Thanks to the design issue that has provoked a recall of their recently released 6-series Cougar Point chipset, sources in Taiwan are now stating that vendors are likely to drop the prices of notebook computers in the 2nd quarter of 2011. If you’re considering buying a notebook now, you may want to wait a couple of months.
The interruption in Intel’s production schedule for the 6-series chipsets, which began at the end of January, has caused delays in the planned launch schedules for Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 laptop computer models. Since factories are not expected to be back on track with Cougar Point shipments until April, affected models that vendors had planned to ship in stages from March through May will, instead, likely come in larger shipments later in that time frame.
In order to meet sales goals that have already been set for 2011, vendors are going to have to price systems to move once they’re available in an attempt to make up for the lost time.
Vendors are going to be struggling to keep the average selling price (ASP) of the high-end Core i7 models as high as they can though consumer demand for them is low, because the price of those units will set the bar for pricing on the entry-level Core i3 and mid-range Core i5 models, sources told the DigiTimes this week. Later arrivals will mean mounting pressure on vendors to lower ASPs.
Intel has promised to reimburse motherboard manufacturers for costs associated with production and shipping of the defective chipsets, but it is unclear if computer vendors will also receive compensation for their losses. Repairs and replacements alone are expected to cost Intel over 700 million dollars.
It looks as though consumers, with the exception of early adopters who purchased 6-series chipset-based models during the short time they were available in January, may just be the only ones who will eventually benefit from this mess.
Look for notebook prices to come down during April or May, once vendors are flooded with their late shipments. Prices could stay low throughout the year if vendors have a tough time moving units.
