Intel details high-speed wireless plans
Published: 08 Mar 2006 15:15 GMT
Intel unveiled a new generation of its Centrino notebook technology as well as the Ultra Mobile PC during afternoon keynote speeches at the Intel Developer Forum on Tuesday.
Santa Rosa is the code name for the next iteration of Centrino, which is a combination of a mobile processor, chipset and wireless chip, said Sean Maloney, executive vice-president and head of Intel's Mobility Group.
Santa Rosa will arrive in the first half of 2007, according to Maloney, though sources have put the expected launch around March of that year. Santa Rosa will accommodate the Merom processor that's expected to launch later this year but will feature a new chipset called Crestline that's designed to improve graphics performance.
Kedron, the new wireless chip in Santa Rosa, will support the 802.11n wireless standard that is expected to be ratified early next year. But Wi-Fi standards such as 802.11n are only one part of Intel's wireless vision. The company continues to push WiMax technology as a future standard that could deliver data signals at broadband speeds over areas the size of cities.
Maloney also demonstrated a single-chip Wi-Fi/WiMax radio that could connect to either network, as well as a WiMax PC card that could allow current-generation notebooks to hook up to WiMax networks. The WiMax PC card was running the mobile version of WiMax, which was recently approved by the IEEE.







