Intel Corp., the world"s largest chip maker, unveiled on Monday a new mobile processor for notebook computers that boosts performance while keeping battery life roughly the same as previous versions. The Pentium M processors are Intel"s first mobile processors built with a cutting-edge manufacturing technology that allows features as small as 90 billionths of a meter to be placed on the chip.
They are also the first to be sold under a new branding scheme in which Intel"s chips are numbered like car models instead of labeled by their raw speed in gigahertz. Twenty-eight notebook computer systems based on the new chip were released on Monday, with around 50 systems to be ready for sale by mid-July, said Anand Chandrasekhar, Intel"s head of mobile computing. The new chip opens up advanced applications to notebook computer users like full-screen high-definition video playing and mobile videoconferencing, while keeping the PC relatively light, Intel said.