Aaron Lee, Taipei; Joseph Tsai

 

Intel has recently been aggressively cooperating with notebook chassis suppliers hoping to achieve the goal of dropping Ultrabook prices to below US$1,000, and Intel is currently focusing on pushing plastic and fiberglass hybrid chassis for the new machines, according to sources from the PC supply chain.

The sources pointed out that magnesium-aluminum alloy chassis are still the top choice for Ultrabooks, but limited by capacity and price, most of brand vendors are unable to offer an end price below the targeted US$1,000, and the three already-launched Ultrabooks from Acer, Lenovo and Toshiba are all estimated to have end price higher.

The sources also revealed that at one of Intel's recent supply chain conferences, Intel invited fiberglass chassis supplier Mitac Technology to participate and even had personnel from Mitac on stage to explain the technology which most of the attending suppliers believe is an indication for brand vendors to adopt the chassis.

The sources also noted that Intel knew that pricing will be key to whether Ultrabooks will become the new spotlight in the IT market and therefore, has decided to work directly with upstream suppliers to reduce component costs.

Commenting about its fiberglass chassis, Mitac pointed out that the surface of fiberglass chassis can be printed with methods such as in-mold roller (IMR) or spray paint, and is more variant than anodic treatment method used for metal chassis, while the cost is also 50% lower than for magnesium-aluminum alloy chassis.

The sources pointed out that Mitac has already landed orders from Acer, Asustek and Lenovo, and will start shipping in the fourth quarter; however, Mitac has declined to comment about its clients.