Intel rounds out mobile chip family

NEWS

Intel is making sure not to leave out the little notebooks when it introduces its Centrino chip family in March. The company will unveil three versions of its low-power Pentium-M processor, formerly code-named Banias, as part of the Centrino package. Aside from coming out with a standard Pentium-M chip, which is expected to run at speeds ranging from 1.3GHz to 1.6GHz, the company will release two as-yet-undisclosed lower-power versions of the chip, sources close to the company said. The new chips include an ultra-low-voltage Pentium-M that will debut at 900MHz and a low-voltage Pentium-M chip that will begin at 1.1GHz, according to the sources. The chips, along with the rest of the Centrino family, will allow Intel to target the full range of notebook models sold by manufacturers. Like the standard Pentium-M chips, the low-voltage and ultra-low-voltage processors will be sold under Intel's new Centrino brand name when used with its new mobile chipset and wireless networking module . "The Centrino mobile family will support all notebook segments from the full-size desktop replacement all the way to the ultraportable," said Shannon Johnson, an Intel spokeswoman. Johnson declined to provide additional details on the chip family. Intel has said its Pentium-M chips will deliver more performance and consume less power for full-size and thin-and-light notebooks than its Pentium III-M or Pentium 4-M. But the lower-power Pentium-M chips will run at even lower voltages and therefore consume less energy than a standard Pentium-M. The low- and ultra-low-voltage Pentium-M versions should increase performance and battery life in the smallest notebooks -- ultraportables and mini-notebooks that weigh 3 pounds or less -- and tablet PCs. While tablet PCs based on Microsoft's Windows XP Tablet PC Edition software are fairly new to the market, mini-notebooks are popular in Japan and also among business executives who spend a lot of time on the road. Power consumption is especially important for battery life in these machines, because they don't have large spaces to incorporate large internal batteries. While battery life differs among notebook models and manufacturers, Intel is aiming to extend battery life with the Pentium-M chip by at least an hour, depending on the version. This could give some notebooks in the 5-pound range a battery life of six hours or more. Meanwhile, a tablet PC that gets three hours of battery life with a Pentium III-M chip would get about four hours with the Pentium-M. Intel is eyeing the Pentium-M as its next flagship mobile processor. The chip is expected to replace its Pentium 4-M in business systems at first, while the low-power versions should provide a replacement for Intel's low-voltage and ultra-low-voltage Pentium III-M chips. The company is expected to begin phasing out the Pentium III-M chip, but its Pentium 4-M is likely to hang on in larger and consumer-oriented notebooks for some time. While the new low-power Pentium-Ms will offer more performance and longer battery life than Pentium III-M chips, they aren't expected to cost much more. Intel likely will charge only a small premium for the new chips when they debut. While the Pentium-M won't run as fast as the Pentium 4-M, Intel is looking to boost its performance by including a 1MB cache for storing a large amount of often-used data.

See Chips Central for the latest headlines on processors and semiconductors. To find out more about the computers and hardware that these chips are being used in, see ZDNet UK's Hardware News Section. Let the Chips Central editor know what you think by email. And sign up for the weekly Chips Central newsletter.

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

ZDNet UK Live

I'be been using Mint 12 since the RC came out, and I am far more happy with the Cinnamon, the Mate, and, yes (with extensions), theGnome 3...

16 minutes ago by Frederick Wrigley via Facebook on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Excellent article. One small correction, though--although a fresh installation of Linux Mint 12 will, indeed, provide the user with a version of...

59 minutes ago by bdantas on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

1 hour ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

2 hours ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material

For Gnome 2 die-hards, it is possible to add icons to the bottom panel (or top top panel, if you prefer) which provide the exact Gnome 2...

2 hours ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Your comments would seem pretty naive and immature. Your 'solution' appears to be, "gee, let's all just give in to the hackers and give them...

3 hours ago by ramwellian on Cloud computing security: no more oxymoron?

"Interesting thought ... If you installed Win7 as a dual boot on a machine that previously only had Linux, and it wrecked your Linux installation,...

