CNETAnalysis: Intel will be pleased to hear that Acer, Asus and Toshiba may be able to lower the prices of Ultrabooks in the first quarter of 2012. Supply chain sources told Digitimes that prices will fall between 5 and 10 per cent early in the year, potentially taking the prices under $1,000 in the US as Intel has always dreamed. In a 13-inch Ultrabook, the tech site estimates the cost of all the components to come in at around $700, with solid state drives and software licensing pushing the prices ever sky-wards. Ultrapricey The processor company introduced the ‘Ultrabook’ category to refer to powerful, slim, stylish non-Mac laptops that are meant to challenge the MacBook Air . Apple has always had the edge on price, though – manufacturers have found it difficult to come down as low as $1,000 (the equivalent of £635), with the cream of the crop, the Asus Zenbook, coming in at $1,099. Here in the UK, the Asus Zenbook UX31 , is on the market at £999 – and it is rather lovely, as you’ll see from our full TechRadar review . The CEA – which runs CES – told TechRadar recently that it is predicting that 30-50 new Ultrabooks will be announced at the show in January. Related Stories Samsung may quit netbook market in 2012 Posted by: Maryum
