Acer Developing a $699 15" Ultrabook, Says Supply Chain

Acer reportedly plans to ship a 15-inch ultrabook next year with a $699 pricetag.

Sources within the Taiwan-based supply chain report that Acer is rather pleased with the revenue generated from its 11- and 13-inch ultrabooks, and has decided to develop a 15-inch model sporting a rather tasty $699 USD pricetag.

According to the sources, Pegatron Technology, the manufacturer currently lined up to produce Lenovo's quad-core tablet (in addition to other projects), will be responsible for ODM production of the new ultrabook. For 2012, the company's total notebook shipments are expected to reach 18.99 million units, up 22-percent, keeping it firmly rooted in the industry as the fourth largest notebook ODM worldwide.

So far there's no indication that Pegatron will take over production of Acer's existing ultrabook models -- currently they are outsourced to Winstron. Global sales of the 11- and 13-inch Acer ultrabooks are expected to reach 250,000 to 300,000 units by the end of the month. Typical ultrabook prices have hovered around the $1000 limit or more since their debut this fall, so a 15-inch cheaper model will be a welcomed sight for 2012.

Acer and Pegatron both declined to comment on the report.