Centrino2 to up the wireless ante

IN THE WI-FI BONKERS micro-environment that is this year's IDF Fall, Intel today introduced a second chipset for the Pentium M-powered Centrino wireless platform, while keeping us waiting for the next iteration of the Pentium M -the 2Mb cache heavy Dothan currently being developed by Intel's Israelis boffins.

Dothan was promised for November, but it's not unknown for products to creep up the schedule to add a juicy titbit to an IDF if it looks a bit product light. But since Intel is wallowing in wi-fi fever, the appearance of Dothan is likely to be accompanied by so much trumpeting and a-wailing of spinners' sirens that it's too big for a humble geekfest. Still we got to see one trouncing a Centrino, courtesy of Intel's mobile products Veep Anand Chandrasekher.

Anyhow, the chipset, labeled the 855GME will enable "better graphics and power management performance" we were told. The graphics engine automatically adjusts the clock speed when away from a power supply, switching between a pair of frequencies. It's available now, Anand said.

But Intel also served up some offered up some tasty morsels on the upcoming Centrino 2 platform, labeled Sonoma, which will be based around Dothan, with a chipset named Alviso, a wireless enabler named Calexio2 and the Azalia audio chippery.

With power management key to mobility even the sound system supports it along with the somewhat over the top Dolby 7.1 sound standard. Where you gonna put all those speakers, one wonders?

The goal, we were reliably informed is: "thinner, lighter, cooler, sexier notebooks." Business applications are secondary in the wireless world, it seems.

The Sonoma setup will feature a new "world class" graphics system and this together with enhanced power management should make gaming on the platform a tastier prospect. Though a new technology which varies the backlight depending on what's on screen could get a little sticky on fast-changing gaming environments. One screen demo'ed here keeps an eye on the user, turning itself off if the face suddenly seems to turn sideways, "saving 3 watts instantaneously" whenever you're not looking.

Intel said its Display Power Saving Technology (DPST) can cut the power drawn by the screen to around 3W, down from Centrino's 5W. µ