Intel to delay Ivy Bridge chips as laptop vendors struggle to clear old stock

Intel's upcoming Ivy Bridge chips are set to be hit by delays, at least in volume shipments, according to unnamed sources that claim to have been notified by the chip giant itself.

According to the Digitimes, Intel has already notified partners it intends to delay mass shipments of the new processor chips until later in the year, meaning that systems based on the new platform are also likely to be delayed.

Ivy Bridge is Intel's codename for a 22nm "die shrink" of the existing Sandy Bridge architecture, used in its current second-generation Core family of chips.

The new design also has significant improvements in some areas, such as overhauled graphics acceleration.

While Ivy Bridge is expected to be launched within the next few weeks, volume shipments are being delayed until the second half of the year, because laptop vendors are struggling to sell existing inventory due to the challenging economic conditions, according to the sources.

However, this did not stop vendors such as Lenovo from unveiling new models at the CES show in January that are expected to be available with Ivy Bridge chips later in the year.

Intel had not responded to requests from V3 for clarification at the time of writing.

UPDATE: Intel eventually responded with a stock statement that its policy is not to comment on rumour and speculation.