiTimes.

Intel introduced design guidelines for their new Ultrabook laptop class in May with base specs including second-generation Intel Core processors, an overall thickness of less than 20mm (0.78 inches) and most importantly, a mainstream price point under $1,000.

In late July we heard rumors that not all manufacturers would be able to come in at that golden sub $1,000 price point. Last week a flurry of new Ultrabooks were announced at this year’s IFA conference in Berlin and it seems that the initial price point was indeed missed by most.

Toshiba’s 0.62-inch thick Z830 Ultrabook is due in November and packs up to a Core i7 processor, 6GB of RAM and a 13.3-inch display. Pricing will start at under $1,000.

Lenovo unveiled the IdeaPad U300s, a 0.6-inch think system that can be paired with either an Intel i5 or i7 CPU, 4GB of RAM and up to 256GB SSD with a starting price of $1,195. The U300s will be available through select retailers and on Lenovo's website in October.

Acer showcased the Aspire S3 with a 13.3-inch display, similar Intel Core series processors and SSD options up to 240GB. The 0.51-inch thick notebook gets a base price of $1,138 and should be available in select regions sometime later this month.