Dell, HP Dragging Down CULV Notebook Sales?

Dell, HP Dragging Down CULV Notebook Sales?

Acer's chairmen said in a DigiTimes report that HP and Dell are not pushing ultra-thin notebooks hard enough, which is hurting the market for them. Wang believes that ultra-thin notebooks (such as the Toshiba Satellite L135 and Dell Inspiron 14z/15z) based on Intel's Consumer Ultra Low Voltage (CULV) platform are the future of the notebook market. Their market penetration is being held back by HP and Dell lowering their low-end notebook prices to $399, he claims. Acer plans to push its ultra-thin CULV notebooks early this spring; Wang believes the ultra-thin CULV market can grow up to 30% of the total notebook market. The company expects ultra-thin notebook sales to account for 30% of its total notebook shipments in 2010.

Full Story (DigiTimes.com)

 

Translation: HP and Dell are selling full-fledged notebooks for the same price Acer is selling netbooks, and that makes Acer sad.

 

C'mon ... couldn't this be seen as an opportunity for other companies instead?

 

I prefer a full C2D for the price of the CULV, but indeed Dell and HP are not plagued with tons of these little machines, like other manufacturers...

 

i know why you guys hate atom netbooks, but what's wrong with culvs? they perform okay, the dual core versions anyway.

 

That's hilarious, I can't imagine this fellow would truly believe Acer is being hurt because Dell and HP aren't competing with the same product lineup. I'm sure Dell and HP have their own view of the market and how they think they can succeed, if Acer sees it differently and they're sure they're right then obviously they'd steal business from HP and Dell who (according to this Acer Chairman) are getting it wrong.

 

Look where Dell's at now...

 

Well it's just an opinion of one guy. If Acer thinks CULVs are the future, then they should promote them more at lower prices to compete with the lower priced notebooks. CULVs still have the advantage of battery life compared to 90% of notebooks and they hold enough power for most average consumers so power shouldn't be an issue if they advertise it right.

If HP and Dell are hampering Acer's product promotions, then they should adapt to the market's shifting(through their competition) rather than complain about it.

 

Well what can we expect from ACER in the next couple of months?

 

CULV gaming machines? I.e. BenQ X31 LV + 8600M GT GDDR3 in a 13.3 package?

 

There is something to expect from Acer? Really?
Man, that's amazing. Cause for me I never see anything to expect from a company like Acer.

 

I thought acer was going to release their gaming rig early January?

Maybe they think more people would end up buying a CULV notebook and a desktop gaming rig instead of their 18.4" desktop replacement

 

As a primary machine, I would much prefer a low-end full-powered Pentium Dual Core machine versus a slower CULV notebook (that may even be more expensive). Personally, I would only get a CULV notebook if I had a nice desktop as my main computer - then, it would be a nice portable machine.

Hahaha, that's exactly what I was thinking

 

ASUS has a 13.3" with a CULV SU7300 and a Geforce 210M =D

 

My bad, was thinking BenQ's X31 13.3 LV with 8600M GT GDDR3. The S42 is a 14.1" with normal CPUs and 9600M GT.

8600M GT GDDR3 is a decent bit more powerful than GT210M.

Perhaps Acer might come up with something similar.

 

Acer has a Timeline 3810 model in some areas with the SU9x00 series cpu and the ATI 4330 gpu. Granted its not switchable gpu like the Asus, its still an option.

 

I agree that ulv is the future for notebooks, until they can fit standard core2 in laptop that weight less then 1.5kg and have over 6-8hours of battery at reasonable price(i spotted the vaio z that actually does it for 2000$+). For me me the weight of my laptop is almost has important has its performance since I have it on my back over 1 hour per day. It seems asus and acer has understood how awesome ulv processor are, I only hope we start seeing more company push them..

 

Arrandale ULV i7 is due to come out. That should be a quite interesting thing to have. They reach 2.xxGHz with TB and have the IGC.

 

Now THAT will be something to see!

 

Maybe that will stop Acer's whining?

 

I dont understand why Acer complains. They should be celebrating, with no Dell nor HP as competition is better for them, since they sell more...

