MacBook Air Chip Going Into Other Computers

More computers will be running on Air. Chip-maker Intel is reportedly selling to other computer makers the miniaturized Core 2 Duo processor that helps make Apple's new MacBook Air so thin.

The manufacturers include Lenovo and Fujitsu, who will use the 65-nanometer custom chip to create their own Windows-based ultrathin notebooks. No date has been announced for the new machines, and Intel and the computer makers have declined to comment.

No Exclusivity Announced

Earlier this month, Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the MacBook Air at the annual Macworld conference. The new laptop is so thin -- three-quarters of an inch at the thickest part -- that it fits into a manila envelope. The svelteness is achieved in part by a special chip Intel designed for the new machine, based on the older Merom line of processors.

During the Macworld presentation, Intel CEO Paul Otellini said Jobs had asked Intel to design a smaller processor. But Intel has not made any public commitment to Apple for exclusivity.

While nearly two-thirds smaller than earlier Meroms and requiring less power, the MacBook Air's Core 2 Duo has reduced performance compared to other Intel Core 2 Duo chips. But Apple has optimized the operating system and other features to maximize performance.

Since small is in, Intel has also been working on other small chips, especially for new generations of handheld devices and the ultra-portable PC that it has helped promote. In particular, it has been developing smaller processors using its new 45-nanometer process.

Difference in Packaging

Martin Reynolds, an analyst with industry research firm Gartner, noted that the difference in the Air chip is in the packaging, not in the chip itself. He added that he expects to see it appear in various computer makers' small devices.

The MacBook Air represents a new level in the game of creating the most portable, most powerful computer. It weighs three pounds, features a 13.3-inch display, a built-in iSight camera, a backlit full-size keyboard, and its Core 2 Duo runs at 1.6 GHz. It is also heir to the multi-touch interface made famous by Apple's iPhone, with a trackpad that, for instance, allows the user to expand a photo with a two-fingered gesture.

Steven Levy of Newsweek, citing the MacBook Air's "gorgeous design," called it "the Audrey Hepburn of laptops." But, unlike the virtually perfect Hepburn, there are several omissions in the Air. Lenovo, Fujitsu or others could exploit these omissions in smaller laptops with the same chip.

Among other things, the Air lacks an optical drive, although there is an option for wirelessly connecting to an external drive. The battery is not removable by the owner and the initial version includes a hard drive of only 80GB.

Intel To Sell Apple MacBook Air Chip To PC Makers

Other PC makers are reportedly looking to slim down their laptops like Apple did this month with its MacBook Air.

Intel has reportedly sold a version of the miniaturized Core 2 Duo processor in Apple's recently released MacBook Air to other manufactures, which could then build Windows-based competitors to the ultrathin and light notebook.

Two PC manufacturers have already signed on to use the custom-designed chip, and products powered by the processor are expected to be released soon, CNET and tech magazine PC Advisor reported Wednesday, both quoting a source familiar with the plans.

An Intel spokesman declined to give any sales details but did note that Apple is the only hardware manufacturer that sells a laptop based on this specific Core 2 Duo processor.

"If other OEMs are interested in this 65-nanometer Core 2 Duo processor, we are welcome to talk with them," an Intel spokesman told InformationWeek.

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs unveiled the Air this month at the Macworld conference in San Francisco. The thinness of the notebook was achieved in part by a miniaturized 65-nanometer Core 2 Duo processor that came from Intel's older Merom line. The processor is 60% smaller than the typical Merom chip and uses less power while delivering comparable speeds. The processor, however, is significantly slower than the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors used in other new notebooks. Performance is not necessarily an issue with Apple as it customizes its operating system to maximize performance out of any processor it uses.

Nevertheless, the size and weight of the Air, which has a 13.3-inch display and full-size keyboard, placed the machine in a class of its own. The notebook weights 3 pounds and is three-quarters of an inch thick at the hinge, tapering to 0.16 of an inch at the opposite side.

Intel is working on smaller chips for ultramobile PCs and handheld devices, including a processor that's built using 45-nanometer process technology. But miniaturizing the Merom processor gave Intel a product that would fit Apple's slim design for the MacBook Air and deliver the necessary horsepower.

In making the Air thinner than other notebooks, Apple also left out a DVD drive, adding instead software called "remote disc" that can recognize an optical drive on a PC or Mac computer through a wireless network. Tapping into those machines, an Air user can install software from a CD or DVD.

The MacBook Air design has also caused some frustration among Mac users who want to use software from older Macs to install the sleek new laptop's operating system. The installation media that comes with other Macs can't be used to install "Leopard" on the MacBook Air, Apple said Wednesday.