Intel Centrino: pricing and prospects
According to the recently published report of WR Hambrecht + Co. LLC, the general impact of the Intel Centrino platform to the mobile market won’t be as considerable, as expected, despite large sums invested. The main reason is high prices for Centrino components. Besides, they can slow down Intel’s WLAN technology implementation in 2003.
As arguments the company states that 1.6GHz Intel Pentium M is expensive than 2.2GHz Pentium 4-M by 83%, and Intel’s wireless 802.11b adapter costs $46 that’s 229% more that $14 for similar solutions from other makers.
Another forcible argument is that 802.11a/g combination becomes more popular, while the current Centrino supports only the "b" version.
By the way, we’ve repeatedly posted how makers do not like high Centrino prices (again: on the moment of announcement wholesale prices for Centrino components: Intel 855PM, Intel PRO/Wireless 2100 and 1.60/1.50/1.40/1.30GHz Intel Pentium M were $720, $506, $377 and $292, respectively. So, Intersil along with other WLAN chipsets got a chance to strengthen their market positions, while Intel might find Centrino implementation difficult. (At least with prices we have now.)
Source: Silicon Strategies
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