INTEL will introduce today a low-voltage 75-megahertz Pentium microprocessor it hopes will become the chip of choice for notebook users and reduce the power gap between mobile and desktop personal computers.
Some industry analysts, however, feel the chip may not be particularly popular at first, even though in the long run there will be demand for it.
'Certainly there's a good market for it - everyone is power hungry,' said Glen Rasmussen, managing director of ResearchAsia. '[However] what we're seeing is a little bit of a downturn in enthusiasm for notebooks.
'We're definitely seeing a hesitation in people buying notebooks, but the market is still growing.' Intel's Asia-Pacific regional marketing manager, Deborah Conrad, countered this view, claiming:'We're not seeing a downturn in the market and we're still announcing products to meet customer needs.' One question Mr Rasmussen said needed to be addressed to ensure the chip's long-term uptake was the issue of heat.
Pentium had a reputation at the start for producing high heat levels - something undesirable in a notebook. Resulting bad press may have given rise to caution among consumers.
According to Ms Conrad, today's release resolves the heat question with a low-voltage version of the Pentium.