Intel Corp. will postpone the launch of a chip it has called "the linchpin" in its new line for notebook computers, a person with knowledge of the delay said on Sunday, its second notebook chip problem this year.
Computers with the chip, code-named Alviso, will not appear in stores until early in the first quarter of next year, missing a year-end target, the person said.
The delay is not expected to have a material financial impact on the world's largest chip maker, the person said. Still, the chip will miss the year-end surge in corporate technology spending and the winter holiday shopping season.
Unspecified technical and marketing issues caused the push-back of the chip, the person said.
Intel, based in Santa Clara, California, has faced several problems introducing new chips, to the delight of arch-rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Last week, Intel said a problem with a desktop computer chip had cost it $38 million.
It is also the second problem this year with Intel's chips for notebook computers, the fastest-growing segment of the personal computer industry. In January, Intel said it had to delay the launch of a new Pentium M microprocessor after discovering a problem in its design.
Alviso is a chip-set, a lesser-known but critically important sidekick to the microprocessor. The chip-set controls memory and peripherals and often powers a computer's video and audio capabilities.
In February, Intel Vice President Anand Chandrasekher said Intel was "very confident at this stage" about Alviso, which was slated for delivery in the second half of the year.
The chip, he said, had more powerful audio and video capabilities and was "the linchpin in the Sonoma platform," Intel's new line-up of mobile computer products.
Intel spokesman Tom Beermann said he would "rather not comment" about the timing of the chip's introduction, but added that "quality and customer concerns are paramount" at Intel.
