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Intel has reportedly rejected calls for cheaper ultrabook processors as notebook manufacturers struggle to hit Intel’s sub $1,000 price tag.
Citing sources within the notebook manufacturing industry, the DigiTimes reported that Intel will only go as far as dropping the low-power high-performance processors by 20 per cent and only for the top-tier notebook manufacturers.
The manufacturers complained that Intel’s pricing would reduce the competitive edge of the ultrabook platform, invoking the tablet scenario where Intel’sOak Trail platform of Z670 CPU and SM35 chipset costs US$95, much more than an ARM-based chipset such as Nvidia’s $20 Tegra 2.
ARM-based processors dominated in the tablet category. The processors Intel is advancing for the firm’s thin ultrabook category start at US$250 and go up to $317.
While Intel is keen to maintain CPU margins, if manufacturers don’t come to market with Intel-based super thin notebooks in force then the market may well be left open for ARM tablets-with-keyboards to gain a foothold first.
