With the ultrabook market really heating up of late, word of what ASUS has planned for this market segment by the second quarter of 2012 should ensure it's more lively again. We've seen a few pre-release Ultrabooks shown off lately from the likes of Acer, ASUS and Toshiba and they are already gathering quite a bit of attraction, but apparently ASUS will have some particularly aggressively priced Ultrabook models hit the scene in April 2012.

Digitimes reports that following the launch of 5 or 6 ultrabook models (11.6-inch and 13.3-inch variants) this coming October at tentative pricing starting at US$899 and going up, ASUS will then shift its focus onto Ivy Bridge and dish up ultrabooks based on this platform ranging from US$600-$900 for the entry-level segment; that is if ASUS' CEO Jerry Shen has his facts straight.

An Ivy Bridge powered ultra book for US$600? That oughta shake up the entire notebook market somewhat; certainly in the more entry/mid-range sectors where a similar amount of money to chunkier, heavier notebooks gets you a lighter, sleeker design without a performance or battery life trade-off.