PC Makers Embracing Ultrabooks
By BRIAN X. CHEN
NYT
LAS VEGAS — As the sales of personal computers slow — whether because of a weak world economy or the popularity of the iPad — PC makers have been looking for the next big thing to jolt buyers and increase profit margins.
They are doing what they have done so many times before: taking a sidelong glance at what Apple has done. They have reason to take notice. Data from the research firms IDC and Gartner shows that the PC shipments of Hewlett-Packard and Acer, two of the world’s largest PC makers, declined in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared with the same period a year ago. Shipments by Apple, on the other hand, rose roughly 20 percent in that quarter, according to estimates from both research firms.
Helping to drive Apple’s growth is its MacBook Air, a laptop computer that measures less than an inch thick and weighs under three pounds. In late 2010, Apple reduced the base price of the Air to $1,000, down from its original $1,800 price tag.
So what did the PC makers introduce last week here at the International Consumer Electronics Show? Ultrabooks, thin laptop computers built with a new Intel low-power chip and solid-state storage that replaces the bulkier mechanical hard drive.
(More here.)
NYT
LAS VEGAS — As the sales of personal computers slow — whether because of a weak world economy or the popularity of the iPad — PC makers have been looking for the next big thing to jolt buyers and increase profit margins.
They are doing what they have done so many times before: taking a sidelong glance at what Apple has done. They have reason to take notice. Data from the research firms IDC and Gartner shows that the PC shipments of Hewlett-Packard and Acer, two of the world’s largest PC makers, declined in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared with the same period a year ago. Shipments by Apple, on the other hand, rose roughly 20 percent in that quarter, according to estimates from both research firms.
Helping to drive Apple’s growth is its MacBook Air, a laptop computer that measures less than an inch thick and weighs under three pounds. In late 2010, Apple reduced the base price of the Air to $1,000, down from its original $1,800 price tag.
So what did the PC makers introduce last week here at the International Consumer Electronics Show? Ultrabooks, thin laptop computers built with a new Intel low-power chip and solid-state storage that replaces the bulkier mechanical hard drive.
(More here.)
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