Australia lets slip first Centrino 2 notebook

Australian PC builder Pioneer on Thursday has inadvertently become the first to advertise a system based on Intel's Centrino 2 mobile platform. The DreamBook Style 9008 will be one of Pioneer's thin-and-light 15.4-inch notebooks and will achieve its goal in part by using an unnamed variant of the new "Montevina" era, P-series Core 2 Duo processors: the design will have the faster 1,066MHz system bus from the full-size chips but consume just 25 watts of power, letting it run with less cooling and with longer battery life than full-power 35W chips.

The system will otherwise target the mid-range of notebooks with a 256MB Mobility Radeon HD 3400 providing its video, 802.11n Wi-Fi, and a choice of both 5,400RPM and 7,200RPM hard drives as well as an unnamed solid-state drive. Blu-ray will also be an alternative to the DVD burner. Pioneer hasn't disclosed when it expects to release the system, but will not have the option until the official Intel launch of Centrino 2 in June. Pricing is already set at $1,399 in Australia ($1,305 US) after tax. [via PC Authority]

Filed under: computers
Other story tags: Intel, Radeon, Centrino, Montevina