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Intel Ultrabooks: Awaiting A Windows 8 Notebook Jumpstart?

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http://www.thevarguy.com – PC sales in the second quarter of 2012 were flat, according to the latest Gartner data. And sales of Ultrabooks, which adhere to an Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) design specification, appear to be off to a slow start. But let’s not press the panic button yet. Business-centric Ultrabooks, many of which seek to counter Apple MacBook Air, really didn’t enter the business market until a few weeks ago. And the pairing of Windows 8 with Ultrabooks — from ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Sony and others — could provide a sales lift later this year. The VAR Guy has recommended the following guid (IT news)

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Submitted by niaobid on 07/12/2012 – Made popular on 07/12/2012

Stories similar to Intel Ultrabooks: Awaiting A Windows 8 Notebook Jumpstart?

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) has cut its full-year profit outlook, the latest indication that Windows 8, Ultrabooks and other innovations won’t fully lift the PC industry out of an economic funk.

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) will require 4th generation core ultrabooks, coming later this year, to have touch capabilities. Moreover,  Intel expects touch-based ultrabooks running Windows 8 to cost less than $599 by the end of 2013. Are those two data points enough to spark corporate demand for ultrabooks?

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is making its latest Ultrabook pitch to Tech Data (NASDAQ: TECD) channel partners during a conference today in Orlando. “The entire ecosystem is rallying around Ultrabook to deliver solutions,” asserted David Allen, director, distribution and DMR sales, North America, Intel.

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is expected to announce Q2 2012 results on July 17. Intel’s Q2 profits and revenues (and the company’s longer-term business forecast) could give channel partners new clues about how to potentially prepare for Windows 8, Ultrabooks and other emerging markets.

Lenovo has nearly overtaken Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) in PC sales. Still, the bigger story involves flat PC demand as iPad sales boom; the wait for Windows 8; and potential PC maker defections from Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) to ARM Holdings (NASDAQgs: ARMH).

Are initial Windows 8 sales (across PCs, notebooks and ultrabooks) disappointing or booming? That depends on whom you ask. The VAR Guy is watching the situation closely and reminding readers: Windows 8′s potential success will involve a marathon rather than sprint.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) could provide new clues about Windows 8 Ultrabook and PC sales when the chip giant announces Q4 2012 earnings on January 17. Intel may also offer an update on its CEO succession plan. Current CEO Paul Otellini is (pictured) set to retire in May 2013, the company disclosed back in November 2012. So how is Intel — and its ecosystem of PC partners — performing?

Written by: Peter Dinham | Published in: Cloud ServicesGlobal sales of ultrabooks are set to explode over the next five years, despite the current “prohibitively expensive” cost of purchasing them, according to a new industry survey, which also predicts that sales will hit a high of 148.7 million by 2016, up from just 1.3 million sold last year – a massive jump of 109 percent.

If there was any doubt that the steady, persistent slide in PC sales was permanent, Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) confirmed plans to exit the desktop PC motherboard business by 2016, closing up shop on the platform once its Haswell chip launches this summer in favor of circuitry for mobile devices including ultrabooks, tablets and smartphones and emerging designs such as its Next Unit of Computing platform