Intel is preparing to phase out six entry-level mobile processor models across its Core i3, Pentium, and Celeron brands. The phase-out is part of Intel's natural product development cycle, as scores of new processor models will be introduced this year. Intel announced the phase-out of the following six models in its latest product change notification: Celeron P4600 (PGA988, 2.00 GHz); Pentium P6100, P6200, P6300 (2.00, 2.13, 2.20 GHz, respectively); Core i3-370M, i3-390M (2.13, 2.20 GHz, respectively).

The PCN mentions that customers can continue to place orders for these chips with the option to cancel orders, till 10/16/2012, beyond which orders can't be cancelled, the last shipments of these chips will be out in 2013.

A little earlier this month, it was reported that major notebook vendors are planning price-cuts of their current-generation Ultrabooks, to clear inventories and pave the way for next-generation Ivy Bridge-based ones that stick to a more well-defined specification; the price-cuts previously mentioned were in the range of 20-25%. The range is looking more like 20-30% according to the latest DigiTimes report.

Major notebook vendors seem to be in a hurry to make the market digest inventories of current-generation Ultrabooks that are based on anything from ULV "Sandy Bridge" Core processors, to low-power Celeron and Pentium chips, some even AMD Brazos. In addition to Ultrabooks, conventional notebooks based on Sandy Bridge Core processors, and client desktops also stand to face price-cuts.

US chip giant Intel has now added seven new processors to its portfolio, the Core i5-2550K, i5-2450P and i5-2380P targeting desktops, and the Celeron B815, B720, 867 and 797 for mobile PCs.

The Core i5-2550K costs $225 ($9 more than the i5-2500K) and features four cores @ 3.4 GHz (the 2500K has a base clock of 3.3 GHz), four threads, 6 MB of L3 cache and a TDP of 95W. The i5-2450P ($195) and i5-2380P ($177) have similar specs, expect their base clock is 3.2 GHz and 3.1 GHz, respectively.

The market for socket LGA775 is still far from dead as there are large inventories of cheap Core 2, Pentium, and Celeron chips left in the market, as well as buyers upgrading their DDR2 systems to those with DDR3, to benefit from the DDR3 fire sale. Gigabyte introduced a new revision of its GA-EG41MFT-US2H, revision 1.4, with an updated gigabit Ethernet chip. The micro-ATX motherboard uses 3+1 phase VRM to power the processor, a wide range of Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad processors are supported. The processor is wired to Intel's G41 northbridge. Surprisingly, its graphics controller gives out an HDMI connection apart from DVI and D-Sub. It is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, supporting up to 8 GB of memory.

Expansion slots include two PCI, one each of PCI-Express 1.1 x16 and PCIe x1. The ICH7 southbridge drives four SATA 3 Gb/s ports, and an IDE connector. The gigabit ethernet controller has been updated to RTL8111E, from the 8111D found on the older revision. Other features include 8-channel HD audio, Firewire, FDC, COM, and a number of USB 2.0 ports. Expect a sub-$100 pricing for this board.

Intel is preparing to discontinue a couple of Core processors in the LGA1156 package, and a few older processors in the LGA775 package. These include the Core i5-661 and Core i3-530, two of the first Clarkdale dual-core processors, Pentium Dual-Core E5700, Celeron E3500 and E3400.

Intel will take orders for Core i5-661 and Core i3-530 till April 27, 2012, and will ship the last of them by October 5, 2012. Orders for Pentium E5700, Celeron E3500 and Celeron E3400 will be taken till December 30, 2011. While the last of the tray shipments will be completed by June 8th, 2012, boxed versions will ship till supplies are depleted in Intel's warehouses.

Intel launched as many as 16 new processors over the weekend, including 11 desktop socket LGA1155, and 5 mobile chips. The new wave includes several new sub-$100 parts covering key price-points, and carrying the Pentium and Celeron brands. Leading the pack is a new quad-core chip that is sure to strike a price-performance sweetspot: the Core i5-2320. This chip displaces the Core i5-2300 from its price-point of US $177, and is faster. While the i5-2300 is nominally clocked at 2.80 GHz, the i5-2320 runs at 3.00 GHz. Another significant introduction here is the Core i3-2130, which displaces the i3-2120 from its price-point of $139. The new dual-core chip is clocked at 3.40 GHz, 100 MHz faster than the chip it's displacing.

