Sony Also Plans Ultrabook for Christmas Season

Just a few weeks before, Sony was skeptical about the production of an ultra-thin notebook based on Intel's Ultrabook plans, but it now seems like the company has changed its mind and is actually planning to release its own take on that concept until Christmas arrives.

Back then, Sony declined to provide a reason as to why it decided to not enter the Ultrabook market, but Notebook Italia reports that the Japanese giant it has now changed its mind.

Most probably, the company was concerned about the high production costs and low profit margins associated with such ultra-thin laptops, since Intel wants to them to retail for less than $1000 US (about 738 Euros).

In addition, Sony also released just a short while ago a new Z-series ultra-portable into its VAIO range of laptops, which also features an ultra-thin design (16.65mm) and high-performance hardware.

The only downside with the new VAIO Z is that its price was set at 1900 Euros (a bit less than $2700 US), more than twice the starting price of some Ultrabook models.

This includes the recently launched Acer's Aspire S3 as well as Asus Zenbooks notebooks, which are already available for purchase with prices starting at $899 (651 Euros) and $999 (723 Euros), respectively.

Despite the large price difference between Sony's latest Z-series ultra-thin and the Asus Zenbooks, the latter are just as tad taller than the VAIO notebook as they measure just 17mm at the thickest point.

In addition to the two Taiwanese laptop makers mentioned above, Lenovo and Toshiba are also building Ultrabooks of their own.

These will be soon joined by other top-tier manufacturers such as Dell and HP, according to Intel's CEO Paul Otellini.

Intel defined the Ultrabook as a laptop that combines high performance, excellent responsiveness and security in a slim and elegant chassis, all for sub $1000 US (although manufacturer have troubles reaching this last target).