Intel promotes ultra thins as better buy than Netbooks

During Intel’s earnings conference call on Tuesday Company CEO Paul Otellini described Ultra Thin Notebooks as “an affordable Notebook that has more functionality (than a Netbook)”.

intel metro laptop Intel promotes ultra thins as better buy than Netbooks

It’s no secret that Intel are keen to promote Consumer Ultra Low Voltage (CULV) Notebooks but it is kind of ironic that it is Intel’s own Atom chip that inhabits most of the cheap and cheerful Netbooks on the market.

Netbooks have blasted their way into the computer industry and have eaten away at chunks of the market; it seems everyone must have one or even two of these low cost devices for content consumption.

Have Netbooks eaten too big a share of Intel’s own notebook profits? Not according to Otellini.

“We’re talking about a total cannibalization that’s probably no more than 20 percent” he says.

So why is Intel pushing the Ultra Thins?

According to Otellini it’s simply because the Ultra Thin notebook will give people what they are missing in Netbooks.

“When people try to do 3D games on these things (Netbooks) or try to run their office applications on them, they tend to think it’s a bit slow and that isn’t just the processor, it’s the entire architecture” he said.

Ultra Thins occupy the space somewhere between a Netbook and a Laptop and these new generation devices do have more functionality than a typical standard Netbook.

They generally have larger screens around the 13 inch mark, larger keyboards and are low on power using Intel’s Ultra Low Power (ULV) chip. And yes, they do perform better than Netbooks.

Netbooks on the other hand tend to have smaller screens and keyboards and are based on Intel’s much cheaper lower performance Atom processor and by anyone’s standards, are extremely popular with the consumer. What’s really the better choice?

“Now, if you want a thin and light notebook, you don’t have to just pick a Netbook. You can pick an affordable notebook that has more functionality,” Otellini said.

The trouble is, when people see the higher price for these in-between notebooks they think they’re paying out their hard earned cash for a slightly larger Netbook and not a Notebook that has more functionality than a Netbook.

One final point worthy of a mention is that Ultra Thins give better returns, they are cheaper to make than the traditional laptops but are more profitable than Netbooks so it’s in Intel’s interests to promote them.

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