I'll be buying a laptop this month (I need to beat out Windows 8) and I just don't understand why I would want to buy a Ultrabook when, for the same price as a higher-end one, I could get a machine like a 14" Thinkpad with a high-resolution matte screen, a better processor, better graphics, comparable battery life, more ports, an optical drive (or second hard drive/battery)...overall a much more capable machine. The only disadvantages, if they can be called that, are the weight and aesthetics...and frankly, I don't think of a Thinkpad as being ugly, and I'd rather have a machine that favors durability over weight and appearance anyway.
Granted, that's just my opinion, and maybe for some the Ultrabook thing makes sense...but I just don't see it, personally.