Posted at Tuesday, July 15, 2008  EDT  

Intel dishes out new chips

Globe and Mail Update and Associated Press

Intel Corp. rolled out a new batch of chips for laptops Monday that promises longer battery life and better graphics-rendering abilities, the company's latest salvo against smaller rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc.

Both companies are positioning themselves to capture the attention of computer buyers looking for crisper high-definition video playback on their laptops and less battery drain, a difficult balancing act.

The latest from Intel is its new Centrino 2 platform — a package that includes a processor, related chipset and wireless communications chip. The new chip is specifically designed to improve wireless connectivity and help batteries last longer in ever-shrinking notebook computers.

“This is a significant milestone for Intel in its continuing evolution in mobile computing,” said Doug Cooper, general manager for Intel Canada.

Analysts say sales of notebooks will begin to outpace those of desktop machines by early 2009. As a result, the world's top chip makers have refocused their efforts on bringing more power to mobile computing while improving battery life.

Intel is releasing five new processors in different versions of the bundle. Three of those use just 25 watts of energy, a 30 per cent reduction from the previous generation, Intel said.

The Centrino is the latest step in Intel's push to improve mobile computing, and follows the company's June launch of the Atom – a chip designed for smart phones and mobile Internet devices, or “netbooks.”

Power consumption is an area where Intel has an advantage because it has moved faster than AMD to a manufacturing process that lowers the energy use of its chips and the cost of making them.

AMD, meanwhile, has dramatically improved the visual capabilities of its chips with the 2006 acquisition of graphics chip maker ATI Technologies, a $5.6-billion deal that saddled AMD with substantial debt. AMD overhauled its mobile lineup last month with the release of its new Turion processor and related chipset.

AMD said those chips deliver three times better 3-D performance and five times better high-definition image quality than competing models. The processors consume as little as 32 watts of power.

Also at stake is Intel's need to push a new long-range wireless Internet technology called WiMax. Intel has invested heavily in WiMax but the technology has serious competition.

Intel plans to introduce WiMax technologies into the Centrino 2 bundle later this year. The company hopes that move will help spread the adoption of WiMax in the same way that the first Centrino package of chips, released in 2003, helped accelerate the use of Wi-Fi.

Computers fitted with the Centrino 2 will have the power to play a full Blu-ray DVD movie on a single battery charge.

Mr. Cooper said the first notebook computers featuring the new chip will be available within 90 days.