Shipments of ultrabook by Acer and Asustek Computer are expected to reach 100,000 units each by the end of 2011, falling short of their targets of 200,000-300,000 units, due to relatively high prices, according to sources at channels.

In Taiwan, the price of 11.6- and 13.3-inch ultrabooks from Asustek range from NT$36,000 (US$1,205) to NT$50,000, but the US$1,000 models sold in the US market are not available. Such a price strategy falls short of consumer expectations, said the sources.

Acer's 13.3-inch Aspire S3 is available at NT$32,900 (US$1,101) in the Taiwan market, which is still about US$100 higher than the price set for comparable MacBook Air models, the sources indicated. Additionally, the hardware speculations of the Aspire S3 are not really prominent, undermining consumers' willingness to try the model.

Due to unclear market demand for the new notebooks, Acer and Asustek have yet to ramp up orders, the sources revealed.

Ultrabooks may account for 10% of the entire notebook market in March-April 2012 when branded notebook vendors begin to release Ivy Bridge-based models, with the ratio likely to move up to 20-30% powered by Windows 8 in the fourth quarter of 2012, estimated the sources.

Source:digitimes