Dial 'M' For Celeron

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Intel has launched a new line of low-cost
processors to round out its Centrino mobile family of chips.

The Santa Clara, Calif.-based chip making giant has re-designed its
entry-level Celeron chip into a mobile processor for use in thin and light
notebooks. Usually Celeron chips are reserved for the discount PC market but
are sometimes used in portable desktop replacement notebooks where mobility
is not a concern.

The No. 1 chipmaker said the re-branded chip comes with a new logo
and two versions: standard-voltage and ultra-low voltage (ULV). Both are built using Intel’s 0.13-micron process technology.

Similar to its Pentium M processor, Intel said the Celeron M combines the
company’s notebook technologies such as extended battery life and built-in
wireless LAN capability. But the new chip lacks things like SpeedStep
technology and Hyper-Threading.

The standard-voltage version is available at speeds of 1.30 GHz and 1.20
GHz, operates at 1.356 volts and has a thermal design power (TDP) of 24.5
watts. The ULV chip is available at 800 MHz, operates at 1.004 volts and has
a TDP of 7 watts. All three processors feature a 400 MHz system bus, 512 KB
of L2 cache, and support advanced mobile power management, including “Deep Sleep” states, which limits power consumption of the processor during brief
periods of inactivity in order to help extend the battery life.

“The processors are compatible with the Intel 855 chipset family as well
as the Intel 852GM chipset to enable cost effective, scalable platforms for
system manufacturers,” the company said in a statement.

Intel said Celeron M could also benefit from the company’s
Centrino marketing machine. After spending upwards of $300 million on
marketing, Intel said it is pleased with Centrino’s progress. Currently, there are close to 100 different models of Centrino processors shipping.

Intel says it is seeing vendors put its chipsets in systems ranging from tablet PCs to thin-and-light designs with large screens to ultra-mobile
systems that weigh less than three pounds. In some cases these mobile
systems can achieve greater than five hours of battery life on a single
charge.

The company also says it has verified the compatibility of Intel Centrino
mobile technology with more than 14,000 hotspots worldwide,
which is more than the 10,000 it had originally estimated.

While Intel could not say which of the PC vendors would be using its new
mobile Celeron chips, Hewlett-Packard and Motion Computing
have products based on the Celeron M for sale on their Web sites.
Traditional Celeron buyers Sony , Dell ,
Gateway and Toshiba are also expected to put the
processors in their mobile offerings.

In 1,000-unit quantities, Intel said its 1.30 GHz and 1.20 GHz Celeron M
processors are priced at $134 and $107, respectively; the ULV version at 800
MHz is priced at $161.