Leak: lntel Ivy Bridge moved to March 2012 due to iPad
updated 11:05 pm EDT, Mon June 20, 2011
Ivy Bridge delay to March 2012 owed to tablets
Intel's decision to move its Ivy Bridge platform to March 2012 was supported by a rumor late Monday that suggested the iPad may have played a role. It was to have started production in November this year but moved it to March or later in the wake of not just the 6 series chipset bug but notebook PC sales slumps owing to the iPad and other tablets, Digitimes said. The combination reportedly led Intel to "slow down its pace and re-organize its lineup" with the four-month span.
The slower upgrade path would help companies sell their existing Sandy Bridge-based notebooks and allow for a more gradual transition.
Ivy Bridge will be the first processor architecture based on Intel's new 22 nanometer 3D transistor technology and should be much more power efficient in addition to getting speed boosts from added instruction sets and a larger cache. Graphics should also get another lift and compete more towards the mid-range of dedicated video chips instead of the low end it's competitive with in Sandy Bridge.
The iPad's effect on the PC market has been difficult to quantify for Intel but may be corroborated by Microsoft's own Windows licenses. Its netbook revenue dropped 40 percent as many of those who would have bought a Windows 7 mini notebook bought an iPad, and occasionally a rival tablet like the Galaxy Tab.
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Joined: Jul 2006
Bridges and battery life
Alas, this confirms my gut-level instinct that the Sandy Bridge chipset will be a bridge to nowhere, and that the real future lies over the Ivy Bridge. Otherwise, there'd be little reason to "help companies sell their existing Sandy Bridge-based notebooks." When Ivy comes out, Sandy will be history.
I hate that. I'd love to replace my aging MacBook with a sleek new MBA. But with a writer's budget that dictates upgrades every four years, I'd hate to be stuck well behind the curve for three of those years. Speed isn't the issue. Battery life is. My Kindle 3 has taught me to appreciate charge and forget battery life. Laptops aren't going to give battery lives in weeks like that, but days would certainly be great. That'll come with a 20-hour or so capacity. Sandy won't give that, but Ivy might.