Then there's another kind of change, the Core i3-2125. This chip is identically clocked with the i3-2120 at 3.30 GHz, but it might be tweaked in other parameters (such as GPU clock speed, feature-set, etc). Core i3-2120T is a new low-power desktop chip, that's clocked at 2.60 GHz, and nearly half the rated TDP, at 35W. Then there's a trio of Pentium-branded dual-core chips, including the G630T, G860, and G630, clocked at 2.30 GHz, 3.00 GHz, and 2.70 GHz, displacing the G620T, G850, and G620, respectively.

Amidst the rather high-profile launch of Intel's Z68 chipset platform, Intel Smart Response technology, and Larson Creek SSDs, Intel is also readying its cheapest processors for the LGA1155 platform, this time carrying the Celeron brand. Based on the new Sandy Bridge processor architecture, the single-core Celeron G440, and dual-core Celeron G530, Celeron G540 processors stick to the very basics in terms of feature set.

The chips lack Intel HyperThreading or CPU Turbo Boost, run at low clock speeds, and have just 2 MB of L3 cache enabled. The G440 is a single-core/single-thread chip clocked at 1.60 GHz, with 650 MHz graphics (1.00 GHz Turbo), and 35W TDP. The G530 puts on a second core, is clocked at 2.40 GHz, with 850 MHz (1.00 GHz Turbo) graphics, and 65W TDP. The series is topped off with G540 dual-core, which is clocked at 2.5 GHz. Expect these chips to take up sub-$100 price points.

Intel is continuing to keep its lineup of socket LGA 775 processors developing. The company just introduced three new models: Core 2 Quad Q9500, Pentium E6600, and Celeron E3400. The Q9500 quad-core chip runs at 2.83 GHz, with an FSB speed of 1333 MHz much like the Q9550, except that it has 6 MB of total L2 cache instead of 12 MB on the Q9550. It is priced at US $183. Next, the Pentium E6600 dual-core chip runs at 3.06 GHz with an FSB speed of 1066 MHz. It is based on the 45 nm Wolfdale-2M core, and has 2 MB of L2 cache. This chip is priced at $84. Lastly, there's the Celeron E3400, with an operating frequency of 2.60 GHz, FSB speed of 800 MHz, and L2 cache size of 1 MB. This one goes for $53.

In addition to releasing these chips, Intel reduced prices of some existing ones. The Pentium E6500 is now priced at $74, down from $84, Pentium E5400 at $64, down from $74, and Celeron E3300 to $43 from $53. All prices mentioned are for 1000-unit tray quantities per piece. The new processors are intended to keep the upgrade path within a price-range alive, and to help clear inventories of socket LGA 775 motherboards.

NEC's newest ultraportable jumps onto the CULV bandwagon. The chic LaVie M ultra-thin laptop is a tiny but capable machine in the 13.3 inch form-factor. The screen has a native resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. It is powered by an Intel Celeron SU2300 1.20 GHz processor aided by 2 or 4 GB of memory, and provides 320 GB of storage. Connectivity options include Bluetooth V2.1+ EDR, WIFI BGN, HDMI Out. The fruition of the CULV technology here is its battery life of up to 8.5 hours. The LaVie M is expected to debut in Japan in early November, it comes with Windows 7 Home Premium pre-installed. Chassis colour options include red, black, and white.

Fujitsu Japan introduced its stylish new FMV LOOX C 11.6 inch netbook series. These are powered by Intel's CULV Core 2 Duo and Celeron processors depending on the variants. The specifications include a 11.6 inch display with 1366 x 768 pixel native resolution, the Intel GS45 Express chipset houses Intel GMA 4500MHD integrated graphics. The higher-end LOOX C/E70 sports a Core 2 Duo SU9400 1.40 GHz processor, while the C/E50 has a Celeron SU2300 1.20 GHz processor. While the former comes with a rated battery life of 9.2 hours, the latter has 6.2 hours of it. Both come with 2 GB of DDR2 memory, and 320 GB of storage.

