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"If the current market trend continues, tablet sales may exceed PC sales by 2016, and they hope Ultrabook can reverse the trend," he said.
The "Ivy Bridge" processors use the 22-nanometer process technology that allows for more powerful and electricity-efficient computing devices than the typical tablet. It will employ Microsoft much ballyhooed Windows 8 software once that debuts later this year. Su said the Ultrabook's success depends to a large extent on how well Windows 8 is received.
Ultrabooks were first sold in the final quarter of last year. The hybrid model is a creation of the decades-old alliance between Taiwan and technology giants Intel and Microsoft.Using Intel chips and Windows software, Taiwanese makers produce more than 90 percent of the laptops sold in the world, for global brands including Apple, Hewlett-Packard and Dell . Almost all the units are assembled in China.
Acer, Taiwan's largest computer vendor, predicts Ultrabook will account for up to 20 percent of its total PC shipments toward the final quarter this year. But its executives declined to make longer term forecasts, citing the market's volatility and the sputtering global economy.
"Ultrabook sales are gaining momentum, and with the new Windows software, it will give users a touch screen experience that's equal to or excels that of tablets currently in the market," said Henry Wang of Acer.
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