I'm not sure Intel
The chip giant is launching a whole new style of thin and light notebooks amid great pomp and circumstance. Intel aims to push this form factor into about 40% of all new notebooks sold the near future. If the Apple
Pricing is a crucial part of that puzzle, and Intel wants ultrabooks shipping below the magical $1,000 benchmark. But you know, ultralight LCD screens are expensive. So are space-saving solid state drives. And then Intel expects to make a large profit on the central processors? Sure, Apple can squeeze the Air down to $999, but Cupertino is notoriously efficient and doesn't pay Microsoft for an operating system.
"Forget it," say at least two Asian system builders. Acer Taiwan and Compal Electronics are asking Intel to lower prices on its ultrabook-bound Core chips, according to Taiwanese tech watcher DigiTimes. Compal who? The Chinese systems builder actually makes many of the systems you buy under the Dell
If not, they might settle for lower-priced Cores, maybe even low-power Atoms. Or -- perish the thought -- just take the general architecture of the ultrabook over to Intel's arch-rival Advanced Micro Devices
Then what do we have? In the worst-case scenario, Intel will have angered Apple (don't forget that the Macbook Air runs on Intel chips, too!) and sent other partners straight to the competition. Less drastically, Intel would drop its selling prices and margins. Or, the whole ultrabook idea could just flop in the face of Apple's terrific execution.
I don't see any fantastic outcomes for Intel here, as the options range from bad to worse to disastrous. Back to the lab again, folks -- this is not how you win Mr. Softy's love back, or how you juice product margins. Maybe CEO Paul Otellini should watch this free video report to see how the competitive landscape is changing under his feet. Go ahead and watch it right along with Paul.