Ocean Chen, Taipei; Joseph Tsai

 

As Intel's latest Ivy Bridge processor is set to launch in the near future, retail channels in Taiwan reportedly expect to see a wave of price drops by the end of March or early April ranging around 20%, according to sources from channel retailers.

With vendors dropping their Sandy Bridge notebook prices, the sources expect vendors will also start working on clearing up their existing ultrabook inventories which should help boost demand in the PC market.

The sources noted that an Intel Core i5-level ultrabook with 500GB hybrid hard drive is currently priced at about NT$28,000-30,000 (US$947-1,014) and the same level model with a solid state drive can reach more than NT$35,000.

With the price drop, the price of an entry-level Core i5 ultrabook may hit below NT$25,000 with Core i3 models to reach just NT$22,000.

Since IT players in Taiwan will also host a spring sales show in April, it should greatly help reduce notebook vendors' inventories before the launch of Ivy Bridge.