The HP Envy 14 Spectre, a new ultrabook model introduced at the CES in January

Wu Rou's current laptop is three years old, which should be a good excuse for her to upgrade to a newer model. The 29-year-old magazine editor has had her eye on the newest MacBook Air, the super-slim laptop from California-based tech giant Apple.

But a wave of hype around a new concept of slim and light "ultrabook" laptops, backed by Intel Corp, has made her wonder if she should wait a little longer before buying.

"I fell in love with it (the MacBook Air) at first sight. It was just the thing for young people like me. But I've become hesitant about making a decision since I heard of the ultrabook concept," Wu said.

Some people argue ultrabooks are no more than MacBook Air clones, at least in terms of their appearance. But that hasn't stopped the hype surrounding the new products from stealing some of the luster of the tiny Apple laptop.

Major domestic PC vendors have announced their intention to enter the ultrabook field, boosting interest in the concept in China, which last year surpassed the US to become the world's top PC market.

Industry buzz

The ultrabook concept was unveiled in May last year by Intel at the Computex computer show in Taipei, Asia's largest technology trade show. With "instant-on" functionality, allowing users to snap open the laptop for immediate use, something also offered by the MacBook Air, ultrabooks additionally claim to be thinner and lighter.

The 13-inch MacBook Air model, as the pioneer of ultrabook laptops, is 17 milimeters at its thickest, weighing in at 1.35 kilograms and boasting a seven-hour battery life, according to Apple.

By comparison, ultrabook laptops are even smaller, and they also claim to offer more competitive functions and faster data processing ability.

For example, Lenovo's Ideapad U300s, has a maximum thickness of only 14.9mm. It weighs slightly less at 1.3 kilograms, and has battery life of up to eight hours.

Since then, there has been a buzz around the new products, even if doubts remain about the prediction made by Intel Executive Vice President Sean Maloney at the show that ultrabooks would account for a 40 percent share of the consumer laptop market by the end of 2012.

Most PC manufacturers have high hopes for the new concept. Acer Chairman J.T. Wang said in an interview last December that ultrabooks "will become our key growth driver next year, as customers want a lighter, thinner notebook with longer battery life."

At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in January, a series of new ultrabook products from major PC manufacturers such as Hewlett Packard, Dell and Lenovo were showcased.

"If the price of ultrabook products could fall to a reasonable level, for instance, under 5,000 yuan ($794), it would deal a heavy blow to Apple, as ultrabooks are already on a par with the MacBook Air in terms of design and specifications," Kevin Wang, director of China research at consultancy firm IHS iSuppli in Shanghai, told the Global Times.

The first batch of ultrabook products that came onto the market sold for roughly $1,000, but PC manufacturers including Lenovo, Acer and Asus recently announced price cuts for existing models of around 20-30 percent. Later this year, they will also launch new products featuring Intel's next-generation Ivy Bridge processor.

iPad killer?

The purpose of ultrabooks, however, is far more ambitious than just being a rival to the MacBook Air. Intel is relying on the new category to reignite the whole PC sector, which has suffered from the increasing popularity of tablet computers, most of which use processors built by rival firm ARM.

Yang Yuanqing, chief executive of Lenovo, said during the CES that tablets are still a niche market, and that ultrabooks and hybrid devices integrating tablet and ultrabook features will be more popular in the long run.

Analysts remain split over whether ultrabooks can really take over from tablet PCs, even though they combine portability with high performance.

Rob Enderle, founder and principal analyst at IT consultancy firm Enderle Group, wrote in an article late last month that tablets would move toward extinction as more users start to recognize their limitations, and that products with stronger performance like ultrabooks have greater potential.

However, IHS iSuppli's Wang said that ultrabooks "are unlikely to threaten sales of tablets in the short term, unless models are released that combine the features of a tablet and an ultrabook."

On the whole, the market remains cautious about forecasting ultrabooks' potential. "We expect ultrabooks to see limited adoption through the first half of 2012, before finally gaining momentum later in the year as prices decline and Intel launches a new line of processors," Canalys Research analyst Michael Kauh said in a statement last month.

Beyond the ultrabook

Despite uncertainty over ultrabooks' market potential, more and more companies are looking to capitalize on the popularity of super-small, portable computers.

Mobile chip maker Qualcomm said it is considering venturing into products similar to ultrabooks.

Computers based on mobile chips could be a rival to ultrabooks, Paul Jacobs, chairman and chief executive of Qualcomm, said at a press briefing in January in Beijing, without revealing further details.

"The ultrabook concept has undoubtedly created a new growth engine amid the dreary PC sector, luring more players even from outside the PC arena, but it is hard to foresee any new concept to compete with ultrabooks, as ultrabooks are still in their infancy," Eileen He, an industry analyst with research firm Gartner Inc, told the Global Times. 

Wu may have to wait and see if something better than an ultrabook comes along, although that might involve waiting too long.