The Santa Clara, Calif.-based chipmaker will release a new mobile Celeron running at 1.06GHz and two low-power Pentium III-M chips for ultra-portable machines, sources familiar with Intel"s plans said. Soon after the launch, consumers can expect to see new notebooks with the chips and price cuts on existing systems.
Intel declined to comment. The Celeron is the lower-cost relative of the more feature-rich Pentium chip.
The new Celeron is being manufactured using Intel"s newer 130-nanometer (0.13 micron) process rather than with the older 180-nanometer process, sources said. As a result, circuits and other features on the chip will be approximately 50 percent smaller, which reduces manufacturing costs and makes it more energy efficient.
While the new Pentium III-M chips won"t run as fast as the Celeron, they will consume less power. As a result, notebooks that incorporate them can contain smaller heat sinks and other insulating equipment. Battery life also is extended in such systems.