Apple’s MacBook line of ultrabooks has undoubtedly featured the best, top-of-the-range ultrabooks so far. No vendor has been able to deliver an equally compelling piece of hardware within the same price constraints. However, it seems that Apple is about to meet a tough competition from a very worthy contender.

The contender in this case is Vizio. It’s the first time Vizio has tried its hands on ultrabooks and so far, the analysts seem very impressed with the results.

The best thing about Vizio ultrabooks is that they are far more cost-effective when compared to MacBook ultrabooks. In more than one ways, Vizio has tried imitating Apple when it comes to the marketing of its ultrabooks. For instance, just like MacBook Pro, Vizio has launched two basic ultrabook models – one of them is a 14-inch model and the other is a 15.6-inch model.

Just like Apple displays its new MacBook Pro Retina ultrabooks in a six-to-one-table style, Visio has some of its 15.6-inch ultrabooks placed neatly on a tablet in Los Angeles Microsoft Store.

Here’s one example to demonstrate how Vizio’s ultrabooks are better in terms of cost-to-hardware as compared to Apple’s MacBook models. You can get a 15.6 inch Vizio model with 1920×1080 screen, dual-core Core i5 Ivy Bridge processor, 4GB RAM, Intel HD 4000 graphics and 128GB solid-state drive. This machine is going to cost you a mere $999. If you want a 256 GB SSD together with an i7 chip, you have to pay $1,249. But the MacBook Pro’s 15.4-inch model starts with the basic price of $2,199. This earns you a 2880×1800 screen, 2.3GHz quad-core i7 processor, 8GB memory, 256GB SSD, Intel HD 4000 graphics and Nvidia GeForce GT 650M discrete graphics.

Of course, the display of Vizio ultrabooks is no match for MacBook Pro Retina display. Nonetheless, Vizio ultrabooks have excellent displays with very bright and vibrant colors.

Another strong factor is, Vizio machines lack that beautiful operating system which makes MacBook machines worth a lot. However, we’re expecting Windows 8 to land on Vizio ultrabooks soon. And it certainly has the potential of significantly enhancing the appeal of these ultrabooks.

Courtesy: CNET