Centrino-based Tablet PCs on the horizon

IDG News Service - Despite the initial rush of Centrino-based notebooks into the market, Intel Corp.'s new platform isn't just about notebooks.
Built around Intel's Pentium M processor, announced earlier this month, and an Intel wireless LAN chip set, Centrino is also finding its way into Tablet PCs. But Tablet PCs based on the Centrino technology are hitting the market at a slower pace than notebooks.
When Intel launched Centrino on March 12, vendors rolled out a slew of new notebooks based on it (see story), but Tablet PCs were largely left out of the picture.
However, there's good news for users looking for a Tablet PC that includes Centrino with the Pentium M, which Intel says offers longer battery life and higher performance, albeit at lower clock speeds, than the company's other mobile processors. Centrino-based Tablet PCs are making their way into the market, with the first devices to be based on the 900-MHz, ultra-low-voltage model of the Pentium M, according to vendors.
"Centrino matches really well with what many tablet users are looking for," said Jim O'Brien, a senior analyst at Framingham, Mass.-based research firm IDC, pointing to the Pentium M's lower power consumption and the wireless LAN access afforded by the platform.
While those capabilities are attractive to users, the challenge for vendors is that Centrino adds to the price of Tablet PCs, which are already more expensive than many notebook computers. "Centrino is actually a pretty big price premium," O'Brien said.
But that hasn't stopped a few companies from putting Centrino into their Tablet PCs.
One of the first PC vendors to put out a Centrino-based Tablet PC is Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. in Osaka, Japan, maker of the Panasonic brand. The company has added a Centrino-based Tablet PC, the Toughbook CF-18, to its Toughbook line of rugged computers.
With prices starting at $3,200, the CF-18 is available with a 900-MHz Pentium M processor, 256MB of double-data rate (DDR) synchronous dynamic RAM, a 40GB hard disk drive and a 10.4-in. thin-film transistor (TFT) LCD with 1,024-by-768-pixel resolution. The CF-18's screen can swivel 180 degrees, allowing the Tablet PC to be converted from a notebook into a tablet.
Acer Inc. in Taipei, Taiwan, plans to introduce its TravelMate C110 Tablet PC in April. Similar in appearance to the company's C100, which was the first Tablet PC with a screen that could swivel 180 degrees, the C110 is based on the Centrino platform and includes a 900-MHz Pentium M processor.
Weighing in at 3.1 lb. without its DVD/CD-RW combo drive, the C110