Intel Rebrands Chips, Announces Core i3 and i5 Conventions

By Intel's own admission, the chip maker's Core brand has a "mind boggling array of derivatives," a problem the company plans to solve by rebranding chips and simplifying its Core lineup. Going forward, the Core family will fall into one of three tiers: Core i3 (entry-level), Core i5 (mid-level), and Core i7 (high-level).

"It is important to note that these are not brands but modifiers to the Intel Core brand that signal different features and benefits," spokesman Bill Cader wrote in a post on Intel's website.

Cader went on to say that Intel's upcoming Lynnfield processors will be labeled as either Core i5 or Core i7 depending upon the feature-set and capability. Meanwhile, Clarksfield (mobile) will have the Intel Core i7 name, Cader wrote.

"In the back half of this year you'll begin to see Core i5 and more Core i7s coming to market," said Deborah Conrad, vice president and director of corporate marketing at Intel. "Then by the first part of next year you'll begin to see Core i3, and i5, i7. Then the old names will get retired as those products get phased out."

Intel's upcoming 32nm Arrandale (mobile) will initially fall under Core i3, but will later spread to both Core i5 and i7. Celeron will still exist as a brand for entry-level computing at affordable price points, Pentium for basic computing, and Intel's Atom nomenclature isn't going anywhere. However, the Centrino moniker will be phased out as a PC brand and instead be used as a name for WiFi and WiMAX products.

That's not mind boggling at all, now is it?

Image Credit: Intel