It would be a pity for ASUS to switch to ultrabooks and neglect tablets, but it seems that this is their intention for the future… Acer also has a similar direction, so this ultrabook thingie is getting trendy, with the likes of LG and Sony also drooling at this segment and wanting its crown. I say that it’s a pity for ASUS, since they’ve been making some of the most original tablets on the market…
Also, the ultrabooks aren’t always the most affordable or comfortable to use products, I have to admit. Gross margins on notebooks have been less than 4% in the last quarter and it seems that the figure will increase in 2012. You know why? Because of ASUS and Acer and their newfound passion for ultrabooks… It might not be that bad after all, since both companies could give up regular PCs or laptops and focus completely on ultrabooks and tablets. At some point, seeing that the likes of Amazon, Apple and Samsung are taking over the tablet market, both brands might back from the slates segment and be happy with owning the ultrabook area.
Right now hard drive shortage has a toll on prices, but once production resumes and Intel releases Ivy Bridge, plus Microsoft launches Windows 8, there will be an entirely new ball game on the portable PC market. Pricing should also be decent by then… especially since I consider the ASUS Zenbook line overpriced.
