Intel says WiMax is coming next year - this time for sure
Ummm, yep sure it is. Can I sell you some great ocean front property in Idaho while were at it?

One thing was very clear at this week's Intel Developer Forum, the semiannual gathering of hardware and software developers sponsored by the semiconductor giant: If it's small and mobile, Intel wants to put a chip in it. The lumbering rectangular towers we so often refer to as PCs have become passé, and according to Intel, are increasingly taking a back seat to a new breed of laptops, ultramobile PCs, mobile internet devices and cell phones.

In his keynote on Wednesday, David Perlmutter, senior vice president of Intel's Mobility Group, described mobile users with "insatiable appetites," hungry for ever more mobility and connectivity.

The company plans to sate this hunger with something called Montevina in mid-2008. Montevina, which will become the company's next-generation Centrino mobile platform, is based on Intel's 45-nanometer fabrication technology. It will support things like DDR3 memory, Blu-ray and HD-DVD playback, as well as an integrated Wi-Fi/WiMax module the company calls Echo Peak.

What that means in plain English is that Montevina notebooks will be faster and low-power, will include support for the latest optical storage standards, and will presumably be ready to connect with the latest wireless networks out of the box. As testament to the clout Intel wields, a number of laptop manufactures like Lenovo, Acer, Toshiba and Panasonic have already committed to using Montevina.

Key to Intel's wireless strategy is the standard known as Mobile WiMax (IEEE 802.16e). Yes, that's the same WiMax you've been hearing about -- but not seeing -- for close to five years now. But according to Intel, as well as Sprint Nextel and Clearwire, WiMax really will be ready for its public debut next year.

Read all about it here, courtesy of Wired.com

Eric