Desktop features in notebook computers.

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Author: Francis, Bob

Corporate mobile professionals looking to bring more desktop capabilities on the road will soon benefit from notebook PC displays that are nearly equal in size to the 15-inch monitors found in many offices.

While the first notebooks with 13.3-inch displays are now hitting the market, prototypes of the next level, 14.1-inch screens, were being demonstrated earlier this month at the Computex trade show in Taipei, Taiwan. Those prototypes are expected to show up either late this year or early next year in high-end notebooks, analysts say.

Taiwanese companies such as Twinhead International Corp. and Mitac International Corp., both of which have developed notebook systems in the past for major PC vendors such as Gateway 2000, Hewlett-Packard, and Packard Bell NEC, were among the vendors demonstrating the large screens at Computex.

However, the new screens do pose some problems. For one, their larger size will likely force some changes in the footprint of notebooks, says Steven Lair, senior VP of sales and marketing for Acer America Corp.'s commercial systems. "There's some redesign involved to make some systems accept the larger screen size," he says.

In addition, the cost of manufacturing the 14.1-inch screens will likely add $300 to $500 to the cost of notebooks. "It may take a while to get the costs down," Lair admits.

In addition to high-end systems, vendors are expected to introduce lower-end notebooks as well, with Intel following up on its recent 133-MHz Pentium with MMX technology offering for notebooks with an additional 120-MHz with MMX offering for low-cost notebooks, say sources briefed by Intel.

While Intel has in the past emphasized increasing its presence at the high end of the notebook market, it has recently become interested in the low end as well, following the entry of a new chip manufacturer, Centaur Technology Inc., an Austin, Texas, division of Integrated Device Technology Inc. in Santa Clara, Calif.

Centaur has designed a lowpowered, Pentium-compatible, 200-MHz microprocessor with the latest MMX multimedia extensions. Centaur's chip costs about $100 less than chips with comparable performance. The company plans to ship its new chips in the third quarter, and will target the sub-$2,000 notebook market.

Mike Fiebus, a principal analyst with Mercury Research in Scottsdale, Ariz., says Centaur has a tough road ahead. "Intel has the brand name," he notes, "and that's hard for a startup to fight."

14.1-inch screens

Begin shipping by early next year

Will add $300 to $500 to cost of notebook

Early adopters will likely include Gateway 2000, HP, and Packard Bell NEC

Low-end processors

• 120-MHz Pentium with MMX multimedia extensions due by fall
• 200-MHz Pentium compatible chip for sub-$2,000 notebooks due 3Q

DATA:INFORMATIONWEEK

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By Bob Francis