Changes to Intel Centrino CPU and WLAN in 2010

centrinoIntel is changing how the Centrino brand is put together in 2010.  The Centrino brand will no longer include the CPU, chipset and WLAN connection. It will instead focus on the CPU under the Core brand.

Why the change?  It is the hope that this will open up the market space to more third-party WLAN chip manufacturers. It will also release up to 30-35% of the global demand for WLAN 802.11n chips to chipset suppliers.

Will this have any effect on us, the end users? From a business perspective, not really.  This is more a boon for the US WLAN manufacturing vendors. It will give them a way to get a “one up” on their Asian counterparts. US manufacturing thrives on competition, and with so much coming in from outside the US, it would be nice to bring some of that business back to the USA.

From a usability perspective, possibly.  We may see cheaper processors, better integration with the newer operating systems, and possible performance boosts; but we won’t know for certain until the deal has been struck and the new chips start coming in next year.

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