Ultrabooks, an acceptable middle ground?
PCs and mobile devices target different markets. The former is stationary and depends on a wall socket for power, but is extremely powerful and affordable. The latter offers mobility at the cost of power and price. There is certainly a middle ground for a new device to enter the market, but will it be able to provide the best of both worlds well enough to appeal to consumers?
Portability, a compromise
Ultrabooks aim to be thin and light devices, and will achieve this with a mixture of new technology. An ultra-portable device such as a tablet PC or sub 13-inch notebook is smaller than a proposed 15 to 17-inch Ultrabook, but is not that easy to carry around by itself. They almost always require the use of a bag for transportation, being too large to fit into a pocket. So if one has to carry around a bag, carrying one that fits an Ultrabook is hardly more of an inconvenience. With Ultrabooks also weighing in at less than 2kgs, transporting them isn’t really beyond what the average human is capable of, even if they need to be carried for extended periods of time.
Power, also a compromise
The Ultrabook will not rival a PC in the same price range, that is impossible. However, if the Ultrabook is powerful enough to complete all the tasks one requires from it, then it will find itself a market. With the next generation of Intel processors, Ultrabooks will be able to handle almost any requirement of a work environment. From Microsoft Office to Adobe Photoshop, the Ultrabook will meet any task. It might take slightly longer to deal with the more resource intensive tasks, but not so much that productivity will suffer.
There are many devices available for consumers who want an ultra-portable notebook at the expense of power. Similarly, there are a number of options for those who want power above all else. However, the market for an Ultrabook type of device is wide open, with only the latest MacBook Air offering anything remotely similar. If Ultrabook arrives, there is certainly a gap in the market that it can fill, however the success of such a device is almost exclusively based on price. If Ultrabooks can stick to Intel’s guideline price of $1,000, they have a chance of succeeding.
Loading ...