WiMax wireless in Intel notebooks

Intel is planning to equip its notebooks with 802.11n, a higher-bandwidth WiFi standard, and displayed a combination WiFi/WiMax chip which the company has codenamed Ofer. The chipmaker later this year will introduce Merom, a new dual-core mobile processor boasting 4MB of onboard cache and a 20 percent increase in performance without raising power consumption. The chip is to be based on Intel's latest circuitry known as Core Microarchitecture, and will be placed into existing notebook platforms built on existing platform hardware--codenamed Napa. The new systems will hit the market in time for the holiday season, according to an Intel manager. The next platform upgrade--codenamed Santa Rosa--will arrive early next year and will combine Merom with a new chipset named Crestline and 802.11n wireless module, according to a report from eWeek.com.

Santa Rosa will also utilize Intel's AMT (Active Management Technology) and Robson Technology, which incorporates flash memory to compliment notebook hard drives. Models using Robson will boot quicker and save power by spinning down the hard drive, storing data in flash memory.

Intel's Mobility Group general manager Sean Maloney did not provide a time estimation for the arrival of the combination radio chip, but said Ofer will be able to address both 802.11n and WiMax, across several different bands.

"This is a very important first step--a radio that is capable of handling both standards in all of those frequency bands," Maloney said.

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