Intel releases Centrino 2 minus WiMAX

Lynnette Luna — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:11:48 -0400

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

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

Intel: July launch for next-gen WiFi/ WiMAX platform

Lynnette Luna — Wed, 28 May 2008 10:29:56 -0400

Intel announced it will introduce its next-generation Centrino 2 mobile platform, code-named Montevina, July 14. The platform is expected to offer faster performance and longer battery life, and is long awaited by the WiMAX community as it incorporates both WiFi and WiMAX. In addition, the platform is 40 percent smaller so that it can fit in mini-notebooks.

Intel, as you remember, invested $1 billion in the new Clearwire WiMAX business, which includes Sprint, cable companies and Google. 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. That doesn't worry Intel though.

"When we launched our Centrino WiFi platform, there weren't a lot of WiFi hotspots, but people still bought it even though by itself, WiFi was not ubiquitous," Intel Vice President Sriram Viswanathan said in a recent conference call. "Centrino was still successful. We expect the same with Montevina because there are other value propositions in the platform."

For more about Intel's Centrino 2:
- check out this article from InformationWeek

Related stories:
New Sprint-Clearwire deal a shot in the arm for mobile WiMAX. See this Clearwire story
Intel among winners of 2.6 GHz spectrum in Sweden. See this Intel WiMAX story