Betting on the next generation of Intel Centrino mobile technology, notebook makers have jumped onto the bandwagon by unveiling their latest products to capture a slice of the market.
"The deployment of the new dual-core processor is like adding two hearts to a notebook, which will improve the performance of current laptops," said Scott Lin (林顯郎), president for Taiwan and Hong Kong operations of Acer Inc.
He made the remarks yesterday after attending a press conference held by Intel Corp to announce its latest dual-core platform, or Centrino Duo, for notebooks as well as its Viiv entertainment PC platform aimed at promoting the digital home concept.
Acer expects all of its notebooks shipped in the fourth quarter to be based on the Centrino Duo platform, which is a huge leap from just 30 percent within the first three months of the year, according to Lin.
The firm has 15 dual-core notebook models ready for launch, and three of them hit local stores last week with prices starting from NT$50,000 (US$1,560), he added.
Based on the same specifications, Centrino Duo notebooks will be around 10 percent pricier than laptops using the previous Pentium M processors, Lin said.
Meanwhile, Hewlett-Packard Taiwan Ltd will adopt a wait-and-see attitude on the market response to Centrino Duo, before deciding to switch all notebook products to the new architecture.
"We don't have plans to cease production of notebooks based on the previous platform for now. This will depend on the effectiveness of Intel's campaigns in pushing Centrino Duo and how users respond to it," said Clair Chang (
Within the first half of the year, HP Taiwan is set to release seven new dual-core notebooks to gauge the market response.
According to Chang, the company sees opportunities in the new platform, because unlike previous Intel launches, including the Sonoma single-core mobile technology, this one comes with a slew of supporting technologies and users will be able to enjoy immediate benefits.
The centerpiece of the Centrino Duo platform, previously code-named Napa, is Intel's Core Duo chip, which places two mobile processing cores on one chip. Two other components -- Intel's Mobile 945 chipset and Pro/Wireless 3945a/b/g chip -- are also part of the new chipset.
Centrino Duo is said to deliver a 68 percent performance gain, enable 28 percent longer battery life and offer 30 percent reduction in component size than the previous Pentium M generation, according to Intel.
"Within three months, we will see more than 20 notebooks based on the dual-core platform for Taiwan's market alone, while more than 40 models will hit the global markets," said Jerry Kao (
Over 230 related products designed on the Centrino Duo platform will be available by the end of this year, and around 80 percent of them will originate from Taiwan, he added.
In addition to powering the next generation of laptops, Centrino Duo will be at the center of Intel's new Viiv entertainment PC platform, which will seek to firmly place PCs at the heart of home entertainment.
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