Ultrabooks are set to light the notebook market ablaze, but the two largest PC makers are arriving fashionably late. A Digitimes report collaborates earlier rumors that HP and Dell do not plan on releasing ultrabooks anytime soon. This puts Acer, Asus, Toshiba and Lenovo in particularly prime positions to stake claim in what could become a pivotal market. But they better get while the getting is good. You can bet that HP and Dell are going to eventually bust through the ultrabook wall Kool-Aid man-style.
The Digitimes report puts HP releasing its first ultrabook at the end of 2011 while Dell will do so in the first quarter of 2012. Reportedly, Dell will use CES 2012 to announce its expected 14-inch model. HP will presumably announce additional models at CES, as well.
The delayed launch is rather smart. The first crop of ultrabooks hitting in the coming weeks are built on Intel’s current Sandy Bridge CPU architecture, which while plenty powerful, do not feature the advance power management found in the upcoming Ivy Bridge CPUs. HP and Dell are likely waiting Intel launches the new CPU platform later this year as well as watching the public’s reception of the first batch of ultrabooks. The average consumer should probably take the hint and wait as well.