Intel's Mobile Penryn, Montevina to be Coined Centrino 2

by , 3:15 PM EST, February 20th, 2008

In order to clear up confusion about its product line and punctuate an advance in technology, Intel will rename the mobile Penryn, code-named Montevina, as Centrino 2. The CPUs are expected to be announced at Computex 2008 in early June, according to DigiTimes on Monday.

The problem is that Intel has used the brand name Centrino on four generations of notebook platforms, the Carmel, Sonoma, Napa, and Santa Rosa. That's made it hard for consumers to see the progression of capabilities in the CPUs and support systems.

"The new marketing strategy should give consumers the feeling of a tangible upgrade and will hopefully spur replacement demand," Monica Chen wrote. The Centrino 2 will clock from 2.26 GHz to 3.06 GHz and cost US$209 to $851 respectively.

In 3Q 2008, according to the report, Intel will introduce small form factor versions of the Centrino 2, similar to what they did for the Core 2 Duo in the MacBook Air.

Apple customers have been eagerly awaiting the introduction of new MacBook Pros with the Penryn family of mobile CPUs, and speculation has mounted that Apple would make an announcement on February 26th. That's unlikely, however, since Computex in Taipei is scheduled for June 3 to 7, making the introduction of the new MacBooks a more likely candidate for WWDC if Apple follows in sync with Intel's marketing plans.

On Wednesday, AppleInsider reported on a secret event in New York with Apple and the rock band, Linkin Park on February 21st. However, since Apple typically sends out notice of an event a few days beforehand, it's unlikely that event is the long awaited iPhone SDK announcement. Appledom will just have to wait a little longer for both announcements from Apple.