CES 2012: Sony Presents VAIO Ultrabook Concept

Sony is one of the few major notebook manufacturers that so far didn’t launch an Ultrabook laptop of its own, but at this year’s CES fair the company has showcased a concept device that follows Intel’s Ultrabook guidelines.

The concept, which was caught on camera by The Verge, was ensconced in a glass case and wasn’t accompanied by any specs, so we don’t know all that much about it, except that it looks a like a thicker version of the company’s VAIO Z.

However, being an Ultrabook, the Sony concept should feature one of Intel’s ultra-low voltage (ULV) Sandy Bridge, or the upcoming Ivy Bridge, processors as well as SSD or hybrid storage, all for under $1,000 US (roughly 783 EUR).

The company’s VAIO Z already fits some of these characteristics, but with a base price of 1900 Euros (a bit less than $2700 US), this is almost three times as much as some Ultrabook models already available out there.

Shortly after Intel announced its Ultrabook concept, a lot of voices in the industry have started complaining about the high costs associated with the fabrication of such notebooks.

Intel's Ultrabook guidelines require manufacturers to use a unibody design for the chassis, as well as built-in high-density li-polymer batteries, to significantly reduce weight and size, while some of the components have to be soldered directly on the system mainboard.

What this means is that notebook makers had to completely change their existing production process, which is based on a modular approach, resulting in added training and retooling costs.

However, despite all the hurdles which manufacturers needed to surpass in order to develop such ultra-thin laptops, almost every notebook maker in the industry has come out with an Ultrabook model of its own, including Dell, HP, Lenovo, Asus and Acer, to name just a few (in no particular order).