Intel to rebrand Montevina as Centrino 2

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The next iteration of Intel's notebook platform, codenamed Montevina, will be known as Centrino 2, according to reports.

Intel updates its notebook platform on an annual basis and each time introduces new technology. The Centrino brand infers that a notebook features three pieces of Intel technology, - a processor, a chipset and a wireless card.

The first, Carmel, was introduced in March 2003 featuring the Banias Pentium M processor. This was followed by Sonoma, which used the Dothan processor, Napa, which moved to Core Duo and later Core 2 Duo processors and then Santa Rosa, which updated the integrated graphics and introduced optional 'Robson' Turbo Memory.

All of these updates have come under the umbrella brand of Centrino, which is leading to confusion amongst potential purchasers who are unaware of the differences. Moving to a new name, or at least the same name with a '2' tagged on, will denote a tangible upgrade, which notebook makers hope will spur demand for newer models.

The new Montevina platform, which a report at Digitimes today claims will be rebranded as Centrino 2, will feature Intel's latest Penryn processor, a 45nm process die-shrink version of the current 65nm Core 2 Duo. These will initially be introduced as dual-core parts, but Intel has confirmed that quad-core versions will appear in the second half of the year.

Certain SKUs will also feature integrated WiMax, a next-gen wide area wireless standard. Montevina notebooks will also offer conventional Wi-Fi in a/b/g and n flavours and support for DDR3 RAM, which is more energy efficient than DDR2.

Next years update, codenamed Calpella, is expected to be based on Intel's forthcoming Nehalem processor.

An Intel spokesman admitted to IT PRO that that he was aware of the report, but stated that Intel would not comment on speculation at this time.

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