Ultrabook confusion among consumers remains

Despite pundits across the technology industry calling 2012 the year of the Ultrabook™, research firm Gartner says many consumers are still unclear what exactly the technology is and how it will affect the PC market in the coming years.

"Ultrabooks were quietly introduced into the market during the Q4 2011 holiday season," says Gartner analyst Mikako Kitagawa, according to technology news provider PC Pro.

"Ultrabooks didn't seem to draw consumers' attention. Consumers had very little understanding and awareness of Ultrabooks, and only a small group of consumers was willing to pay the price premium for such models," she adds.

The Ultrabook is a slim, lightweight take on the traditional notebook as reimagined by chipmaker Intel®. Essentially, the device marries the best aspects of the laptop and the tablet computer, melding portability and familiarity with the presence of a physical keyboard and mouse trackpad. Some models also feature touchscreen displays and near-field communication technology.

Whether 2012 does turn out to be the year of the Ultrabook is still up in the air. The technology got an early start at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), where more than 30 new Ultrabook models were revealed, but it will clearly take some more awareness before consumers are ready to embrace the technology.