Intel Corp. has shrunk another processor that will be incorporated into new ultrathin laptops, possibly creating competition for the processor it developed for the MacBook Air ultrathin laptop. Lenovo Group Ltd. and Fujitsu Computer Systems Corp. will include Intel's low-voltage Core 2 Duo SL7100 LV chip in laptops that are expected to hit the market soon. Like the Core 2 Duo processor specially developed for Apple Inc.'s MacBook Air notebook, Intel shrunk the new processor to make it 60% smaller than standard-size processors in its Merom family, according to Connie Brown, an Intel spokeswoman. The chip is manufactured using the 65-nanometer process, like other Merom processors. Though the size is the same, the SL7100 LV chip consumes less power and operates at a slower speed than the Macbook Air chip. It will operate at 1.2GHz, with 4MB of cache. It uses 12 watts of power, according to specs provided by Intel. The Core 2 Duo processor for MacBook Air uses 20 watts of power and operates at 1.6 to 1.8GHz. The new processor was developed independently of the MacBook Air processor, Brown said. "These [SL7100 LV processors] are similar but not identical to the Apple processor," Brown said. The MacBook Air processor was specially developed to meet Apple's needs and is also available to other PC makers, Brown said. The new SL100 LV will most likely be adopted in Lenovo's new X300 ultra portable PC.