Intel's Core i7 architecture may not reach the mobile space until late next year, statements made by the company at the Intel Developer Forum suggest. Known internally as Clarksfield, the notebook processor design now isn't slated to start production until the second half of 2009. The lead time between production and shipping products could result in finished products not appearing until later the same year.

While Intel hasn't clarified how quickly it will have the chips available after production begins, the schedule points to a schedule similar to that from this year, when the chipmaker delayed Centrino 2 and its matching processors from June until August, with low voltage processors not shipping until September.

Clarksfield will be based on a future notebook platform codenamed Calpella and will depend heavily on the breakthroughs of desktop Core i7 processors, including moving the memory controller to the processor itself and a point-to-point interface between memory and devices rather than the typical front side bus that defines current Intel processors. Better power management and a move to a smaller, cooler-running 32 nanometer process are also part of the design.