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By Tom Krazit, 1 February 2008 08:50

NEWS

The PC industry is wasting little time getting in line behind Apple to use Intel's new laptop chip.

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Silicon.com sister site CNET News.com has learnt that Lenovo and Fujitsu are in the process of putting together systems based on the Core 2 Duo chip that Apple is using in the MacBook Air. The new laptops should be out shortly, according to sources familiar with the companies' plans.

Representatives for Lenovo, Intel and Fujitsu declined to comment.

Apple asked Intel to design the Core 2 Duo chip last year for the design that would become the MacBook Air. The chip fits into a package that's significantly smaller than the garden-variety package Intel uses with its notebook chips, and it uses less power than the standard Core 2 Duo.

After the MacBook Air was introduced at Macworld, Intel representatives said the chip would be offered to the rest of the PC industry if they were interested. Much of the technology used in the chip will become part of Intel's mainstream offerings when the Montevina platform is released later this year.

The chip is designed for ultra-portable laptops, which mostly use low-voltage or ultra-low-voltage versions of Intel's Core 2 Duo processors currently, in order to fit into the tight spaces required by ultra-portable designs. Processing power is therefore compromised, something which could be avoided with the special Core 2 Duo chip.

No details were available on the specifications that will come along with the new Lenovo and Fujitsu laptops, but they are expected to be out shortly.

CNET News.com's Erica Ogg contributed to this report