Connectivity options on the LOOX C include Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, and D-Sub to connect to displays. The card-reader is its only removable storage, while three USB ports allow for more storage devices. The C/E50 goes on sale in Japan this 22nd, for 80,000 JPY (around US $890), while the C/E70 comes a little later on the 29th, priced under 100,000 JPY (US $1,113).

Although a large chunk of products based on the new sockets LGA-1156 and LGA-1366 arrive in 2010, effectively pushing LGA-775 out of the extreme, performance, and upper mainstream segments, Intel will continue launching new low-end LGA-775 processors in an effort to digest inventories of motherboards and memory compatible to that socket. The company's grassroot processor brand Celeron will be updated with the E3000 series, consisting of dual-core processors based on the Wolfdale-1M core. The 45 nm based core offers the essential features for basic computing, while running cool and priced low.

Two quarters ahead of its expected launch, sources in the Chinese media unearthed Celeron E3900, perhaps the last SKU in the E3000 series. Slated for Q1 2010, the Celeron E3900 runs at 3.40 GHz (200 MHz x 17), with an FSB speed of 800 MHz. It has a shared L2 cache size of 1 MB, and supports the most common instruction sets including SSE3, SSSE3, and x86-64, although SSE4.1 and Intel-VT isn't part of it. The latest company roadmap of the essential and value segments show that the company looks as far as Q3 2010 with its Celeron and Core 2 Duo brand products, with existing number schemes. In essence, retailers in Q3 2010 shouldn't have stock problems selling you these processors.

While the bulk of Intel's upcoming Nehalem and Westmere derived products include quad-core processors, the company hasn't left out dual-core processors just as yet. The dual-core Core i5 desktop processor will be based on the new Clarkdale core, built on the 32 nm Westmere architecture. Originally slated for a Q1 2010 launch, the new chip seems to have been pulled into the Q4 2009 launch schedule, deep enough to make for a significant amount of projected sales, according to sources in the Taiwanese motherboard industry.

The sales projections for Q4 look particularly interesting. Core i5 "Clarkdale" dual-core is projected to amount for 10% of Intel's sales, while Core i7 "Bloomfield" at 1%, Core i5 "Lynnfield" at 2% (Core i7 "Lynnfield" is slated for Q1 2010), Core 2 Quad at 9%, Core 2 Duo E7000/E8000 at 35%, Pentium E5000/E6000 at 31%, Celeron E3000 and Atom together at 9%, Pentium E2000 and Celeron 400 together at 4%. In the following quarter, Clarkdale's sales share is expected to rise to 20%. The numbers prove just how large the market for dual-core processors is, even four years into the introduction of quad-core chips.

Taiwanese industry observer Digitimes compiled a comprehensive list of price-cuts sourced from motherboard manufacturers. The list presents some interesting data apart from a few revelations. New CPU models will be added, existing models might be displaced from their price-points, resulting in price-cuts amounting to as high at 20 percent the existing price.

• New CPUs will be added to Intel's lineup, notably the Core i7 975 (3.33 GHz, $999), Core i7 950 (3.06 GHz, $562), Core 2 Quad models Q8400 (2.66 GHz, $183), Q8400S (2.66 GHz, $245), Core 2 Duo E7600 (2.93 GHz, $133), Pentium E6300 ($84) and Celeron E1600 ($53)
• Several existing models will face price-cuts ranging between 10 and 20 percent. The biggest price-cut is that of Core 2 Quad Q9300 (19.92%)
• From the absence of price changes for Core i7 models 940 and 965 XE, and their existing price-points getting new models, we can infer that they will be replaced by models 950 and 975 XE

The changes will be implemented between April to July, 2009. All prices are in USD, prices per unit in 1000-unit quantities.

HP today launched a home server designed for use with both Windows and Mac computers. Based on the Microsoft Windows Home Server platform, the HP MediaSmart Server ex485/ex487 is a central repository for automatically backing up and accessing digital music, videos, photos and documents from multiple computers on a home network.

