????幾年前蘋果（Apple）第一次推出MacBook Air筆記本電腦時，它也遭受了一些抨擊：首先它的速度不夠快，其次接口不夠多，而且價格太高。此外它的外接光驅大得像一塊磚頭，攜帶起來十分不便。不過三年以后，蘋果于近日推出的新版MacBook Air筆記本電腦已經成了移動計算行業(yè)的典范，同時也成了消費者需求的標桿。雖說蘋果沒有泄露詳細數據，不過蘋果的一位高管最近對《財富》雜志（Fortune）稱，今年早些時候，這款超輕型的MacBook Air筆記本的銷量已經超過了白色的MacBook筆記本電腦（蘋果最終決定停產白色的Macbook筆記本）。與此同時，高德納研究公司（Gartner）的報告表明，在過去的五個季度里，蘋果在移動計算領域上的總體增長率均超過了PC廠商。

????蘋果的咄咄逼人，使用Wiondows系統(tǒng)的PC廠商如何接招？恐怕只能以其人之道還治其人之身。為什么英特爾（Intel）公司會創(chuàng)造出一種所謂的“Ultrabook”超級筆記本電腦的概念，部分原因正在于此。Ultrabook指的是一類全新的超薄型筆記本。并不是每款筆記本都可以叫Ultrabook，它必須配備一系列強悍的硬件：首先它的厚度必須在0.8英寸以下（也就是不到20毫米——譯注），重量必須在3.1磅以下（即1.4公斤以下——譯注），使用固態(tài)閃存，續(xù)航時間在5小時以上，而且起價也普遍在1,000美元以上。另外英特爾還斥資3億美元建立了“英特爾Ultrabook基金”，旨在資助企業(yè)研究Ultrabook的軟硬件，促進筆記本電池壽命和存儲等方面的研發(fā)。

????英特爾的Ultrabook旨在刺激PC廠商更加努力地追趕蘋果（Apple）。眼下平板電腦已經對筆記本電腦的銷量產生了威脅。如果Ultrabook最終取得了成功的話，這將對Windows生態(tài)系統(tǒng)的生存和發(fā)展產生重大推進作用。（另據報道，蘋果公司曾威脅說，如果英特爾公司不在技術上做出更大進步的話，蘋果將中斷與英特爾的合作。）東芝（Toshiba）、聯(lián)想（Lenovo）、華碩（Asus）、宏基（Acer）等廠商今年秋天都將先后推出自己的Ultrabook超級筆記本，不過這些廠商也都面臨著一些難以克服的困難。

????設計就是一個首當其沖的問題。比如東芝今年11月將推出一款2.5磅重的Portege Z830 Ultrabook，它的外觀設計與東芝以往的產品一脈相承。而華碩的產品則由于鋁合金邊框的側面線條太像蘋果的MacBook Air而招致一些批評。不過外觀上的比較是在所難免的。高德納研究公司的分析師范?貝克表示：“它們的外觀的確很像，不過這也是難免的。要保證結構強度，就要用金屬外殼。而且它們的厚度要足夠薄，因為這是Ultrabook筆記本的硬性要求之一。所以如果你說這是一款全金屬外殼、而且很薄的筆記本電腦，那么你會想到什么？你肯定會覺得它長的很像蘋果的Macbook Air?！?/p>

????貝克也指出，這些產品和MacBook Air之間也存在著很大的差異。首先是操作系統(tǒng)的不同，微軟的Windows仍然占據了主要的市場份額。有些審美主義者聲稱，蘋果最出名的就是它的設計，而蘋果的設計是很難復制的，比如它的背光式鍵盤。另外，有些新功能、新特性短期之內也可能不會進入Ultrabook里。另外華碩CEO沈振來自己也對《金融時報》（The Financial Times）承認，由于處理器的散熱問題，制造這么一個薄薄的底架，在工藝上也是一個很艱巨的挑戰(zhàn)。

????定價也是一個非常重要的問題。從來不會有人認為蘋果的產品很“便宜”，不過據說最近蘋果Macbook Air 999美元的價格還是讓不少PC廠商覺得壓力很大，因為他們自身的生產成本變得越來越高了。有分析人士對《財富》表示，Ultrabook要想具有市場競爭力，其定價應在1,000美元以下，最好是在700到750美元之間。不過在今年年內，恐怕很少能有品牌能達到這個理想的定價區(qū)間，大多數的Ultrabook的價格可能高達1,000乃至2,000美元。

????英特爾和PC廠商也需要搞一些“認知營銷”。英特爾預計到明年年末，Ultrabook將占到全球消費消費性筆記本市場份額的40%，到2013年，這一比例將上升到60%。這一預期對于PC廠商來說是非常激進的，所以有些PC廠商和分析師甚至懷疑這個份額是否實際。比如貝爾就對此持懷疑態(tài)度，他說：“消費者對Ultrabook沒有任何概念，要想讓消費者接受這個概念，進而走進沃爾瑪（Wal-Mart）或百思買（Best Buy）去購買Ultrabook，英特爾就必須做出大量營銷投資?！?/p>

????在推進與自產芯片有關的計算領域上，英特爾的戰(zhàn)績也是有勝有負。2004年，英特爾贊助了一次非常有效的媒體活動，成功宣傳了該公司的英特爾迅馳（Centrino）平臺的無線互聯(lián)網移動性。不過英特爾的其它一些活動則收效不佳。比如在2006年，英特爾花費大量財力宣傳該公司的“歡躍”（Viiv）技術，英特爾想通過這項技術把PC打造成一個“臥室友好型”的媒體中心。不過Viiv作為一個品牌并沒有獲得成功，最終悄無聲息地淡出了人們的視野，但“媒體型PC”的理念卻被繼承了下來。

