Centrino (also called Centrino Mobile Technology) is a marketing initiative from Intel for a particular combination of CPU, mainboard chipset and wireless network interface in the design of a laptop personal computer. The combination currently consists of a Pentium M processor, the Intel 855 chipset family, and an Intel PRO/Wireless 2100 (IEEE 802.11b) or PRO/Wireless 2200 (IEEE 802.11bg) network connection.

The name Centrino is a blend of the words centre and neutrino. Curiously in Italian this word means doily.

Intel has reportedly invested $300 million in advertising. Because of the ubiquity of the marketing campaign, many consumers mistakenly refer to the Pentium M processor as Centrino. This has been advantageous to Intel because there is more demand for "Centrino" based notebooks than for Pentium-M based notebooks. Moreover, many consumers have received the impression that Centrino is the only way to get wireless connectivity in a notebook. The net result is increased demand for Intel's 855 and PRO/Wireless chipsets.

This platform has been updated with a new chipset family, the Mobile Intel 915 Express, codenamed Alviso. This updated Centrino, with the Alviso/Mobile 915 chipset family, is codenamed Sonoma. The Mobile 915, like its desktop version, supports many new features such as DDR2, PCI Express, Intel High Definition Audio , and SATA. Some Centrino notebooks already include the enhanced Dothan core Pentium M.

See also

• Turion

External links

• Information from Intel.
• Lindows CEO attacks Intel's Centrino Linux lockout, March 20, 2003.
• Intel's Centrino operating system support page.
• Linux on Centrino based laptops and notebooks.