The MediaSmart Server automatically organizes files across all PCs, streams media across a home network and the Internet, and publishes photos to popular social networking and photo sharing sites.

ASUSTeK is planning on introducing a Celeron version of the Eee Box desktop replacement PC, as a desparate precaution. The Eee nettop products have not sold as well as expected since their first debut four months ago, and even the well designed Intel Atom processors are to be replaced by Celerons to see if things will go better.

While its nettop products have not sold as well as expected since debuting four months ago, Asustek is introducing a Celeron version of the Eee Box priced at NT$7,988 (US$240) in order to increase shipments for this year, according to market sources. The company is replacing the Atom processor with a Celeron 220 processor and upgrading its hard drive from 80GB to 120GB, while cutting the overall price, the sources explained. According to the latest Eee Box price quotes, a system featuring a Celeron 220 processor and 120GB hard drive is selling for NT$7,988, with the price bumped up to NT$11,900 when bundled with a 19-inch LCD monitor. A system with an Atom processor and 80GB hard drive, keyboard, mouse, and Eee Stick is selling for NT$9,999, the sources added. According to estimates from Asustek, the company expects to ship 100,000-200,000 units of the Eee box this year and over one million units in 2009, while Intel estimates shipments for nettops will reach 60 million units by 2011, the market sources noted.

Intel has now begun shipping the first of its low-end dual core processors: the 1.6GHz Celeron E1200. The processor is based on Intel's Core architecture and is manufactured using a 65nm process, with an 800MHz FSB and 512KB L2 cache. Intel's price (when sold in 1,000 unit quantities) is $53, with these CPUs coming into the market just below the 1.6GHz Pentium E2140 CPUs. Newegg.com has given the processor a price tag of $65.99 for the retail version, which is exactly $9 below that of the E2140.

Having recently launching its first dual-core Celeron E1200 processor, Intel is ready to launch another family member with a faster core frequency in the second quarter of 2008. Intel is planning to launch E1400 with a core frequency of 2GHz, 800MHz FSB, L2 cache of 512KB, and maximum TDP of 65W. The chip is based on a 65nm Conroe core and supports Intel 64, XD Bit (Execute Disable Bit) and Speed Step technology. Pricing will be set at US$53 in a thousand-unit tray quantities. In the first quarter of 2008, Intel will let the dual-core Celeron E1200 and single-core Celeron 440, 430 and 420 defend the entry-level segment, while in the second quarter, the company will let the Celeron E1400, 440 and 430 continue the job, while phasing out the E1200 and 420. During its first quarter of sales, the Celeron E1000 series accounted for around 3% of Intel's total desktop CPU shipments, and the ratio will not exceed 10% in 2008. The series is expected to completely replace single-core Celerons by the second quarter of 2009.

Intel is set to release its first dual-core desktop Celeron CPUs, known as the E1000 series, on January 20th next year. First to be released will be the 1.6GHz E1200, which will have a 512KB L2 cache and a price tag of $53 US when bought in bulk quantities of 1,000 units. Intel is also expected to release four new dual-core CPUs based on the Wolfdale core that day, and three new quad-core Yorkfields were planned, although those may now have been delayed due to a FSB issue. Full product details and pricing for the new processors is below, remember that those prices are not retail.

The first Intel Celeron E1200 dual-core processor will work at 1.60GHz, utilize 800MHz processor system bus and feature 512KB of unified secondary-level cache. It is set for release in the first quarter of 2008 to target cost-effective desktops. Later during the year Intel plans to add more chips into the Intel Celeron E1000 dual-core lineup, creating a comprehensive family of affordable chips with two processing engines. Intel's Celeron E1000 dual-core processors are set to be made using 65nm process technology and are projected to fit into 65W thermal design power envelope. The new CPUs will be drop-in compatible with all platforms that support code-named Conroe processors. Given relatively low clock-speed and not a large cache, it is unlikely that Intel Celeron E1000 dual-core microprocessors will show incredible performance. Nevertheless, the forthcoming emergence of the new chips is proof that multi-core technology is rushing into the value segment of the market.