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By Intel's definition a Mac Air IS AN ULTRABOOK (meets thickness, weight ...
Ultrabooks expected to roil chip markets
11/18/2011 5:22 PM EST
SAN FRANCISCO—The projected growth of ultrabooks—a low power type of notebook being pushed by Intel Corp.—will shake up several semiconductor markets, boosting the prospects of sensors and power and analog chips but decreasing the market opportunity for upgrade memory modules, according to market research firm IHS iSuppli.
IHS (El Segundo, Calif.) predicts that shipments of ultrabooks will rise to 136.5 million in 2015 from less than 1 million in 2011. By 2015, ultrabooks will account for 42 percent of notebook shipments, according to IHS.
The ultrabook's thin and light form factor requires changes in design and component selection compared to conventional mobile PCs, according to IHS. Though ultrabooks on the whole represent a huge new growth opportunity for chip suppliers, their rapid growth will cause major realignments among semiconductor frims serving the notebook markets, IHS predicted.
"In terms of usage of sensors, ultrabooks much more closely resemble media tablets than conventional notebooks," said Jérémie Bouchaud, principal analyst for MEMS and sensors at IHS.
While media tablets make extensive use of sensors, including MEMS devices like accelerometers and non-MEMS devices like compasses, conventional notebook PCs use very few sensors, Bouchaud said.
"With ultrabook shipments expected to rise to account for 42 percent of the notebook market by 2015, this represents a major growth opportunity for MEMS."
Another beneficiary of the ultrabooks’ increasing share of notebook shipments will be analog semiconductors, particularly power-management devices, according to IHS. The tiny size of ultrabooks will require more highly integrated power and analog components compared to conventional notebooks, the firm said.
"This will increase the value of power management electronics in each unit sold, boosting the opportunity for analog suppliers," said Marijana Vukicevic, senior principal analyst for power management at IHS.
The thin, media-tablet style of ultrabooks will be a detriment to the DRAM module market, particularly those used for memory upgrades, IHS said.
According to Clifford Leimbach, memory demand forecasting analyst at IHS, most ultrabooks now shipping have DRAM chips soldered directly onto the motherboard. This streamlines the design, but also eliminates the need for a traditional small outline dual in-line memory module DRAM module, Leimbach said.
Notebooks represent a key market for DRAM modules, both those built into the PCs and those purchased to upgrade memory capacity, IHS said. As ultrabooks account for a greater percentage of notebooks shipped, the upgrade DRAM module market will be negatively impacted, IHS said. While the reduction initially will be limited, the ultrabook in 2015 will reduce the number of upgrade notebook PC modules shipped by 13.5 percent, amounting to some 10.8 million units, according to IHS.
Ultrabooks are light, thin (less on 0.8 inches in thickness) notebooks with a full PC operating system like Microsoft Windows as well as features now commonly found in media tablets, such as instant-on activation, always-connected wireless links, solid state drives and battery lives longer than eight hours on a single charge. The machines are targeted to cost less than $1,000, but early models from Asus, Acer and others are more expensive, according to IHS.
IHS (El Segundo, Calif.) predicts that shipments of ultrabooks will rise to 136.5 million in 2015 from less than 1 million in 2011. By 2015, ultrabooks will account for 42 percent of notebook shipments, according to IHS.
The ultrabook's thin and light form factor requires changes in design and component selection compared to conventional mobile PCs, according to IHS. Though ultrabooks on the whole represent a huge new growth opportunity for chip suppliers, their rapid growth will cause major realignments among semiconductor frims serving the notebook markets, IHS predicted.
"In terms of usage of sensors, ultrabooks much more closely resemble media tablets than conventional notebooks," said Jérémie Bouchaud, principal analyst for MEMS and sensors at IHS.
While media tablets make extensive use of sensors, including MEMS devices like accelerometers and non-MEMS devices like compasses, conventional notebook PCs use very few sensors, Bouchaud said.
"With ultrabook shipments expected to rise to account for 42 percent of the notebook market by 2015, this represents a major growth opportunity for MEMS."
Another beneficiary of the ultrabooks’ increasing share of notebook shipments will be analog semiconductors, particularly power-management devices, according to IHS. The tiny size of ultrabooks will require more highly integrated power and analog components compared to conventional notebooks, the firm said.
"This will increase the value of power management electronics in each unit sold, boosting the opportunity for analog suppliers," said Marijana Vukicevic, senior principal analyst for power management at IHS.
The thin, media-tablet style of ultrabooks will be a detriment to the DRAM module market, particularly those used for memory upgrades, IHS said.
According to Clifford Leimbach, memory demand forecasting analyst at IHS, most ultrabooks now shipping have DRAM chips soldered directly onto the motherboard. This streamlines the design, but also eliminates the need for a traditional small outline dual in-line memory module DRAM module, Leimbach said.
