Intel touts jet-setting mobile chip

Processor giant Intel has announced that it will formally launch its mobile chip, code-named Banias, on 12 March in New York.

The chip will be marketed under the brand name Centrino, and Intel intends to spend several hundred million dollars to market the product family.

The Pentium-M chip will be available at different speeds, one of which will be 1.3GHz.

According to the San Jose Mercury News, Intel showed off the chip, and its a new Boeing airborne web surfing system by flying a plane load of reporters around San Francisco.

The internet connectivity system for aircraft, called Connexion, offers email, surfing and instant messaging at 30,000ft.

But the system experienced a few teething troubles. The onboard server had to be rebooted three times before the internet connection was established.

The Connexion service will be offered at around $25 to $30 (£15 to £18) a flight.