Apple sold 1.2M MacBook Airs over holidays, new models with Ivy Bridge loom
Apple is said to have sold 1.2 million of its thin-and-light MacBook Air over the holiday buying season, as competing PC makers hope to steal some of Apple's thunder by unveiling their own "Ultrabooks" at this week's Consumer Electronics Show.
Apple's 1.2 million MacBook Airs reportedly sold in the December quarter was than Apple achieved in the September quarter, according to DigiTimes. That made Apple the only vendor that managed to maintain its total notebook shipments from the third quarter to the fourth of calendar 2011.
While Apple's performance over the holidays was strong, companies like Asus and Lenovo were hit hard by a hard drive shortage caused by devastating floods in Thailand. Asustek Computer was the hardest hit, with notebook shipments dropping 12.4 percent, while the industry average was said to be between 5 percent and 7 percent.
Another strong performance for the MacBook Air comes as Apple is expected to refresh the ultraportable notebook line in the coming months with Intel's next-generation Ivy Bridge processors. DigiTimes reiterated on Monday to refresh the MacBook Air lineup once Ivy Bridge chips debut.
Competing PC makers hope to replicate some of Apple's MacBook Air success with their own notebooks based on the "Ultrabook" specification from Intel. New Ultrabooks will also sport Ivy Bridge processors, but companies like Lenovo, Acer and Toshiba reportedly plan to price comparable models $50 to $100 below Apple's MacBook Air pricing.
Ultrabooks will be a major part of this week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nev., which Apple is not attending. Acer has already unveiled the new Aspire S5 Ultrabook at its CES press conference, touting it as "the world's thinnest Ultrabook," set to launch in the second quarter of 2012.
The Aspire S5 will weigh in under 3 pounds, and is 15mm thick at its widest point, compared to 17mm for the MacBook Air. It will also feature a 13.3-inch screen, matching Apple's high-end model but not competing with the entry-level 11.6-inch MacBook Air.
Analyst Brian Marshall with ISI Group reacted to Acer's unveiling of the new Aspire S5 in a note to investors on Monday, stating he believes Apple's MacBook Air will maintain its market share lead. But he said new Windows Ultrabook models unveiled at CES could challenge Apple going forward.
"While details on pricing and specifications/configurations are still light, we believe the Aspire S5's ultra-thin and light form factor make it a solid entry in the Ultrabook category, especially if priced between ~$1,000-1300 as some media outlets are suggesting," Marshall wrote.
Comments
When it comes to wintel machines, you can put lipstick on a pig but it is still a pig.
As long as they actually start making some Thunderbolt computers, I'm fine with them being nothing BUT a Thunderbolt port and congealed lipstick in the shape of a laptop.
It must be a terribly unsatisfying job working in R&D ( AKA Ripp-Off & Doppelgang) for these 'competing' PC makers!
Seriously, how is that not a MacBook Air? Oh right, the Windows logo on the option key!
From this picture it does not seem to be wedge-shaped...
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget....-ultrabook.jpg
no, not wedge shaped.
Would also be very interesting to get the resolution on this one, as Acer has also shown a 10.1 1920x1200 tablet.
Still will not buy Acer, but when they can build it...others can and will too
Oh my, that looks like a black macbook air.
The trackpad on the MacBook Airs and Pros is top quality and a pleasure to use. I wonder how these UltraBook trackpads will compare.
Even Acer and others undercut MacBook Air prices, will they come with anything like the iLife suite of applications?
Doesn't sound like product originality goes beyond that of Cupertino CA.
It's really laughable. All of these companies should just fire their R&D teams, and sit and wait for Apple to make another move. Sony, LG, and Sharp, sit back to see what Apple will come up with in a television set. Dell, HP, and Toshiba, all sit back and see what Apple will do on the laptop front. Samsung, Google, and Motorola, all sit back and see what Apple will do on the iPad front. Microsoft copied Apple back in the 70's, and are in full swing to do it again with Windows 8.
Doesn't sound like product originality goes beyond that of Cupertino CA.
Which R&D team developed the Plasma,LED displays and OLED displays. Pretty major component of the tv
Which R&D team developed the chipsets and all hardware in your laptop ?
Also, if you think windows 8 is a copy of something from Apple, you have never seen 1 second of it.
There are a lot of areas where Apple shines, but please be objective and don't stretch it to 100%
Doesn't sound like product originality goes beyond that of Cupertino CA.
Breaking news! This just in to our news desk, Microsoft is building a new campus in Redmond. Apparently it's going to be a huge square ring, larger than the Pentagon. When asked about the new building, C.E.O. Steve Ballmer had this to say,
"It's hip."
More on this as it develops.
The Aspire S5 will weigh in under 3 pounds, and is 15mm thick at its widest point, compared to 17mm for the MacBook Air. It will also feature a 13.3-inch screen, matching Apple's high-end model but not competing with the entry-level 11.6-inch MacBook Air.
It will also be ultrathin plastic versus unibody aluminum. 'Nuff said.
As long as they actually start making some Thunderbolt computers, I'm fine with them being nothing BUT a Thunderbolt port and congealed lipstick in the shape of a laptop.
This article didn't state it but Acer is adding Thunderbolt. I'm not sure why they would ignore that it shows a definite interest in the technology.
If the size of the "ultrabook" market might be 5MM units per year... why all the fuss? It really seems like Apple's competitors are chasing where the ball was.
5 million? Apple will sell more than 5 million alone and with ultrabooks finally undercutting Apple's prices perhaps we can assume they will sell in unit ratios equal to the notebook market as a whole. So about 50 million total?
It must be a terribly unsatisfying job working in R&D ( AKA Ripp-Off & Doppelgang) for these 'competing' PC makers!
The trackpad on the MacBook Airs and Pros is top quality and a pleasure to use. I wonder how these UltraBook trackpads will compare.
Even Acer and others undercut MacBook Air prices, will they come with anything like the iLife suite of applications?
So far the drivers have been far from great but they newer ones I've used have been better than the reviews of the first HP Envy's which stated you have to use an external mouse to make your notebook functional.
I hope they are good but Vizio and Acer both have AIOs that use a large trackpad over a traditional style mouse. If they are going to go that route I surely hope they have figured it out or they'll be getting a lot of returns.
PS: Not surprisingly Thunderbolt's based devices is all throughout CES.
Oh my, that looks like a black macbook air.
The hinges between the body and the screen are different - so clearly they were not even inspired by the MacBook Air - but rather came up with this deign entirely on their own based on its merits and appeal to the consumer demand, right? right? where did all those damn crickets come from all of a sudden?
So if I was in the market for a MacBook Air over the next month or so, would I regret not waiting until May/June? That is, is Ivy Bridge just a minor speed bump or something revolutionary? I don't really want to wait five or six months unless it's going to be something really special as opposed to an increase in speed from (say) 1.8ghz to 2.0ghz.
D
I'm looking forward to Retina Display in iMac and iPad although to be honest in my current 27" iMac, I can't see pixels too well already.
So if I was in the market for a MacBook Air over the next month or so, would I regret not waiting until May/June? That is, is Ivy Bridge just a minor speed bump or something revolutionary? I don't really want to wait five or six months unless it's going to be something really special as opposed to an increase in speed from (say) 1.8ghz to 2.0ghz.
D
Ivy Bridge will boost the graphics speeds by about 50%, and CPU power by about 30% while reducing power output (improving battery life). It is a bigger deal if you like to play games.