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Intel unveils faster chips
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January 4, 1999: 2:21 p.m. ET
New Celeron processors reinforce commitment to low-cost PC market
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Intel Corp. Monday unveiled two new computer chips aimed at low-cost computers in an effort to reinforce its commitment to serving the lower end of the PC industry.
The Santa Clara, Calif. chip giant said it has begun shipping 366-MHz and 400-MHz versions of its Celeron chip. Intel 's (INTC) previous fastest Celeron chip operates at 333 MHz.
"These processors are the first of many new low-cost PC desktop and mobile products from Intel in 1999, and they help reinforce Intel's leadership in this market segment worldwide," said Paul Otellini, executive vice president, Intel Architecture Business Group.
Intel had previously planned to offer the 400-MHz Celeron later this year. The company's advanced launch date now enables it to stay one step ahead of low-cost chip rivals Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and National Semiconductor Corp. 's (NSM) Cyrix unit.
"We've been saying for the last month that it's our intention to be aggressive in this space," said Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy. "This is a fast-growing segment, and we've said we're going to compete across the board."
Intel has also raised the competitive bar by moving to a single-chip design with the Celeron processors. Previously, the company had offered the Pentium II processor with a cartridge package that included a separate board with cache memory chips. The Celeron, like AMD's K6 processor and Cyrix's Media GX, includes memory on the processor itself
"That makes it cheaper and more compelling for OEMs [original equipment manufacturers, a reference to computer makers] to put Intel's in their PCs because the Celeron is competitively priced with AMD and Cyrix," said Chris Chaney, analyst at A.G. Edwards.
The 400-MHz Celeron is priced at $158 or $166 per 1,000-unit quantities, depending on configuration. The 366-MHz chip costs $123 or $131 per 1,000 units.
Intel shares rose 3-15/16 to 122-1/2 in midday trade. 
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Intel
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