50 new Ultrabooks could launch at CES 2012 

 Netbooks used to be all the rage. Then it was thin-and-lights. Now, it’s all about the Ultrabook. Intel’s newfangled laptop sub-segment has found its way onto retail shelves courtesy of manufacturers like Acer, Lenovo, and Toshiba. And next year, there are going to be a brand new wave of Ultrabooks flooding the market.
According to CES organizers, the annual Vegas gadget extravaganza will play host to 30 to 50 new Ultrabook launches.
The interesting thing here, of course, is that laptops have historically gotten thinner, lighter, and more powerful year after year. Even if Ultrabooks were never “a thing,” chances are good that PC manufacturers 2012 models would have gotten more Ultrabook-like anyway.
Let’s just hope they can get prices down to a more attainable level, too. 50 new models won’t do much for Ultrabook street cred if people still don’t want to pay around $1,000 for them. Acer’s first go hit shelves at $899, and it’s the cheapest model you’ll find right now. Consumers haven’t lined up to pay that kind of money, and that’s led to manufacturers cutting back on production.
If more competition helps drive down prices, then the CES 2012 launches should be a very good thing for consumers who do want an Ultrabook. Some manufacturers have already been looking at ways to keep costs down, such as less expensive fiberglass shells and begging Intel to drop its processor prices. That second move  hasn’t played out so well, so hopefully the manufacturers will be able to work their own magic.
via PC Pro