After a slight delay dance that stretched its unveiling by around three weeks, chipmaker Intel Corporation has finally blown a golden fanfare for the official arrival of its much anticipated Centrino 2 mobile platform.
Intel finally unveils its new Centrino 2 mobile platform. Image: Intel Corp.
Tech magazine CNET reports that Centrino 2 will be available in both mainstream consumer and business (vPro-equipped) iterations, and will see Intel using the upgraded mobile platform to direct a more streamlined focus towards the platform’s high-definition media capabilities.
Specifically, CNET notes that Centrino 2 has been developed to improve Blu-ray HD performance while reducing laptop battery drain so that users stand a better chance of watching an entire high-definition movie without their computers requiring an energy top-up.
The new Centrino 2 line will carry a total of five new processors including an upgraded version of the X9100 Core 2 Extreme Mobile Processor, which Intel is positioning to attract the eye of power-conscious gaming enthusiasts by dropping its overclock protection.
In terms of connectivity improvements, Intel claims that its 802.11n Wi-Fi standard will double effective range while delivering connection speeds around five times quicker than those currently on offer. And yet, while such increased wireless performance will no-doubt be welcomed, Intel is already preparing future Centrino 2 releases to include WiMAX capabilities. WiMAX is the successor to Wi-Fi.
While relative processing oomph is clearly one of Intel’s goals with the introduction of Centrino 2, the company is also making a show of focusing deserved attention on providing consumers with a balanced blend of enhanced performance alongside advances in energy efficiency.
According to Mooly Eden, vice president and general manager of the chipmaker’s mobile platforms unit, Intel’s “secret sauce” in this category is a feature called “HUGI,” or “Hurry Up and Get Idle.”
For example, Intel used the press event to outline that the HUGI process will enable its 2.8GHz processor to consume up to 60 percent less energy than existing 2.33GHz chips while boosting task speeds by as much as 30 seconds.
Adding to that, with energy efficiency becoming increasingly important to the future of the technology industry, Intel is introducing a new Centrino 2 chipset that will enable laptops to switch from using a more powerful discrete graphics solution to a more efficient and less graphics-intensive integrated solution.
While Intel Corp., the world’s leading microprocessor manufacturer, suggests that fixing the untimely release hold-up was little more than a “simple procedure,” online reports suggest the issue was caused by an FCC certification wrinkle regarding the platform’s 802.11n Wi-Fi standard.
There are also other related reports that claim the problem was rooted not with the FCC, but rather with the platform’s integrated graphics feature. Either way, Mooly Eden revealed during the launch day event that the problem has been ironed out and Centrino 2 is now “good to go.”
To further boost the platform’s impact on both the consumer and the mobile computer industry, Santa Clara-based Intel has indicated that Centrino 2 will be rolled out this week across more than 240 new laptops from prominent hardware makers such as Acer, Lenovo, Gateway and Fujitsu.
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