Intel rolls out wireless Web chips
Firm says Centrino chipset may lift tech from doldrums; Wireless PCs to sell for about $1,399.
March 12, 2003: 7:04 AM EST
The world's largest computer processor maker, launched a set of chips Wednesday it said will make wireless Internet access a standard feature on laptops within a year.
At news conferences throughout Asia, Intel showed off a set of chips known as Centrino it said will allow mobile computer users to access the Internet at home and a growing number of public places via radio waves.
At an event in Tokyo, Intel Chief Operating Officer Paul Otellini said the chip could change telecommunications much the way that other wireless services did when they were introduced. "Just like cellphones and cellular infrastructure unleashed telecoms, we believe in this decade wireless notebooks are going to unleash computing," he said.
Computer firms IBM Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co., Dell Computer Corp., Toshiba Corp. and Sony Corp. have already pledged to include the chipset, microprocessor and software in their new notebooks.
Intel said Centrino notebooks would cost about the same as current laptops, starting as low as $1,399. In Japan, models are expected to sell for as low as ¥200,000, or $1,702.
At an event in Sydney, Intel Australia general manager David Bolt said the chips could usher in a wave of new development that will help to lift the technology sector out of the doldrums.
"Certainly we think that all the signs are very, very positive for mobility and wireless based high speed broadband communications to really help us deliver true value to customers," Bolt said.
Intel is throwing its weight behind a wireless technology that has suffered for years from fragmented development and a raft of names such as Wi-Fi, WLAN (wireless local area network) and 802.11.
The technology could dent demand for mobile phones capable of connecting to the Internet.
Centrino laptop users would be able to surf the Internet, or sign onto corporate networks, if they are within 100 meters (100 yards) of access points.
Intel has signed deals with telephone operators China Mobile and China Netcom to build Wi-Fi networks in high-traffic public areas in China, which has the world's second-largest number of Web users.
Major telephone operators in Japan and South Korea have also jumped onto the bandwagon, expanding wireless Internet networks even though the technology will compete with their high-end mobile services.
Intel (INTC: Research, Estimates) shares fell 5 cents Tuesday to close at $15.85.
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