Intel has pushed back the scheduled delivery date for the chipmaker’s next-generation Centrino 2 mobile chip platform. Intel now intends to introduce the new platform’s Core and Extreme mobile processors on July 14, at which time it will also “begin initial shipments of some of our chipsets,” said Intel spokesperson Connie Brown.
“We expect to ship our complete line of chipsets and wireless chips in high volume a couple of weeks later, the first week of August,” Brown said.
Addressing Two Issues
Dadi Perlmutter, general manager of Intel’s mobility group, told Intel Developer Forum attendees last month that the chipmaker would deliver its next-generation mobile chip technology by June. But Brown explained that a combination of issues forced Intel to push back the rollout date.
“We are taking the extra days to address two issues that require us to rescreen our chipsets with integrated graphics and attend to some ‘Ts’ and ‘Cs’ (terms and conditions) mistakes while filing and testing our wireless antennas,” she explained.
Intel’s announcement comes as notebook manufacturers are gearing up to meet demand during the back-to-school shopping period. According to Brown, Intel’s decision to begin shipping the processors and at least some of its chipsets the week of July 14 will enable “OEMs to meet their back-to-school selling season.”
Making a big splash in the notebook space this year is an important part of Intel’s plan to take advantage of accelerating demand for laptops at the expense of desktop PCs. “We believe that the shipment crossover of desktop PCs to mobile PCs will now happen this year and not next year, as we originally anticipated,” Intel CEO Paul Otellini told investors recently.
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