Intel releases Centrino 2 minus WiMAX

Intel's long-awaited Centrino 2 platform was finally unveiled yesterday after a three-week delay. The delay reportedly had to do with a problem with FCC certification for the Draft 2.0 802.11n WiFi standard used in the platform. The platform is also supposed to include WiMAX but that capability is not included in the initial versions of the of the platform. Future versions of Centrino 2 will include built-in WiMAX capability, presumably by the time Sprint makes its commercial WiMAX debut in Baltimore in September. Centrino 2.0 is the fifth generation of Centrino technology. The platform is 40 percent smaller so that it can fit in mini-notebooks.

Intel invested $1 billion in the new Clearwire WiMAX business, which includes Sprint, cable companies and Google earlier this. Intel is hoping WiMAX incorporated in the new platform will do the same thing incorporating WiFi did, spur adoption. However, Clearwire's rollout will be on a market-by-market basis with 2010 or even 2011 delivering a reasonable footprint in the majority of the top 200 markets, which makes the 802.11n piece a critical part of the Centrino 2.

For more:
- read CNet [1]

Related stories:
Intel: WiMAX/WiFi chip coming in ultramobile PCs. Intel story [2]
Intel: July launch for next-gen WiFi/ WiMAX platform. Intel story [3]