The reason for doing so is simple. As the price of mobile systems drops and as the CPU speed increases, a Laptop in 1999 is starting to look very like a solid Windows 98 platform. Hence we've done our usual rounds of meeting with various sources close to Intel(r) and indeed gleaned an abundance of information from the latest Intel(r) Mobile CPU Roadmap.

Intel(r)'s segmentation strategy has been applied (when is it not?) to its mobile range of CPUs in order to make the whole idea of a mobile PC a 'mainstream' product. Prices will continue to fall as cheaper and CPUs (the new range of Celeron(tm) processors) make owning a Laptop a less expensive luxury. Then again, the issue of heat and battery life hasn't been efficiently tackled and the first range of Mobile Intel(r) Pentium(r) II processors in 1998 had some serious problems running for longer than 'T-minus two hours' (less in some cases). The idea of concept of owning a 'laptop' could be described as painfully expensive, inefficient and a rather hot experience on you lap, when typing with a laptop literally on your lap.

The good news is that the latest Intel(r) Mobile Roadmap indicates that they are attempting to address heat issues by offering different packaging and shrinking the die from .25micron down to .18micron, whilst at the same time ramping up the speeds of their CPUs. With processors such as the .18micron 400MHz Pentium(r) II with 265K on die cache (Dixon), due out in Q2, Intel(r) will be able to lower the voltage used down to 1.5volts. The battery life will also get a boost with the optimized power usage due to the on die cache and an energy saving feature called Quick Start.