Intel’s hopes that sales of ultra-thin, ultra low-voltage full-size notebook PCs might overtake the netbook craze ­ which has seen Intel chip revenue suffer due to bigger than expected inroads by the low-priced Atom processor ­ may have had a significant blow.

Chinese-language newspaper Commercial Times reports that No. 1 Taiwanese notebook vendor Acer has reduced its 14- and 15-inch ultra-thin notebook orders due to low market demand.

Wistron, the major builder of the two Acer models, is producing only around 200,000 units per month, down from an expected 600,000 units, then paper says.

Acer had been gearing up to heavily promote the ultra-thin models in the third quarter, as it sought to overtake the USA’s Hewlett-Packard as leader in the global consumer notebook market, according to Taiwan news service DigiTimes

H-P shipped around 4.86 million consumer notebooks in the second quarter with Acer trailing close behind with shipments of 4.75 million units. IDC figures were said to show that the two firms’ consumer segment market shares were separated by only 0.5 percent.