The new technology, formally codenamed Sonoma, will be used in up to 150 notebook computers, including Hewlett-Packard and Samsung Electronics computers, John Antone, vice president of Intels sales and marketing for Asia Pacific, said in an interview. The Santa Clara, California-based Intel has sold more than $5 billion worth of its Centrino chipsets since they were introduced in March 2003, targeting the business sector. The upgraded Centrinos improved graphic and audio capabilities will help the company attract consumers, who use computers for entertainment such as playing music or the latest on-line games. Dell, the worlds largest maker of personal computers, started advertising its new laptop, the Inspiron 6000 Notebook, which it said uses Intels upgraded Centrino and is powerful enough to replace a desktop computer. Benq of Taiwan said it had integrated the new technology into its Joybook 8100 notebook. The new technology will provide faster wireless Internet connections than its predecessor, according to Antone. Intel widened its share of the laptop chip market to 85.9 percent in the third quarter from 81.7 percent a year earlier, according to the market researcher IDC. The company said it expected the improved transmission speed of the upgraded Centrino, which may be twice as fast as its predecessors, to attract consumers. Intels microprocessors are the main engines of the worlds personal computers. The Centrinos main strength and attraction for buyers is its ability to connect wirelessly to the Internet, a feature that helped Intel expand in the business market. Prices of Centrino chipsets range from $270 to $705 if they are bought in 1,000-unit quantities, according to Intel.
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