Centrino

Intel has invested more than $300 million in its Centrino marketing campaigns. Many people conflate the "Centrino" with the "Intel Pentium M processor," but the Centrino is actually a full-spectrum marketing initiative. "Centrino" refers to a CPU, chip set, and wireless interface--all designed for use within a laptop PC. While Intel intended the name "Centrino" to connote technical power, the word "Centrino" in Italian literally means "doily."

Intel launched its first-generation Centrino platform in March 2003. Called the "Carmelo" platform, this consisted of an advanced 855 series chip set, a dual band WiFi adapter, and a Pentium M processor. The Carmelo Centrino received mixed reviews from industry analysts. While critics loved the fast power and the relatively long battery life that the new platform offered--much faster than the Pentium IV processor's platforms--they complained that Carmelo didn't have a 802.11 g solution.

That said, since Carmelo ran quickly, most major laptop manufacturers redesigned to build smaller, thinner laptops with it. In January 2005, Intel released its second generation platform, called the Sonoma platform. This featured a much faster Pentium M processor (133 MHz) as well as a number of support features, like Intel high-definition audio and DDR2.

As a result of Intel's aggressive Centrino marketing campaign, most major laptop manufacturers have developed large demands for the company's PRO/wireless chipsets. The Sonoma platform actually drinks up more power than the Carmelo platform does. A laptop running a Sonoma Centrino platform will only get around 3.5 to 4.5 hours of battery usage.