Intel CEO Paul Otellini is expected to outline the company’s plans to transfer its newly developed 45nm process into mainstream products during a keynote speech at today’s Intel Developer Forum (IDF), which runs September 18-20 in San Francisco (agenda, FAQ and
content catalog). PC Magazine and C/Net have complete coverage.
Intel is expected to reveal more details of its Penryn CPU, their 45nm Hi-k silicon technology and new WiMAX applications along with the introduction of the associated Montevina notebook platform, and a a raft of other announcements.
According to C/Net and Extreme Tech:
Otellini confirmed the Penryn chip will be launched on Nov. 12, the first of 20 microprocessors launched on the process. The supporting X38 chipset, announced at the Computex show this summer, will launch Oct. 10, 2007. The Nov. 12 launch will emphasize servers and high-end desktops, Otellini said, while a second launch in May 2008 will be more geared at the mainstream desktop and mobile markets.
Santa Rosa will be refreshed with “Penryn”, Intel’s innovative 45nm Hi-k dual core mobile processor. Later in 2008, Intel will deliver “Montevina” processor technology, also with Penryn, for greater performance and energy efficiency. With approximately 40 percent smaller components, Montevina will target mini- and sub-notebooks, with integrated hardware decode for high-definition video. Montevina will also offer multi-mode Wi-Fi/WiMAX adapters including a single Wi-Fi (802.11n).
Santa Rosa refers to the fourth-generation Centrino platform. Montevina refers to the fifth-generation Centrino platform, scheduled for release in Q2 2008. Montevina will support Penryn, Intel’s 45nm die-shrink version of its current generation of 65nm Core 2 processors.
During the three-day event, Intel will also highlight Nehalem CPUs slated for the second half of 2008 and provide more details of its new Menlow UMPC (ultra-mobile PC) platform. The Technology Showcase features sponsors and a variety of Technology communities.
Since Menlow is expected to deliver better performance than the current McCaslin-based UMPCs, consumers have been adopting a wait-and-see attitude toward the launch of Menlow. The next-generation Moorestown UMPC platform could also be discussed during the forum.
Otellini showed the industry’s first working chips built using 32 nanometer (nm) technology, with transistors so small that more than 4 million of them could fit on the period at the end of this sentence. Intel’s 32nm process technology is on track to begin production in 2009.
Meanwhile, AMD’s forthcoming Phenom is “expected to be the world’s first PC processor to integrate three computational cores on a single die of silicon.” AMD hopes to grab the market that isn’t quite ready for quad-core CPUs but could use more powr than single or dual-core chips. The devices are expected sometime in Q1 of next year.
Chip maker AMD saw its fortunes and market share rise to over 20% in recent years, but over the last year, Intel has come on strong with dual core and 65 nm process technology enabling faster, smaller, more cost/effective chips. Intel’s second-quarter market share was a commanding 78.8 percent of the market. Otellini said Intel will have an 18- to 24-month lead in shipping chips on 45 nm. AMD is still ramping up its chips on 65 nm technology.
Intel is pushing Wimax. Lenovo, Acer, Asus, Panasonic and Toshiba will embed Wimax in their laptops with the Intel Montevina platform next year, said Otellini. Last year, there were 10 mobile Wimax trials underway. Today, there are 120. A product dubbed Echo Peak will integrate Mobile WiMAX on the same Mini PCI card as the Wi-Fi a/g/n radio.
Clearwire has begun selling PC cards in Seattle. After rebates, the PC card, made by Motorola, costs $80 with monthly service around $60 for 1.5Mbps download speed. But Motorola Expedience card may be a “pre-WiMAX design, before Clearwire sold their hardware division to Motorola.
Otellini predicts 150 million people will be covered by Wimax in 2008, mostly in the in US, 250 million worldwide by 2010, 1.3 billion by 2012. He expects it will be possible to roam around the world on Wimax at some point.
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