Montevina Plus Processors to Enable Affordable Ultraportables

One of Intel's upcoming processor updates is expected to provide end-users with some new ultraportable PCs that will be as thin as Apple's famous MacBook Air, but which will come at a more affordable price tag, ranging from $399 to $1499. The new processors are part of what the company titled as the Montevina Plus mobile laptop platform. According to available details, the new processors will be featured in some of the upcoming ultraportable inexpensive laptops and will be rolled out sometime in the next quarter.

The processor update will likely be one of Intel's most significant, before the Santa Clara, California-based chip maker will introduce its next-generation Arrandale chips, designed for laptops slated for release later this year. The Montevina Plus platform will include new ultra-low-voltage chips but also provide users with some new Penryn-based processors, which will run at speeds as fast as 3GHz or higher.

According to Intel, by the end of this year, the market will be invaded by new ultra-thin laptop models, coming at a variety of price points. The chips that will power these laptops are said to draw less power than those Intel Core 2 Duo ULV chips that are featured in systems such as Lenovo's X300, Apple's MacBook Air and Fujitsu's LifeBook P802. When released, these chips will compete with those of AMD's recently announced Neo platform, designed for ultraportable and ultra-thin laptops.

The Montevina Plus will enable new systems with prices ranging from $399 to $1,499, which could cannibalize the netbook market. These new chips should allow Intel to increase its profits, especially since its Atom range of netbook processors isn't all that profitable, due to low price tags.

Intel's Montevina Plus platform update will likely be the last significant update to Intel's portable PC processor lineup, before the inevitable launch of the company's Arrandale chips, designed to take advantage of a 32nm process technology.