Notebooks represent a key market for DRAM modules, both those built into the PCs and those purchased to upgrade memory capacity, IHS said. As ultrabooks account for a greater percentage of notebooks shipped, the upgrade DRAM module market will be negatively impacted, IHS said. While the reduction initially will be limited, the ultrabook in 2015 will reduce the number of upgrade notebook PC modules shipped by 13.5 percent, amounting to some 10.8 million units, according to IHS.
Ultrabooks are light, thin (less on 0.8 inches in thickness) notebooks with a full PC operating system like Microsoft Windows as well as features now commonly found in media tablets, such as instant-on activation, always-connected wireless links, solid state drives and battery lives longer than eight hours on a single charge. The machines are targeted to cost less than $1,000, but early models from Asus, Acer and others are more expensive, according to IHS.
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t.alex
11/18/2011 6:39 PM EST
Is this direct competition with Mac Book Air?
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wilber_xbox
11/21/2011 12:51 PM EST
maybe in terms of the price...
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Glasswire
1/15/2012 12:13 PM EST
By Intel's definition a Mac Air IS AN ULTRABOOK (meets thickness, weight requirements, uses Intel Core i3/5/7 processor, exceeds minimum battery life specs etc) - it's just the first one and Apple declines to pariticipate in Intel's marketing of UB
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resistion
11/18/2011 10:38 PM EST
Wow didn't see the negative DRAM impact coming.
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resistion
11/18/2011 10:43 PM EST
DRAM makers don't forget to thank Intel on your way out.
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daleste
11/19/2011 10:11 PM EST
Yes, there may be few upgrade modules purchased, since the tablets and ultrabooks aren't upgradable, but there will be more DRAM sold because this increases the OEM market. I don't understand this article. Overall, the DRAM market will grow.
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resistion
11/19/2011 10:31 PM EST
The loss of DRAM DIMMs may be a minor issue, compared to the threat from lower cost tablets like the Amazon Kindle Fire.
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yusufjamal
11/20/2011 12:06 AM EST
Ultrabook will cover up losses of Intel Processor business in Desktop segment.
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agk
11/21/2011 7:38 AM EST
Intel's initiative to bring out the chipset for the ultra PC to have instant-on activation, always-connected wireless links, solid state drives and battery life longer than eight hours on a single charge are very attractive and a good matching parameters liked by all the users. Sure this will create a new trend in the chip design and manufacturing. The developments are continually taking place so that there will be always new buyers and replacement buyers feeding the chain of engineering professionals.
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docdivakar
11/28/2011 2:24 AM EST
@agk: I am not sure so sure if this move by Intel is really growing its marketshare. There is a majoor %% of tablet market that has cannibalized the ultra lite laptops & netbooks (which were a bad idea in my opinion to begin with!). Intel being late as is to the tablet market may only see limited success.
When portable computing appliances evolve to a state where they don't need much of the traditional peripherals (like keyboards, mice, etc), one has to take a radically different approach to exploit that market. Intel has been late for that party and may never catchup ARM/TI.
MP Divakar
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chouban
11/21/2011 10:47 AM EST
i will never pay 1000$ for a PC No Way ...
max 400-500$
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Patk0317
11/21/2011 10:58 AM EST
The tablet market could make this ultra-book market disappear. If you have a tablet with a separate bluetooth enabled keyboard for those times you need a keyboard, then why would you need one of these ultra-books? Tablets are much easier to travel with.
The next gen of tablets will tell the tale.
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agk
11/25/2011 6:19 AM EST
Also instead of blue tooth key board a light rays projected keyboard from the tablet will be better. Any time ultra books will be more powerfull compared with tablets.
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Glasswire
1/15/2012 12:15 PM EST
If you had a full laptop for the weight and size of a tablet, why have a tablet? Esp if you had a hybrid design that was BOTH a clamshell and a tablet. Look more closely at what's coming, not what's past
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goafrit
11/21/2011 11:02 AM EST
How will this affect Intel stock price in coming years? Anyone understand this pattern. I am getting clueless how these technologies are changing. This Ultrabook just started and it seems to be getting hotter.
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wilber_xbox
11/21/2011 12:53 PM EST
Why has the cost of the ultrabook so much as compare to the PC or notebook. If the price remains in the range of $1000 then how will they compete with the notebook which are in the price range $600 or so?
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resistion
11/21/2011 8:21 PM EST
Good point. Could be an expensive (cost as much as tablet), high-end SSD inside.
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DrQuine
11/21/2011 1:46 PM EST
Ultrabooks sounds like a renaming of netbooks - and I'm not hearing much buzz about either of them. Today iPads seem to be taking over. In 4 years I'd guess they will have gained further functionality and be even stronger competitors. I wouldn't be betting on femto- giga- mega- ultra- net-books (whatever they are called then).
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VictorD
11/21/2011 2:10 PM EST
It'll be interesting to see how tablets will compete with ultrabooks, as tablet user that travel purchase a keyboard immediately, where the combined package is larger in volume than ultrabook, and unplug time is about the same.
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selinz
11/21/2011 5:44 PM EST
The only significant differentiator, IMHO, would be a different operating system. Otherwise, I agree with DrQuine--what's new?
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