Intel may phase out mobile Celeron by 2011
updated 07:30 am EDT, Fri July 9, 2010
Pentium and dual Atom to replace Celeron
Intel could put an end to the notebook Celeron line entirely by next year, notebook suppliers said on Friday. The chip producer is reportedly ramping down production to where it would drop the mobile Celeron entirely in 2011. It would leave just the dual-core Atom and Pentium to occupy the space, and by its exit, would avoid competing for attention.
An Intel roadmap previously revealed to DigiTimes put three new mobile Celerons on the market in September, but the rollout already hints at the overlap the company is hoping to end. The dual-core, 1.5GHz Atom N550 is due to launch soon and, at $86, would cost as much as even Intel's best Celeron.
Those from the company have denied that Intel is axing the Celeron line, but it's unclear from the statements whether it was referring to the name for all processors or to the specific notebook rumors.
Celerons still have a visible footprint in the portable space but have been steadily pushed to the margins as even the least expensive notebooks are starting to use the slightly faster Pentium processors. Ultraportables using Intel's CULV (Consumer Ultra Low Voltage) chips have also skewed more towards Pentium and Core 2 chips. The processors are rarer still in desktops, where processors are cheaper on average.
