HP will use Atheros chips in tri-mode notebooks, the first to support “tri-mode” (802.11a/b/draft-g) operation. Toshiba’s Satellite Pro 6100 also uses the Atheros 5100x. Meanwhile IBM on Tuesday announced dual-band ThinkPad notebooks with integrated antennas.
Intel is delaying use of the dual-band chipset (codenamed Calexico). That means Intel’s ‘Centrino’-based laptops will have only 802.11b support, using a chipset from Philips. The dual mode (a/b and later “g” won’t be available until later in the year.
Intel will introduce the Centrino processor family in March.
Three versions of the low-power Pentium-M processor, formerly code-named Banias, now Centrino, will reportedly be available. A standard Pentium-M chip, is expected to run at 1.3GHz to 1.6GHz, but two as-yet-undisclosed lower-power versions may also be available.
The new chips include an ultra-low-voltage Pentium-M that will debut at 900MHz and a low-voltage Pentium-M chip that will begin at 1.1GHz, according to the sources. The chips, along with the rest of the Centrino family, will allow Intel to target the full range of notebook models sold by manufacturers.
