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.

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.

Apple's latest laptop

San Francisco - There's never been a laptop as skinny as the new MacBook Air from Apple. At its thinnest, it measures just about four millimetres. "When you first see MacBook Air, it's hard to believe it's a high- performance notebook with a full-size keyboard and display," gushed Apple CEO Steve Jobs while presenting the new laptop at the keynote speech of the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco. "But it is."

The excitement at the Moscone Centre was also sparked in typically reserved observers like Michael Gartenberg, research director at the US market research firm Jupiter Research:

"This will become the object of lust for all tech fans this year," Gartenberg told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

In advance of the MacWorld Expo, the chatter on many websites was focused on a potential combination of the iPhone and a normal laptop - more or less a retooling of the "Newton" PDA concept that Apple phased out 10 years ago. The MacBook Air is instead a full-value laptop with a robust aluminium casing with a 13-inch display and a full sized keyboard.

During his presentation, Steve Jobs compared the MacBook Air, which costs about 1,700 dollars, with the Vaio TZ series from Sony.

"The thinnest part of the Vaio is the thickest part of the MacBook Air," the Apple CEO told the cheering crowd. What he didn't mention in his comparison is that unlike the MacBook Air, the Sony laptops come with a DVD burner, a modem, and an integrated UMTS module.

With an Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 1.6 or 1.8 gigahertz (GHz) of processing power, Apple has certainly sent its new laptop out into the world with a significantly stronger CPU than the Japanese devices against which it is competing.

The standard model contains a 1.8 inch hard drive offering 80 gigabytes (GB) of storage space. Users willing to hand out another 900 dollars can upgrade to a 64 GB Flash hard drive. Flash memory works more quickly than a hard drive and consumes less power. The battery in the MacBook Air lasts five hours when working with a traditional hard drive.

The second major MacWorld Expo announcement centred on a second attempt at the "digital home" market, as well as launching an online video rental service. To facilitate all of this entertainment, Apple introduced an improved version of its "Apple TV" TV set-top box. It will enable HD video films to be rented from the Internet without having to connect with a computer.

Steve Jobs gained the support of all significant Hollywood studios for the "iTunes Video Rentals" platform. In the United States, DVD- quality films will cost 3 or 4 dollars for a rental limited to 30 days. High definition (HD) films will cost 1 dollar extra.

"This is going to turn the video industry inside out the same way the iTunes store changed the music industry," says Jupiter analyst Michael Gartenberg. Ross Rubin from the market research institute NPD disagrees, seeing Sony and Microsoft as enjoying the better start position:

"Both of those Apple competitors have already placed their Trojan Horses in the living room through the Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360." Each game consoles is capable of downloading HD content online.

It's unclear how the Apple movie rental model will work outside the US. Jobs indicated plans to launch the service in Europe "later this year."