ED#58 : Intel To Rebrand Processors In 2008

We just heard from an anonymous source that Intel will be rebranding their processors in 2008. Let's take a look at the changes.

At the moment, the Intel Centrino mobile platform has five different logos with brands like Centrino, Centrino Duo and Centrino Pro. Starting from January 1, 2008, Intel will consolidate the Centrino Duo and Centrino brands under the Intel Centrino brand, and rename the Centrino Pro as Intel Centrino with vPro Technology.

According to our source, the new Intel Centrino with vPro Technology will be available in Q1, 2008. It will be based on the Intel Core 2 Duo T9000 and T8000 series (45nm Penryn) processors and the current Santa Rosa platform.

In Q2, 2008, it will be upgraded to the Montevina platform with a new Cantiga GM/PM chipset. The Cantiga GM/PM chipset will feature a 1GHz FSB, ICH9M, Enhanced Intel AMT 4.0 and improved Intel Virtualization Technology (VTx and VT-d). We will have more details for you shortly.

The current Intel Viiv and vPro Technology platforms will be rebranded to leverage the strong Core 2 brand. From January 1, 2008 onwards, they will be known as the Intel Core 2 Quad / Duo processor with Viiv Technology and Intel Core 2 Quad / Duo processor with vPro Technology. These platforms will be based on the Intel QX9000, Q9000 and E8000 series of 45nm processors (Yorkfield and Wolfdale).

Intel is scheduled to release the quad-core Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 (Yorkfield-XE) processors in November 2007. This will be followed by the Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550, Q9450 and Q9300 (Yorkfield) processors, and the Intel Core 2 Duo E8500, E8400 and E8200 (Wolfdale) processors in Q1, 2008. We will have some information on their clock speeds and other details for you soon. Later, in Q2, 2008, both platforms will see a refresh with the release of the Eaglelake chipsets.

In the server and workstation segment, Intel will continue to retain the Xeon and Itanium brand names, but with new logos. The Itanium 2 logo, in particular, will only say Itanium Inside. The desktop Core 2 brands and logos will see no changes in 2008.

Additional Info

Kristopher Kubicki of DailyTech just furnished us with more materials on the Intel rebranding exercise. Those interested in the power of marketing can learn something from the rationale behind Intel's decision to rebrand their processors :

Intel has undergone a comprehensive review of our processor and platform brands in order to :

• Simplify choices for consumers and business
• Provide consistency and clarity for messaging
• Create an efficient, less complex and sustainable brand roadmap

The result is a simpler, easier to understand brand selection for both consumers and business which :

• Focuses efforts on fewer brands and creates alignment between new platform brands and processors
• Simplifies badges for clarity with target audience and eliminates use of brand to communicate product features, such as number of cores, in favor of marketing
• Better supports our current and future products

Color “swoosh” added to all platform and premium client brands to create consistency and reinforce that these brands represent Intel’s best offerings.

All brands now also contain “inside” to enhance consistency, to reinforce Intel’s role and heritage across all our product offerings and to help drive processor relevance in system purchase decisions.

For server and workstation brands, the font size of the offer brand has been increased to enhance visibility and retention and make them more consistent with the font treatments on the client brands.

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