Intel launches latest mobile chipset based on Haifa-developed Dothan

By Oded Hermoni
Ha'aretz
May 11, 2004

Intel, the world's largest chip maker, unveiled its Pentium M 
chipset yesterday based on the Dothan processor developed in 
Israel.

The new mobile processor for notebook personal computers was 
unveiled in California, and the major laptop manufacturers 
immediately announced new product lines using the latest 
chipset. The Dothan processors are part of the Centrino processor 
family, and are part of Intel's efforts to accelerate the growing 
trend of wireless Internet access via laptop PCs.

Intel made a big push into portable computing last year with the 
launch of its Centrino brand, which combines power-efficient 
processors with wireless communications capabilities.

Corporate vice president and the man responsible for Intel's 
mobile computing division, David Perlmutter, chose to spend 
yesterday with those who helped develop the Dothan at Intel's 
Haifa plant. The lesson was not lost on either Intel or the 
local and international press: The success of the Centrino 
processor could be attributed solely to the Israeli development 
team.

After little more than a year since the March 2003 launch, more 
than 150 models of notebook PCs are now equipped with Centrino 
technology globally, Intel said. "What we have seen over the 
past year is the establishment of a trend toward wireless 
computing," Kaz Yoshida, co-president of Intel KK (Intel's 
Japanese unit), said yesterday. And Perlmutter was similarly 
confident about the latest generation of mobile processors, 
despite a three-month delay in the Dothan's coming to market.

The Pentium M processors are the company's first mobile 
processors built with cutting-edge 90 nanometer manufacturing 
technology, which helps the new chips perform faster than 
earlier models, while consuming roughly the same amount of 
power. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. Despite 
progress in production technology that allows more chips on 
the same silicon wafer, the Dothan family is the same size as 
the Banias (Intel's first, and successful, generation of the 
Centrino, named for the northern Israeli waterfall). In this 
way, Intel has set a precedent by allowing mobile PC owners 
to upgrade processors themselves.

And what does it do?

The new processors are available at clock speeds ranging from 
1.7 to 2.0 Gigahertz. The 1.7 GHz Pentium M costs $294, the 
1.8 GHz processor costs $423, and the 2.0 GHz $637 each when 
purchased in quantities of 1,000. 

Major notebook PC manufacturers, including Dell, Hewlett-Packard, 
Sony and Toshiba are to introduce notebook PCs based on the 
new Pentium M processors.