The Ultrabook Hypocrisy

So now that there are few Ultrabooks for sale, the Acer Aspire S3 and the Asus UX21/UX31, there a quite a few people buying them.

What I find funny on the notebook forum I read (http://forum.notebookreview.com) is how many people compare them to MacBook Airs. Before, everyone was saying that the MBAs were overpriced, ugly and/or not worth the price. Now, they are the measuring stick to compare all the other Ultrabooks by because the MBAs have a better screen, better keyboard, better build quality, better touchpad etc. And that's fine, except for the fact that these people who said MBAs were overpriced... are paying the SAME prices for an Ultrabook!

Granted, they have "better" specs... but I remember when people would claim they would never pay more than $1000 for an ultrathin notebook and that the only reason why it cost so much was because of the "Apple Tax". The UX31 starts at around $1300, and while it has a higher resolution screen and more memory... the point is it's still OVER $1000!! Heck... it's closer to $1500 and there have been many posts where the build is not as good as an MBA.

I don't get it... if it's Apple and has great build quality, the price is too high and it's just the Apple premium. But if it is a PC and has mediocre build quality, but better specs... the price is justifiable?

And I'm not a hardcore Apple fan, I'm just pointing out something that maybe other people don't want to admit. Just like with tablets, I hope people are beginning to realize that it may not be just an Apple Tax... but a  price to pay for well engineered quality.