Centrino Makes Whitebook Play

Beyond plain-vanilla whitebooks, wireless laptops with enhanced video and audio capabilities could be the next big thing. That's the thinking behind Intel's recently released upgrade of its Centrino technology (code-named Sonoma), which will enable a laptop to function as a gaming console, MP3 player and home theater, as well as a business-critical mobile device.

"Sonoma will raise mobile performance capabilities to a whole, new level," says Mooly Eden, vice president of Intel's mobility group. "This puts all your entertainment devices into one sleek form factor, and with the wireless ecosystem we have now, you can be at almost any remote location and still access all the content stored on your home network."

Centrino systems will support higher-bandwidth Wi-Fi connections and will be powered by Pentium M processors with clock speeds ranging from 1.5 GHz to 2.13 GHz. Prices will range from $270 to $705 in 1,000-unit quantities. Intel also introduced the Celeron M processor 370 at 1.5 GHz for $134, and the Celeron M ULV at 1.0 GHz for $161 in 1,000-unit quantities.

Given the robustness laptops now have, it's natural to wonder if and when notebooks will overtake desktop PCs. "We're already starting to see the transition from desktops to mobile devices," Eden says. "But when will we see the 'hockey stick' market curve? We should start seeing some evidence of this by the middle of this year."

As is typical, OEMs will be setting the pace in the market, with some 150 new Centrino notebooks in the pipeline, ranging from high-end, 17-inch, wide-screen models to ones starting at $1,000. For VARs and custom builders, this is a good thing, because resellers will have their choice of product to represent, and builders will find a market that's primed to take off.

"It's a natural progression; as mobility and Centrino have caught on, we've seen the move to mobility solutions in the channel, and there now are more than 25 platform solutions available to them," says Jim Noble, director of Intel's Asia Pacific ODM enabling group.

He says that as the number of whitebook manufacturers increases, it should help eliminate the reluctance the channel sometimes has had about carrying their products. "As more ODMs get into making notebooks based on Centrino, a lot of the time-to-market and quality issues VARs have had will go away," Noble adds.

Builders will also be helped along by Intel's Common Building Blocks program, a new initiative that aims to get Intel OEMs to build their notebooks using the same basic components.

"The channel will like it because of how it lets them service and support multiple platforms," Noble says.