Dell's ultrabook signals new form for PC makers

Major PC makers are jumping on the lightweight laptop bandwagon, hoping to shrug off the impact of mobile devices as they seek to return to the days of double-digit growth. Dell yesterday launched its first ‘ultrabook' — the XPS 13 — looking to cash in on the popularity of thin and light Windows 7 laptops. "Users are using the same computing device for both work and personal purposes, or influencing their IT department's device purchasing decision," Pearce Clune, marketing director, EMEA Product Strategy, told Gulf News on the sidelines of a press conference. He said the increasing mobility of professionals and the design-savvy, entrepreneurial market within the Middle East makes the system all the more popular. The ultrabook comes with a solid-state drive. Its Windows 7 operating system boots in less than seven seconds and weighs just 1.38 kilos. Khaldoun Aboul Saoud, Intel's regional manager for markets development, said ultrabooks can replace the need for as laptop and a tablet. The ultrabook is a powerful PC that is as cool as a tablet, he said. Fouad Rafiq Charakla, research manager at IDC Middle East, Africa and Turkey, said ultrabooks haven't picked up momentum so far. Growth is also highly dependent on price. Demand is expected to rise only if prices fall below $800 (Dh2,937). "Windows 8 will be a massive driver for ultrabooks when Microsoft and Intel's next-gen Ivy Bridge chips are released later this year," Daniel Ashdown, research analyst at Juniper Research, said. He said that ultrabooks will achieve over 40 per cent market share by 2015. The devices are aiming for 43 per cent of global notebook PC shipments in 2015. From gulfnews