3 hours ago by BugStalker on Windows 7 Declares War on GRUB

This is an excellent summary of Ubuntu and Mint and the interface differences between them. Most such articles take a very partisan position for...

3 hours ago by whs001 on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

@ewallace. Not so clear. Anyone can obtain the text, for example from here http://www.ustr.gov/webfm_send/2379. I support ACTA so long as it and...

3 hours ago by Moley on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions

I think WinRT is fantastic. I just wish it was an option for people that didn't want to go through Microsoft's App Store with its attendant...

6 hours ago by 45283 on Why Windows 8 needs architectural hygiene for WOA

Nine people? £30m? Who's back pocket is that lot going in? And IF they say it is for new buildings, what about all the ones the government has...

7 hours ago by Burn-IT on Police set to launch three £30m e-crime hubs

Just to be clear, nobody knows what is in the text of ACTA, here is a photograph of the text of ACTA http://twitpic.com/8h9iju as submitted to the...

7 hours ago by ewallace on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions

Unfortunately main issue is that ASUS is refusing to accept that they make some mistake on this version of asus Transformer prime. 1 - GPS sensor...

9 hours ago by fgvrg56 on Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime Wi-Fi & GPS problems?

@Marcus A fair question. Just talked with Archos which said it was working on an announcement for next week....

10 hours ago by Ben Woods on Archos confirms G9 Ice Cream Sandwich update schedule

Any update on this, considering the claimed "first week of February"?

11 hours ago by via Facebook on Archos confirms G9 Ice Cream Sandwich update schedule

Bill Goodrich : Just as al_langevin pointed out, with Windows Server 2008 there is no Services for Macintosh anymore. It's gone, not available....

19 hours ago by apexwm on Windows Server 2008 drops the ball for Mac compatibility

Replying to an old topic that I'm currently facing with my CEO (who is on a Mac). Our servers are primarily Windows Servers, office is about...

1 day ago by txtrainguy on Windows Server 2008 drops the ball for Mac compatibility

Sure, that makes perfect sense. Pay wrong-doers money and thank them for breaching your security and pointing out your flaws, that would surely...

1 day ago by k0tcs3 on US indicts Romanian over NASA climate change hack

I think he's referring specifically to Android apps, as Apple do regulate their App Store, but Google seem to let any old crap onto the Android store!

1 day ago by Random_Error on RIM: BlackBerry will keep 'garbage' apps out of store

Keep the crap apps out?! How will they compete with Android and Apple's claim to fame of having so many life changing apps? I wonder if the media...

1 day ago by Paul Fezziwig via Facebook on RIM: BlackBerry will keep 'garbage' apps out of store

Featured white papers

Latest jobs

Intel rounds out mobile chip family

Daily Newsletters

Topics

Related stories

Apple bucks a falling PC trend in UK and France

Apple takes top PC spot from HP

Post your comment

ZDNet UK Live

Latest in Desktop Hardware

Apple bucks a falling PC trend in UK and France

Apple takes top PC spot from HP

Featured white papers

Latest jobs

Test Analyst - Business Intelligence /Data Warehousing

Test Analyst - Business Intelligence /Data Warehousing

Technical MI Manager - 50-60k - Leeds

Inside ZDNet UK

A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

2012 Predictions: VCE FastPath, VI SAN Probe & Hadoop

BlackBerry Bold 9790

Case study: How cloud enables growth

Ten factors that make Ubuntu 11.10 a hit

Toshiba Portégé Z830-10P Review

BT's archive: Pictures from the vault

News & Analysis

Reviews

Blogs

Resources

About Us

Member Services

Special Features

Advertising Features

ZDNet UK / News and Analysis / Workspace IT / Desktop Hardware

Intel rounds out mobile chip family

Daily Newsletters

Topics

Related stories

Post your comment

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

Latest in Desktop Hardware

Featured white papers

Latest jobs

Inside ZDNet UK

Resources

About Us

Member Services

Special Features

Advertising Features