Intel has confirmed that it has delayed the launch of its next-generation Centrino chipset until mid-July.
The chip manufacturer had targeted the end of May for the release of the Montevina chipset – which includes WiMAX and 802.11n capabilities, but has reported that problems with FCC sign-off and minor bugs have pushed this back.
Testing issues
"There were two minor issues we found during final testing – one with our integrated graphic chipsets, which we have found a workaround for but need to re-screen our parts, and second around our wireless wi-fi chip, which was a paperwork and certification mistake we made," said Intel spokesman Bill Kircos in an email.
"Both of these led us to establishing a launch date for our mobile processors and discrete chipsets of the week of July 14th, and taking a couple of weeks to get the right readiness and volume for the rest of our components,"
With the 802.11n protocol still waiting to be finalised and WiMAX still establishing itself, the delay is unlikely to hit Intel too hard. Indeed, many of the notebooks we'll see in the UK featuring Montevena will feature Wi-Fi (including draft 802.11n) but not WiMAX. While this longer-range technology is taking off in the US, there have only been a few UK-based trials so far.