????要想讓Ultrabook獲得成功，PC廠商也必須全力投入。據臺灣IT網站DigiTimes報道，宏基、聯(lián)想、東芝和華碩四廠商首批推出的Ultrabook筆記本總數可能不足5萬臺，雖說是投石探路，但石頭太小，也不足以讓公眾的認知產生波瀾。其實以華碩為例，它的單月產量便可達到這個數字的四倍，但產能的擴大，意味著企業(yè)必須對供應鏈做出重大投資。而要想讓Ultrabook成為筆記本市場的主流，這種投資是不可避免的，否則以英特爾如此宏大的產品版圖，Ultrabook可能仍然逃脫不了曇花一現的命運。

????譯者：樸成奎

????When Apple launched the MacBook Air, it got flack: not fast enough, not enough ports, too pricey, the optional external optical disc drive had as much portable appeal as a brick. Fast-forward three years, and the current version of the Air has become an industry example of what consumers want in mobile computing. Though Apple won't break down figures, an executive recently told Fortune that the lightweight notebook had been outselling its entry-level white MacBook earlier this year. (That model was ultimately discontinued.) Meanwhile, Gartner research reports Apple's overall growth in the mobile computing space outpaced PC makers -- for the last five quarters.

????So what's a Windows PC maker to do? Fight fire with fire. That's partly why Intel (INTC) created the so-called "ultrabook," a new, svelte notebook category. The new name comes with a checklist of required hardware features attached: a model must be 0.8 inches thick or less, weigh under 3.1 pounds, use a solid-state flash drive, get five-plus hours of battery life in between charges and start at a price of $1,000. The chipset maker also set up the Intel Capital Ultrabook Fund, a $300 million fund for investing in companies working on ultrabook hardware and software, aiming foster technical improvements in battery life and storage for example.

????If successful, Intel's prodding of PC makers to more diligently chase Apple (AAPL) could be a big boost to the Windows ecosystem as the surge in tablets threatens to take a bite out of notebook sales. (Apple reportedly threatened to walk away from Intel if the chip maker didn't make bigger gains in its technology.) But manufacturers like Toshiba, Lenovo, Asus and Acer -- all of which roll out ultrabooks this fall -- have plenty of obstacles that may be difficult to overcome.

????Like design. While Toshiba's upcoming 2.5-pound Portege Z830, due in November, sports a look in line with the company's past products, Asus's offerings have drawn some criticism for looking too much like the Air, right down to the way that sheet of aluminum tapers in the corner. Comparisons in the looks department may be inevitable, though. "They're similar, but it's not hard to be similar," says Van Baker, an analyst with Garter Research. "You need the metal case for the structural strength, and they have to be thin because that's one of the requirements for the ultrabook brand. So when you say it's an all-metal case and thin, well guess what? It's gonna start looking like a MacBook Air."

????Baker also points out the differences remain significant. There's the operating system for one; Microsoft's (MSFT) Windows still dominates in market share. Some of the aesthetic flourishes Apple is best known for may be hard to duplicate, meanwhile, such as backlit keyboards that light up in the dark. Such features may not make their way into ultrabooks for some time, if at all. Manufacturing such a thin chassis is a challenge, too, something Asus' own CEO Jerry Shen told The Financial Times, pointing to possible heat problems due to the processor.

????Pricing will also be extremely important. Apple has never been considered "cheap," but the Air's recent $999 pricing scheme is reportedly a hassle for some PC makers who are dealing with higher production costs. Analysts Fortune spoke to indicate that, for ultrabooks to be competitive in the marketplace, they need to be priced below $1,000 and somewhere in between $700 and $750. This year, there will be few models that hit that sweet spot -- most of them have price tags starting at $1000 and climbing up to $2,000.

????Intel and company will also have to do some savvy marketing. The chipset maker forecast that ultrabooks will own 40% of the global consumer notebook market by the end of next year, and 60% come 2013. That's an extremely aggressive prediction that some PC makers and analysts wonder is realistic. "That's going to take a lot of spend on Intel's part, to take a term that they invented and that consumers aren't aware of and get to the point where they go to a Wal-Mart (WMT) or Best Buy (BBY) and ask for an ultrabook," explains Baker, who remains skeptical.

????Intel also has a mixed track record pushing specific types of computing tied to its chips. In 2004, the company sponsored an effective media campaign extolling the Centrino, which popularized the benefits of wireless Internet mobility. Other campaigns haven't fared so well. In 2006 for instance, Intel marketed Viiv to boost awareness of PCs designed as living room-friendly media centers. Viiv as a brand went nowhere and eventually died quietly, though the idea of the "media PC" lives on.

????PC makers also have to fully commit. According to DigiTimes, Acer, Lenovo, Toshiba and Asustek may produce less than 50,000 units, too conservative to really make a dent in public awareness. And while Asus, for example, is technically capable of producing quadruple that each month, scaling beyond will require substantial investments in the company's supply chain, an investment that will likely be needed to take this category mainstream. Otherwise, the vaunted ultrabook may become just another uneventful blip on Intel's vast, expanding product roadmap.