Ixse,
Centrino offered something AMD couldn't, i.e. low power. Wireless was getting all too standard and the vast majority of AMD notebooks were at the time that Centrino got introduced nicely outfitted with the standard (.11b/g) as well so it was not nearly as relevant a differentiator as low power (.11b/g either as build in or optional). Also .11b/g PCMCIA cards were aplenty as well. Either way it was available en masse.
While Centrino (CPU's low power) was a differentiator, the question is, was that the reason people bought all those laptops, or was it the "bundling" of all the technologies that made it attractive? I think it was more the marketted notion that the Centrino "package" and not just the processor was the differentiator. I believe this is true since most people buy the package and not what is inside, especially when what is inside is a complicated set of technologies. In that case, the ViiV will have a chance.
Having said that, I tend to agree with some of what you and other AMD fans are saying. I think that the ViiV campaign will be tougher for Intel to pull off than the Centrino campaign. Both campaigns are trying to "bundle" an experience. In the case of the Centrino, it was the wireless internet experience. As you say, most all the technologies existed. Intel simply pulled it all together and offered a processor to match. A good marketing campaign clinched it. In the case of ViiV, the technologies Intel is trying to bundle is the "digitized media". Just like the Centrino, these technologies already exist. HDTV is an important driver, just like .11b/g was for Centrino. Unlike the Centrino, Intel has partnered (e.g. TiVo) for the ViiV campaign. This is one difference that is more important, I think, than the difference you mentioned(what CPU is inside). I suspect AMD is trying to find partners for its campaign as well.
We shall see.
IMHO
