The world’s leading chip manufacturer is set to kick off 2006 with a highly anticipated event: the release of new generation processors for laptops, followed by a focus on developing home entertainment systems.
According to Keith Kresslin, Intel’s Director of Mobile Platforms Marketing, the dual-core Yonah chip for notebooks, based on the new Napa platform (developed from Centrino technology), will be launched next month. This device improves operational capabilities by 68% compared to the company’s current chips. “Customers will be able to make Skype calls while gaming,” Kresslin emphasized.
Laptops and compact desktop systems equipped with Yonah are also expected to debut alongside the launch of this chip. Notebooks operating on Yonah are projected to consume an average power of just 3 watts.
The company, headquartered in Santa Clara, California, hopes that Yonah will be their “golden child” in the coming year. In 2004, Intel’s revenue significantly declined due to unstable performance of their processors. Although quality issues were resolved in 2005, Intel continued to lose market share to rival AMD.
The first quarter of 2006 will also welcome the Viiv computers integrated with Intel’s chips and software. These systems will become the hub of home entertainment, capable of storing music, photos, videos, and recording TV shows. From the third quarter, Viiv PCs will allow users to download movies directly to portable devices, even if those films are protected by anti-copying software.
Intel also plans to test the compatibility of Viiv computers with other devices such as mobile phones, LCD TVs, and content download services. These products will be branded to demonstrate their connection to Viiv.
The Viiv computers will be showcased at the CES exhibition in Las Vegas in January 2006. The initial systems will be exported to nine countries and then expanded globally.
One of the factors affecting Intel’s image in 2005 was the lack of impressive new products. Aside from a series of devices released in January, Intel did not announce many new processors over the past 12 months. Even the company’s dual-core chip was merely two single-core chips combined.
Presler, another dual-core chip for laptops, will also be introduced early next year, while the entire line of chips for desktops, servers, and notebooks based on the new platform will be launched in the second half of 2006. Intel is also producing 65 nm chips, while AMD will have to wait until the end of next year to begin its production.
