Apple hogging all the laptop aluminum, competitors turn to fiberglass

Apple hogging all the laptop aluminum, competitors turn to fiberglass

Say what you want about Apple, but it’s clever. The company helped pioneer the use of aluminum laptop shells in its MacBooks back in 2008. Now that superthin, Mac-like Ultrabooks are becoming the trend, the rest of the industry needs a strong, lightweight substance like aluminum to build the .8-inch thick designs Intel is pushing for. Problem is, Apple has secured a majority of the aluminum and the factories that manufacture it for computing.

DigiTimes reports that Apple already has deals with Catcher Technology and Foxcomm Technology that give it access to a healthy portion of the metal and production capacity for aluminum chassis. Other manufacturers hoping to build will have to compete for the remaining capacity at the two companies.

More At: Digital Trends