Intel rolls out Centrino 2 platform without WiMAX

The chip giant launches its next-generation mobile chipset, shows off a WiMAX-enabled smart car, and delays WiMAX support until later in the year.

As part of Intel's Centrino 2 processor launch this week, the chip company shifted its timeline for introducing WiMAX support and showed off a smart car incorporating mobile WiMAX services. Intel tricked out a Mercedes-Benz smart car with WiMAX gear and a vehicle information system. The vehicle was on display in San Francisco this week during the launch event. Surprisingly, the eco-friendly smart car is even more spacious than the typical Intel employee cubicle.

Adding computing power to the automotive industry is not new, but it has been relatively hidden to consumers in the past. In addition to controlling on-board systems, such as electrical, climate, and emissions, the addition of a high-speed connection from the vehicle to the Internet offers several new capabilities. WiMAX technology, based on the IEEE 802.16e-2005 standards, maintains a multi-megabit link from an antenna in the vehicle to nearby receivers that connect to the Internet.

In-vehicle systems utilize a touch-screen interface located in the dashboard or via a rear-seat console. The screen is specially designed to provide contrast and brightness based on a wide range of lighting conditions experienced when driving at different hours of the day or night. Intel's smart car incorporates several peripherals for passengers to interact with, including two webcams, a 5.1 surround sound system and a GPS navigation system. Internet services are then applied to provide conveniences similar to those you might have in your home today. Voice and video calls can be made and received, songs from your home audio library are streamed to the vehicle, and episodes of television programming are accessible anytime.

The Centrino 2 processor platform is supposed to enable WiMAX services for many countries in the same way that Wi-Fi became a standard notebook PC feature with the original Centrino introduction. However, the initial Centrino 2 chipsets will not include WiMAX. While Intel has achieved WiMAX Forum Wave 2 certification for the Echo Peak module (combining 2.5 GHz WiMAX and multi-band Wi-Fi on a single module), it will not be produced until later this year. Upon introduction, the Echo Peak WiMAX/Wi-Fi module will be an optional feature for Centrino 2-powered notebooks.

By Jeff Orr

ORR Technology, LLC
 

Tuesday, July 15, 2008 in Business | Equipment  | Permalink |  Comments (0)