Wave of New Notebooks Follows Intel Centrino, NVidia 8M

So much has already been said or leaked about Intel's Centrino Duo and Centrino Pro mobile computing platforms - formerly code-named "Santa Rosa" - that this morning's announcement from the company in San Francisco produced few surprises. But the announcement served as a starting gun for notebook computer manufacturers who are anxious to put an end to the seasonally duller spring purchasing season, and move forward the back-to-school buying season.

The Centrino Duo and Centrino Pro platforms designate a typical range of buildouts for notebook system builders who want to use Core 2 Duo mobile processors, and earn the prestigious Intel logo and reap the benefits of cross-marketing. With at least one notebook manufacturer having jumped the gun (quite literally, a marketing manager may have mistaken "May 9" for "May 4" on a schedule), exactly what the new Centrinos will entail is not new.

Chief among the new platforms' features is the inclusion of Intel's so-called "Next-Gen Wireless-N" system-on-a-chip, whose existence came to light last January immediately after members of the IEEE came to some substantive agreement on 802.11n. Still, Intel's implementation of 11n remains impressive, with three-antenna MIMO support, and transmission on both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz band to reduce the likelihood of signal collision with 11g equipment - the problem which had delayed 11n's rollout to this point.

Intel's Next-Gen will also support 802.11i, a transmission-layer security standard devised as far back as 2004, but which hasn't been widely implemented since due in part to the IEEE logjam. Now, supporting 11n wireless routers can implement end-to-end encryption, greatly reducing the likelihood of signal snooping.

We'll also see for the first time Intel's implementation of "Turbo Memory," the culmination of the project once code-named "Robson" that utilizes NAND flash as a kind of performance-enhancing buffer. Intel first announced Turbo Memory at a conference in Hannover last March, and is expected to give some of the first practical demonstrations of the technology at WinHEC in Los Angeles next week. BetaNews will be there to see it.

Helping to maintain Intel's now-well-reputed "cadence," nVidia timed its DirectX 10-supporting notebook GPU announcement to fall in lockstep. Its new GeForce 8M series will focus on two principal features: enabling the full DirectX 10 Windows Vista experience, and expediting the playback of high-definition video. Several of today's announced notebooks support both Centrino Duo/Pro and 8M, which may lead some to the conclusion that nVidia and Intel can address the mobility market quite well as partners, thank you, without having to effectuate their own merger first.

Here's a rundown of the new platform-based notebooks announced today:

1. Toshiba will be phasing out its mainstream Satellite A105 and P105 models in favor of A205 and P205, which will follow the Centrino Duo spec, will include a built-in webcam and nVidia GeForce Go 7-series GPUs, and will support an optional DVD "SuperMulti" (+R/-R double-layer) burner. The A has the 15.4" diagonal screen, the P the 17". On the business side, the Tecra M9 will appeal to travelers with sturdy construction and "spill-resistant keyboard," and in following the Centrino Pro spec, will include support for Intel's Active Management Technology - its hardware-level remote management system for enforcing policies and proactively monitoring the operating system. The M9 will have options for upgraded graphics, including nVidia's professional Quadro NVS 130M. On the performance side, Toshiba's Qosmio G45 proudly waves the "green eye" logo of nVidia's GeForce 8600M, making it Toshiba's official DirectX 10 notebook. Expect pricing and availability news to come in the third quarter.
2. Sony has followed suit by turning up the volume on its Vaio series. The Vaio FZ follows Centrino Duo, and then adds a plethora of the company's exalted multimedia features. For instance, LocationFree software will enable the system to wirelessly connect with a media center base station, typically in the house, for transmission of DV-R and other recorded content, as well as the ability to "phase-shift" (pause and rewind) live TV. The $1,400 model supports DVD, while the $2,000 edition - as you might expect - both records and plays Blu-ray Discs in what Sony is touting as "full 1080 HD resolution." It will be interesting to see how Sony pulls this off on a 15.4" screen. Availability is expected in just a few weeks.
3. Fujitsu announced four systems for various markets that all follow the full Centrino Pro specification - which means Intel AMT should be available even for the Lifebook A6030, which has Vista Home Premium and is targeted toward the everyday user. The E8410 targets the business user who wants a durable case (for instance, steel hinges rather than plastic). Meanwhile, the E8310 appears to utilize the same case, except without the "widescreen" form factor (15" rather than 15.4"), and without the "powerful nVidia graphics processor" (Fujitsu did not say which one). Most interestingly, perhaps, the T4220 may be the first Centrino Pro tablet system, weighing in at 4.3 pounds and featuring a bi-directional display hinge. Availability was not discussed.
4. Asus announced five (5) systems, though as has been the case with this manufacturer in the past, resellers' variations may actually lead to greater than five systems when they finally hit the street. Most impressive among these are the A8SC, with a 1440 x 900 17" screen and a GeForce 8400G with 896 MB of RAM all to its lonesome; the F3SC, with a 1200 x 800 15.4" display and nVidia 8600M GPU; and the F3SV which adds Asus' fingerprint reader to that mix. Although pricing and availability have not been specified, Taiwanese retailers online are already taking orders and appear to be making near-term shipping promises.
5. Acer is the manufacturer that jumped the gun, letting slip last Friday that its Aspire 5920 would pair its attractive Gemstone chassis with an nVidia 8600M-GT GPU - a chip that at that time was not yet announced. The Aspire is the only unit thus far announced that appears to exploit Centrino Duo's Turbo Memory option. Its stylish chassis will support options such as Dolby surround-sound speakers and an HD DVD drive, though at this stage it doesn't look like an HD DVD writer. Pricing and availability were not announced.

Though Dell also took advantage of the day's high tide to trumpet three new Latitude models, strangely, they're not Centrino Pro or Duo models. In fact, the D531 is said to "expand consumer choice" by offering an AMD Turion 64 - which is guaranteed to fall outside the Intel specs. Dell says it plans to announce a Centrino Pro model D630c "in the fall."

In the meantime, its new Latitudes' networking abilities seem centered around Dell's own implementation of HSDPA and EV-DO options, which perhaps for the first time places Dell behind the forefront of a major Intel platform announcement.