Acer, Asustek Computer and Toshiba are expected to lower retail prices for ultrabooks to below US$1,000 by the end of 2011, and with a US$100 marketing subsidy from Intel, prices may further drop 5-10% in first-quarter 2012, according to Taiwan-based supply chain makers.

Lenovo, Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba and Dell will launch ultrabooks starting mid-November, the sources indicated.

Although Intel hopes to keep retail prices below US$1,000, high costs for processors and SSDs make the target difficult, the sources said. In a 13-inch SSD-equipped model, the BOM (bill-of-materials) is estimated at US$690, OEM costs are US$100 and overall marketing/distribution costs US$150, resulting in a total of US$940, the sources indicated, adding, of key components, the CPU, 128GB SSD and panel cost US$175-200, US$140-150 and US$45-50, respectively.

Source:digitimes