Asustek's Ultrabook Laptops Hit Market

Taipei, Oct. 26, 2011 (CENS)--The Taiwan-based Asustek Computer Inc., a globally top-5 PC vendor by market share, has started promoting Zenbook ultrabook laptops in the global market, challenging Apple's MacBook Air, with simultaneous presentations by the chairman Jonney Shih and CEO Jerry Shen in New York and Taipei, respectively, on Oct. 12.

Shen said plans are to launch five to six different models of Zenbook initially worldwide. Compared to MacBook Air that is priced at between US$999 and US$1599, Zenbook comes with screen sizes of 11.6 inches and 13.3 inches, and retails from US$799 to US1,999.

Perhaps inspired by its successful marketing strategy for Eee PC netbooks, Asustek regards ultrabook PCs as a new product category, dubbing them Zenbook to help differentiate from similar competitors, while setting Zenbook apart from its PC category can also reflect the company's dedication to promote such products, said industry insiders.

Zenbook is manufactured by Pegatron Corp., with housing supplied by Pegatron's reinvested company Ri-Teng Computer (Shanghai) Ltd., whose launch also benefits Chicony Electronics Co. (keypads), Shin Zu Shing Co. (hinges), Aces Electronics Co., Ltd. (connectors) and Delta Electronics Inc. (power supplies).

The ultrabook boom has clearly swept the global PC industry. Earlier than Asustek's Zenbook, Acer Inc.'s Aspire S3 was launched at the end of September as the first ultrabook laptop, with a 13.3-inch screen and sells for US$899.

Lenovo's IdeaPad 300s and Toshiba's Ultrabook Z830 will also be launched in November, with Hewlett-Packard's model expected to debut by the end of this year.

Ultrabook PC Launches This Year
Supplier	Model	AvailableScreen Size	SellingPrice
Acer	AspireS3	13.3inches	US$899
Asustek	Zenbook	11.6,13.3 inches	US$799to US$1999
Lenovo	IdeaPadU300s	13.3inches	US$1199
Toshiba	PortegeZ830	13.3inches	AboutUS$1000
Samsung	Series9	11.6,13.3 inches	US$1149to US$1599

Source: each supplier