 

They're complaining because Dell and HP are selling something regular laptops at the same price point as their CULV machines. So the average Joe goes "hey this machine is more powerful ad costs the same, why would I get the Acer?" O_O. The battery life(which is arguably the main point for CULVs) isn't marketed enough or efficiently enough to steer an average consumer from a same price machine with better specs.

Basically, they're whining because HP and Dell aren't supporting their own market decision to push CULVs and by selling better spec'ed machines at the same price, they're actually hampering Acer's movement.

I really don't see the big deal; companies don't always follow the same trends so it's no point in complaining that the other guy isn't helping your own view of the market.

 

I don't thinking pushing battery life would do that much good for them. HP with the SU7300 DM3 can squeeze out close to 10 hours(8 hours on the SP cpu), and the same goes for the Asus UL30(even in the VT model), while Acer can only squeeze out 7 hours(8 if you go with a Core 2 Solo).

 

Aren't those all CULV machines though? If so then it's not a question of CULVs not achieving good battery life, it's a question of Acer CULV machines achieving good battery.

If Acer plans on making CULVs their focus, then they'll simply have to shift their focus to make the best(or at least one of the best) CULV machine at the best price. Mind you we're talking about Acer but still.

 

Whiners like Acer need to keep their mouths shut.

 

Well, Acer was the first and raised the bar a lot. Now it is up to them to use the i7 ULV and show something good, if not impressive. A GPU would be welcomed, and no damaging-the-case-due-to-WiFi problems...

 

Yes, but not using the Arrandale chip which would give switchable thus better battery life.

 

It is weird. If the current situation is beneficial to ACER, why help your rivals by telling why they suck right now?

I guess that ACER is somehow suffering from the situation as well.

Maybe ACER is suffering because other manufacturers are not serious enough about CULV, and only cheapo-manufacturers are active in the CULV market. This situation makes people think that CULV is just "cheap and bad" and confused with (Atom-based) netbooks, instead of recognizeing that CULV is actually "cheap and good for the price".

 

as a primary CULV's are not that good... but for those of us with a modern desktop they are plenty fine. I've owned 2 acers and one hp over the past 7 years, and both acers still work fine, but the hp required over 10 repairs... and finally it died once the 3 year warranty was up. Its why I have a culv 3810, and it works fine considering my primary is a i7 desktop.

 

I don't agree. I have an 11in Vaio TT with a CULV and I use that as my main machine with a desktop in my sister's room. As long as your needs aren't too demanding like HD video editing or high end gaming then a dual core CULV is a perfectly fine for most people's needs.

What I find interesting and positive is how CULV went down in price. When it first came it(they were calling it ULV at the time), it was in expensive machines that cost $1500 or more(then again some of those machines also came with features, or in a material not offer on current CULV devices), like the Vaio TT, Asus U2 and U6, or the LG P/X100.

 

I agree with you, a culv machine is perfectly fine as my only computer (except I do a little HD video editing) . Big step up from previous EEE 901 and Dell Inspiron 9100. I look forward to Arrandale, Sandy Bridge, Ivy Bridge, and Haswell culv machines, as this is the category I will stick with unless mainstream processors take over with the same combo of power, battery life, and low heat output.

 

I love my Vaio TT as its the right size for my needs, with a top notch build quality, & feature set(though I sometimes wish the GPU was better). I do notice once in a while there maybe a slight lag, but if I had the 1.6ghz(or even 1.4ghz) of the SU9x000 series instead of the 1.2ghz, the lag would not be noticeable.

 

LOL, yeah, perfectly said!

Anyway, no thanks Acer. If I need a new low end notebook for something, I'll just buy a new high end one and use my current main system for that purpose instead.

 

Agreed 100%!

 

Yeah right. I've seen kid's toys with better tolerances than the TT's frame. Something fell off a cliff after the TZ.

Anyway, Wang thinks his penetration is failing because he believes the other parties are not pushing hard enough.

And this is news how?

 

I never had a build quality issue, other than a faulty optical drive so I have to say the built quality imo is top notch. I never used the TZ so I can say how much of a difference there is between to the two, but I'd like to think its minimal.