Notebooks go WiMAX

Several companies are announcing plans to carry notebooks with Intel chips featuring WiMAX support, InfoWorld reports. ASUS, Acer, Lenovo, Toshiba and Panasonic have all agreed to support Intel's upcoming Montevina platform, which features Centrino Duo processors. The decree, coinciding with the ongoing Intel Developer Forum, contains some notable absentees: major PC builders Dell and Hewlett-Packard have not signed on, nor has Apple, which switched to Intel processors in 2006. Core 2 Duo chips figure prominently in the marketing of MacBook and MacBook Pro notebooks.

This does not mean however that the three exceptions will be avoiding Montevina. It is suggested that HP and Dell, for example, may simply be finalizing their deals with Intel, since the platform will only become available in 2008. Apple, meanwhile, generally refuses to publicize its long-term plans, since this grants it security against the theft of its ideas, and the ability to exploit surprise for maximum publicity.

WiMAX is a high-end cellular broadband technology, espoused by American phone carriers such as Sprint and a small collection of other companies around the globe. WiMAX is often termed a "4G" technology, since it can deliver speeds up to 10Mbps or more, versus the 3.6Mbps typically delivered by 3G HSDPA. The presence of WiMAX in notebooks should allow cable-like Internet anywhere within range of a WiMAX transmitter.

By Electronista Staff