Intel Gets a Facelift

by , 8:50 AM EST, December 30th, 2005

Intel is revamping its corporate and product branding to reflect its growth outside of the PC chip market, according to the New York Times. The re-branding comes as a part of Intel's move towards developing products that will be part of a "digital home." Intel's collaboration with Apple, already seen by some as the future leader in digital home entertainment, will help to build a more friendly reputation for the chip manufacturer.

The re-branding effort is being overseen by Intel's Senior Vice President, Eric B. Kim. His team is changing Intel's logo, and doing away with the "Intel Inside" slogan. The new tag line will be "Leap Ahead," to tie together the company's different platforms.

Intel is expected to talk about the new consumer technologies it is developing at the CES Expo in Las Vegas, which runs from January 5 through January 8, 2006. Paul S. Otellini, Inte's CEO, will most likely highlight Viiv, its home entertainment chip set, and Core (code named "Yonah"), a low powered processor for portable computers. The Core chip is rumored to be the heart of Apple's upcoming Intel-based iBooks and PowerBooks.

The public release of the Core chip will be a week before Apple Computer CEO, Steve Jobs, takes the stage at Macworld Expo in San Francisco to talk about his company's road map for 2006. Industry experts and Mac users are speculating that Mr. Jobs will surprise us with an iBook or PowerBook based on the Core chip several months ahead of schedule. If he does, one thing is certain: It won't have an "Intel Inside" sticker on it.