Intels Sonoma Takes a Step Back on Battery Life

Users may pay a penalty in battery life for the increased performance found in the new “Sonoma” Centrino platform from Intel Corp., one notebook manufacturer said.

Intel launched its Centrino platform at an event in San Francisco Wednesday, as expected. The new platform includes five new Pentium M processors, ranging from the 1.6GHz Pentium M 730 through the 2.13GHz Pentium M 770. Also included are three derivatives of the Intel 915 Express, or “Alviso,” chip set, with Intels integrated 900 graphics core, plus Intels latest 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi daughtercard, the Intel Pro Wireless 2915ABG.

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Intel claims the new platform will power 80 notebooks as of Wednesdays launch and 150 at years end, according to notebook manufacturers briefed by the company.

“Assuming volume materializes, this will likely support another claim to its fastest ramp ever in another quarter or two,” said Dean McCarron, an analyst with Mercury Research.

The new platform will go head-to-head with Advanced Micro Devices Inc.s “Turion” chip, a 64-bit-capable processor that will be introduced later this year.

Although Intel has aggressively power-managed the platform—for example, cutting the chip sets internal clock by half—the combination of one new feature, PCI Express, and the faster processor speeds may result in a slight decrease in battery life, one executive at IBM said. Shortages in third-party graphics accelerators have also slowed down IBMs launch of its new Sonoma-based ThinkPad notebooks, pushing their shipment out into February, he said.

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