Intel Debuts Mobile-Technology PackageIntel Debuts Mobile-Technology Package

Intel has introduced Centrino as the new brand name for its upcoming package of wireless mobile-computing technology, including the Pentium M microprocessor (formerly code-named Banias), 802.11 wireless networking connectivity, and the related chipsets. Intel, which will formally launch Centrino during the first half of the year, will let its equipment-maker partners use Centrino's components as a whole or implement individual components. Products that use all three of Centrino's components will be branded as Centrino devices, whereas products using only the microprocessor will be branded with a Pentium M label, similar to today's "Intel Inside" stickers.

With so many customers buying laptop computers as replacements for desktop PCs, Intel's goal is to provide wireless laptop technology that's powerful yet good on battery life, an Intel spokesman said at Wednesday's introduction. Intel anticipates that all of its major partners will release new laptops in conjunction with Centrino's launch. "All of our OEM partners will tend to have a Centrino-branded offering," the spokesman says, while some also will opt to offer models that use only part of the Centrino package.

One analyst says Intel's success marketing Centrino will depend on how badly equipment makers, including Dell Computer, Hewlett-Packard, and IBM, want the full Centrino brand on their products. An equipment maker "needs to decide between adding all of Centrino's features or using some components from Intel's competitors," says Brooks Gray, research director for Technology Business Research. "The number of features in Centrino could boost the OEM's value proposition, but it could also cause their product's price/performance to suffer."