IDC says European consumers are shunning ultrabooks

INDUSTRY WATCHER IDC reports that ultrabooks are being shunned by European consumers despite Intel's marketing spending.

Intel has set aside $300m to market ultrabooks that have svelt designs and promise all day battery life, two factors that should make the units popular with punters. However IDC says that consumers are shunning ultrabooks, favouring smartphones and tablets instead of buying ultrabooks that look very much like four year old Apple Macbook Air laptops.

IDC wasn't very keen on ultrabooks, saying that the market is sensitive to prices - meaning that vendors will have to cut prices to tempt punters. The firm said the impending launch of Microsoft's Windows 8 will see OEMs push revamped ultrabook designs.

Intel's ultrabook drive isn't all about marketing, with the firm championing with its own money the use of solid-state drives and better screens in laptops. Even with Intel's millions spent, the biggest problem is that companies such as Dell, with its impressive XPS 13 ultrabook, simply cannot undercut the equally impressive Macbook Air.

Previously NPD said that ultrabooks were gaining popularity in the US premium laptop market, accounting for 15 per cent of laptops sold that cost more than $700. However it seems that IDC's European data suggests that laptop makers are not enjoying the same sort of success across the Atlantic. µ