Intel Tips Viiv, Yonah In Consumer PushIntel Tips Viiv, Yonah In Consumer Push

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Making a big splash in the consumer market, Intel Corp. on Thursday (Jan. 5) unveiled a dual-core processor, PC platform and several content alliances that are said to provide the foundation for digital entertainment and wireless laptops.

As expected, Intel rolled out its next-generation processor for notebooks, codenamed Yonah. The company also formally introduced its new home PC platform — Viiv — as well as several commitments from content providers for the system, such as AOL, DirecTV, NBC Universal, Turner Broadcasting's GameTap, ESPN, Televisa, Google and Eros.

Alienware, Gateway and others announced PC-like products based on Viiv. Taking another shot in the long-awaited “convergence” market, Intel in August rolled out what it called a new kind of PC for the home. Working together with a variety of Intel-verified consumer electronics devices, online services and software, Intel’s so-called Viiv (rhymes with "five") technology is said to enable a new class of home PCs equipped with digital entertainment and TV-like capabilities. Intel claims that Viiv-based entertainment PCs will help make it easier for families to download, store, view, manage and share all kinds of digital entertainment and information on a choice of TV, PC, laptop and hand-held viewing screens. "With our new platforms, we're not only boosting wireless computing, but also advancing digital entertainment a few steps closer to effortless," said Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini, in a statement.