Intel pours third of a billion into notebook push

CHIP GIANT INTEL will plunge hundreds of millions of dollars into marketing its Centrino product, as we've reported earlier. But the campaign will start tomorrow in the build up to the official launch of the notebook technology on March 12th.

Centrino is a catch-all name for three separate elements, the Pentium-M notebook processor, the notebook chipset, and the "wireless" or Wi-Fi Calexico kits that go with it.

It will drag along a number of third party notebook vendors to the different launches it is holding in Europe and the USA but here's some questions we still haven't been able to get answers to.

Only vendors who incorporate all three elements of the Centrino notebook strategy will be able to take advantage of the millions of marketing dollars Intel will offer for branding notebooks with the dart flight/kite mark.

However, it's not entirely clear whether the wi-fi component of the Centrino is ready to go in some geographies. Rumours circulating at the Intel Developer Forum two weeks ago suggested some vendors were having to use third party silicon to make the wireless work.

Others suggested that there were still some problems with the 802.11a wireless platform in Europe, such as high fees.

But one question that Intel has still failed to answer is what happens to the current Pentium 4M platform for notebooks, built as it is on the idea that higher frequencies are "better" than lower clock speeds.

Intel has admitted that it will position Centrino notebook chips - the Pentium M - not on the speed of its frequency but on the performance and battery life it is claimed to give.

That has prompted its rival AMD to jeer at Intel for changing the goalposts on its notebook chip while attempting to keep the goalposts the same width on its desktop chips.

Further, Intel will also have to sell its Pentium M against not only its Pentium 4M, but against the supercool Pentium III-M, which is likely to disappear later this year. µ

See Also
Intel hoist by Centrino megahurts petard
Intel prepares $60 million push on new notebook chips
Intel Centrino too expensive, say Taiwanese
Rollout of Centrino Calexico delayed?
Intel majors on Centrino burst of speed
Centrino machines on display at IDF
Centrino chip pictures, machines, appear/disappear on Web