Centrino is cool new name for Intel's Wi-Fi combo chip
According to a Wall Street Journal story (subscription required) there's a cool new name and branding campaign by Intel for its combo Wi-Fi chip that I've been hearing about for the last year from a friend who is working on marketing it. However, some Intel customers and partners are worried about Intel's decision to push all components as a bundle.
Centrino is Intel's first brand to stand for a combination of products. The bundle is based on a new microprocessor that is designed to consume little electrical current and offer extended battery life. The package also includes Intel chip sets as well as several chips for wireless communications, which typically are contained in a small card inserted into a laptop computer.
...Intel officials stressed that computer makers still have the choice of buying each of the products individually and substituting competing components for any of them. They argued that promoting the products in a bundle is justified by the new capabilities Intel is providing, as well as by testing that the company will do to make sure all of its chips work particularly well together.