Acer: ultrabooks shipments to increase in 2012

Following the CES announcement that its thinnest and most powerful notebook to date – the Aspire S5 – would be available this summer, Acer Chairman JT Wang has confirmed cutting-edge ultrabooks will represent more than a quarter of the company’s PC notebook business this year.

Taiwanese insider publication DigiTimes revealed that Wang is slowly placing Acer’s eggs into the ultrabook basket. According to the site, the executive said global numbers for the device will comprise up to 35 percent of the company’s total 2012 notebook shipments. Normal notebooks shipments, meanwhile, are set to fall at least 10 percent, Wang added.

This year is shaping up to be the year of the ultrabook, with dozens of new models announced this month and the next-gen Intel processor Ivy Bridge set to debut. Analysts are buzzing.

“Ultrabooks show some much needed, and long overdue, innovation in the notebook market and will pose a new threat to premium pads,” said Tim Coulling, Canalys analyst. “With increased battery life and portability, the continued development of the Ultrabook will bring some of the features that consumers love about pads to the notebook space.”

Total ultrabook shipments will hit 29 million by the end of the year, said Dale Ford, head of electronics and semiconductor research at IHS.

“The arrival of Intel Corp.’s standard means the ultrabook will proliferate beyond Apple Inc.’s MacBook Air and start to move into the mainstream,” Ford said. “This is the start of a long-term trend that will have major repercussions on the technology value chain for years to come.”

Acer President Jim Wong said last month that the company will cut prices on its Aspire S3 ultrabook to $799-$899 this summer, coinciding with the release of the new S5 model. An iPad-esque price tag of $499 won’t grace ultrabooks until 2013, Wong said.