Apple 'less innovative' at laptops than Lenovo

But beats the pants off rivals when it comes to selling them

Asus and Lenovo both offer more innovative Ultrabook-style laptops than Apple, though the Mac maker has the pair of them licked when it comes to implementing that innovation.

So says market watcher ABI Research, which reckons Apple “outscores its rivals significantly in implementation” if not in innovation. For proof, look no further than the MacBook Air’s “dominant market share”.

According to the research firm, even if Apple’s skinny laptops are not the most ground-breaking, the company “will ship almost three times as many ultraportables by end of 2012 as its nearest competitors”, among them Lenovo and Samsung, placed second and third in ABI’s list of Ultrabook vendors.

Apple came top with a score of 84.7 out of 100. Lenovo and Samsung scored, respectively, 77.5 and 74.4, ABI said. Its scores factor in assessment of a vendor’s ability to deliver innovative technology to users, and the new developments it introduces to the platform.

Behind the top three to round out ABI’s top ten Ultrabook makers are, in order, Acer, Asus, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, LG and Sony. ABI didn’t present these vendors’ scores, or break out the leading suppliers’ separate innovation and implementation marks. You’ll have to buy an expensive report for that. ®