Asus to launch 5-6 Intel-powered Ultrabooks in October

Asus will launch as many as six Ultrabooks in October, Asus chairman Jonney Shih said on Monday. The notebooks will offer screen sizes between 11.6-inches and 13.3-inches. Intel detailed its plans to introduce a new category of notebooks, which it dubbed “Ultrabooks” in May. The chip maker hopes the new category will dominate 40% of the consumer notebook market by the end of 2012 and says the devices will combine the performance of today’s laptops with a tablet-like experience. Earlier reports suggested that mass production of Ultrabooks will begin in September and Intel recently invested $300 million in an effort to speed up the process of creating the devices. The first such device to hit the market is largely expected to be the ASUS UX21. Acer, Asus and Lenovo have all detailed plans to launch sub-$1,000 Ultrabooks during the fourth quarter but Shih said the six from Asus will be priced between $900 and $2,000.

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