The world’s largest chipmaker hopes Centrino will bring wireless into the mainstream
The buzz surrounding wireless technology is akin to the mid-1980s craze over cordless phones, although initial reaction to wireless hasn’t been as receptive as expected. The world’s largest chipmaker wants to reverse that lukewarm treatment by focusing on a strategy straight out of Hollywood: If you build it, they will come.
The recently announced Centrino mobile technology is riding on the wave of Wi-Fi computing that liberates laptops from winding wires and cables. Centrino is based around the Pentium M processor and bundled with a chipset and the Intel Pro Wireless network connection via a mini PCI 802.11b radio module. The main advantages of the Pentium M, according to Intel, is a longer battery life and greater performance. The company that created the first single chip microprocessor in 1971 is not treading softly with the new technology — it earmarked $300 million to market Centrino.
“This is a tipping point,” says Doug Cooper, Intel’s country manager for Canada, referring to a trend-setting benchmark. “Business workers want to be untethered, and we’re at the forefront of providing that freedom.”
Essentially, Intel’s Centrino is the slacker of all chips: It works as little as possible and sleeps on the job. It conserves power by slowing or shutting off subsystems as they go out of use, dipping into low-power mode between rendering each frame of a DVD movie, for example. Key features in the processor include Micro-Ops Fusion, which combines two operations into one, enabling it to execute faster and at a lower power; also, Deep Sleep (or Deeper Sleep) Alert States enter during periods of inactivity, while still maintaining its context, and further increases battery life for notebook users.
Cooper says Centrino increases battery life to five hours, doubling its predecessor’s standard.
But prices haven’t doubled, only increasing slightly for the complete package. The super-charged Centrino notebooks range from Dell’s D600 at $2,299 to Acer’s 803L at $4,259.
The hype surrounding the new chipset family has attracted valuable partnerships, notably PC makers such as Microsoft, Dell and IBM. More importantly for end users wondering where to visit Wi-Fi access locations, these “hotspots” are springing up in restaurants, hotels, airport lounges and coffee chains. Intel expects to install more than 10,000 hotspots in North America by the end of the year. Experts predict the worldwide total of hotspots will soar 600 per cent by 2005.
Such broadening interests have sealed key alliances in the retail and hotelier industry. In the United States (so far), McDonald’s customers can chow down on an extra value meal and receive a free hour of high-speed wireless Internet access through 300 hotspots in the fast-food restaurants. The deal is being offered on a BYOL basis — bring your own laptop.
Fairmont Hotels announced it will incorporate wireless connectivity in all its resorts worldwide, expecting high-profit returns. Fairmont’s Tim Aubrey says hotel guests can access free broadband at a minimum of 5.6 megabits per second while inquisitive individuals can purchase 24-hour access for $10.
In the sports world, Air Canada Centre is taking centre court by installing 90 Wi-Fi hotspots covering almost every foot of the arena. Seat-holders would be able to customize food and drink orders, and receive sports updates on their laptops from anywhere in the arena.
And Bell Canada has leapt into the mix with its Bell AccessZones peppered coast to coast. In Toronto, an AccessZone near the Union Station food court offers free Wi-Fi access in exchange for feedback about the service.
“Intel’s focus is on communication and convergence,” says Cooper, indicating how case studies point to successes that should nudge PC users closer to Wi-Fi technology.
But wireless wanderlust is still in its infancy. “(Wi-Fi) is still very nascent and every industry player has a long way to go,” says Warren Chaisatien, senior telecommunications analyst with IDC Canada. He notes that not only are U.S. hotspots failing to rake in big bucks, but obstacles, such as establishing a unified price map, confuses customers. “Various places charge different prices, some based on per hour, some not. It’s not structured,” says Chaisatien. A hotspot user today has to pay 20 separate bills if he or she hit 20 separate hotspots, for example.
To further muddy the waters, security concerns drive PC users away from wireless modules. IDC views security as a significant factor in Wi-Fi choice, for two reasons: The public is inefficiently educated and unnecessarily afraid.
Chaisatien believes a “fear factor” envelops consumers when they hear of hackers breaking into wireless networks. “That fear is embedded in their psyche,” he says.
For all the advantages Centrino holds, technical specifics may also frighten away possible customers. The Pentium M, clocking speeds up to 1.5GHz, runs slower than the Pentium 4-M mobile processor, at 2.2GHz. The chipmaker contends that Centrino outperforms older (but faster) models by extending battery life and narrowing the performance gap. Clock speeds may fade away from industry vocabulary, as Intel suggests by hinting that a 1.6GHz Pentium M beats a 2.4GHz Pentium 4-M to the finish line in performance tests. Such a development would shake the base of computing marketing.
Brian Sharwood, of technology consultant SeaBoard Group, believes the Wi-Fi benefits will speak for themselves. “Once you use (wireless), it’s hard to go back. It’s like getting high-speed and going back to dial-up.”
A venture as “revolutionary as Centrino” (Cooper’s self-congratulation) is a bold step in a direction bound to reshape modern-day computing. Yet it remains to be seen whether the wireless movement will become the field of dreams for chipmakers like Intel.
