Ultrabooks to push portable PC market to 92 percent CAGR

Intel® has made some lofty predictions regarding the emerging Ultrabook™ computer marketing, causing even some of the most optimistic industry observers to pause. But it seems the chipmaker may not be too far off-base, as analysis firm TechSci Research has echoed similar high expectations for the burgeoning technology.

In a March 2012 report, TechSci forecasts the ultraportable PC market to experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 92 percent through 2017.

Until late 2011, Apple's Macbook Air® was the only significant player in the ultraportable market. However, as of March 2012, there are around 10 Ultrabook models adding to the competition. Chipmaker AMD is also expected to throw its hat in the ring in the near future with its own slim notebooks, tentatively dubbed ultrathins.

When Intel first announced the Ultrabook in May 2011, it predicted that the device would account for 40 percent of consumer laptop sales by the end of 2012. Most analysts agree that this estimate is likely on the high side, but as TechSci and others suggest, there is a very high ceiling for the ultraportable PC market.