Apple is famous for its ability to first find the best market-based solutions, and the selection of suppliers of components of the equipment is guided by the same principle. Recently it became known that its competitors are trying to repeat the successful technology solutions kupertinovtsev faced with another difficulty: the choice of a suitable solid metal housing manufacturer of notebooks.
The famous chip maker Intel and its partners - the PC manufacturers are in the "active search" for new materials to create a new body thin and light notebooks " Ultrabook ". According to DigiTimes, they must seek alternatives, because Apple already controls most of the capacity of the relevant market.
The most likely was the original version of that body Ultrabook will be made of magnesium - aluminum alloy, which is ideal for creating ultra-thin notebook design thickness of 0.8 inches. But for the finalization of solid magnesium - aluminum hulls require expensive special lathes - that their market has significant limitations.
In view of the high cost of these machines afford to equip their power they could only a few companies in the world. In Taiwan's Foxconn and Catcher Technology with about 10 thousand of these machines for processing of solid metal structures. Both of these companies are already working with Apple - in the end producers Ultrabook still fight for the remaining production machines owners.
They say that now, Intel's partners exploring the use of fiberglass instead of magnesium - aluminum alloy to create ultra-thin one-piece body. There is evidence that the three manufacturers have agreed to Ultrabook such a decision.
Cost of such a body of fiberglass below ($ 5 - $ 10 for one segment, an average of $ 20 for the whole body) as compared to the cost of magnesium-aluminum alloy, and in retail, the savings will lead to a significant reduction of consumer prices ($ 50 - $ 100) . Approximate calculation, based on figures Mitak Precision - Taiwanese manufacturer of fiberglass.
In addition to the report DigiTimes, there are other details of the competition with Ultrabook Apple MacBook Air in terms of the cost of ultra-thin notebooks. Intel is trying to do everything to cost less than new Ultrabook $ 1,000, but some of the existing models exceed this price threshold - for example, a product from Asustek 13.3-inch UX31 worth at least $ 1,600.
Intel designed the Ultrabook in response to Apple MacBook Air, the popular series of thin and light notebooks apple. To succeed in this niche market, the price of the product must be three-digit number (ie $ 1,000), its thickness should be less than 20 mm, and the whole "Tablet functions" imply a combination of "thin, light and elegant design" .
Last month, Apple updated its line of MacBook Air, adding them to the latest generation of Intel's Sandy Bridge, keyboard backlighting, and new high-speed input port - output Thunderbolt. Price "younger" model at $ 999 was so successful that Apple decided to discontinue the "legendary" white MacBook, which sold for the same price.
