An Asus Notebook Gets WiMAX with Centrino 2

Computer users attending this year's Computex will be able to see an Asus notebook that features Intel's latest Centrino 2 technology, also known as Montevina. According to a recent entry on Intel's Mobility blog, the Asus notebook will be displayed at Computex in Taipei, which will open its doors tomorrow, on June 3.

The notebook is the very first portable computer to feature the Montevina with WiMAX platform and comes equipped with a Penryn P8600 2.4 GHz CPU. According to Craig Raymond, Technical Marketing Engineer for Corporate Demonstrations and Intel, the platform performs extremely well. As a World of Warcraft enthusiast and Intel "Demo Guy," Craig tested the Asus notebook's WiMAX capabilities at the Computex location.

With a high degree of enthusiasm, he was able to watch high quality video streaming of an NBA basketball match, make Skype phone calls and play his favorite MMORPG, but not all at the same time. Notebooks using the Centrino 2 technology are expected to be showcased at Computex and made available on the market later this year. The WiMAX-enabled notebooks featuring the Montevina technology will not require an add-on card, as they will be standardly equipped with the built-in Echo Peak mini card.

Craig was also enthusiastic about the fact that WiMAX will offer users a way in which they can wirelessly connect to the internet, without having to enter a Wi-Fi enabled restaurant.

Intel has been prepping the Montevina for quite some time now, thus creating room for speculations among technology enthusiasts. In April, Dadi Perlmutter, senior VP and General Manager of Intel's mobility group, demonstrated the gaming capabilities of the Montevina platform. Back then, the VP stated that the new platform would provide twice the 3D processing performance compared to any integrated graphics solution prior to it.