Centrino Platform Gets Ease-of-Use Boost

Intel Corp. has boosted the performance of its Celeron M processor for value-priced and slim-profiled notebook PCs: The new Celeron M 350 (1.3GHz) and 360 (1.4GHz) are built on 90-nanometer instead of 0.13-micron process technology, making room for double the on-chip Level 2 cache — 1MB instead of 512K. (Until now, the only Celeron M built on 90-nanometer technology was the Ultra Low Voltage model 353, which runs at 900MHz with 512K of L2 cache.) Using the same 400MHz system bus as their predecessors, the Celeron M 350 and 360 are priced at $107 and $134, respectively, in 1,000-unit OEM quantities.

Intel has also expanded the wireless capabilities of its Centrino mobile CPU (Pentium M), chipset, and network adapter bundle, introducing a tri-mode 802.11a/b/g component — the Pro/Wireless 2915ABG Network Connection, priced at $27 in 10,000-unit quantities. In addition, version 9.0 of the company’s ProSet/Wireless software includes a configuration, troubleshooting, and security-setup tool called the Intel Smart Wireless Solution.

The latter detects all available networks and offers profile management to help users connect to different WLANs at home, in the office, and on the road. It also supports the new IEEE 802.11i security standard, with auto-detection and auto-select capabilities to help wireless users employ the highest available security settings.

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