Intel’s Bianca project promises custom notebooks for resellers

Until now, resellers wanting a say in the look and feel, branding and customisation of their computing products were largely restricted to desktops.

"We've got customers who are champing at the bit to get into mobile," said Thomas Tapsas, channel sales manager, Intel Australia.

Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in Taiwan and China require a large deposit before producing a prototype notebook or netbook for production.

"You have to pony up a lot of money to get an ID for a specific design and a minimum production run of 100,000 units. 

"But resellers need different designs, look and feel, to stand out. To service the channel you need something unique or different," said Tapsas.

Intel found five OEMs willing to produce a single design that could be shared by and individually branded for 10 resellers in 10 countries, thereby reduce the cost of production and design.

Under the project the chip manufacturer pays for the OEM's hard tooling cost, provides technical support and aggregates demand world wide.

The OEM owns the production based on Intel's reference design, terms and conditions, pricing and customer support.

The channel partners (or local OEMs) get the latest industrial designs (exclusively, in some regions), the latest Intel chips (such as Atom, Centrino2, 3G, WiMAX and ULV), and innovative features such as Smart Disk, Smart Alarm and Smart Screen.  

Smart Disk uses a built-in accelerometer that locks the hard drive when it senses a sudden drop or shock to the notebook.

Smart Alarm sounds a loud buzzing whenever the locked system is moved from its position, which makes it attractive to schools, airports, cafes and libraries.

Smart Screen changes the display from portrait to landscape depending on the screen's orientation.

Some models come with up to three mini-card slots, which can take wireless (WiMAX, 3G or wifi), flash memory or a TV tuner for mobile TV.

The Bianca project is aimed at emerging economies in the Asia Pacific where mobile computing markets are less developed. A selection of 20 Bianca models, including netbooks, nettops and notebooks, were on display at the Intel Solutions Summit on the Gold Coast this week.

Models produced under the project to date include the Bianca 13.3 inch widescreen and Peggy's Cove 13.3 inch widescreen (both by Gigabyte), Peggy's Cove 15.4 inch wide screen by Flextronics, an 8.9 inch netbook by Amtek, and a 13.3 inch widescreen ULV notebook by ECS.

Multinational brands already have a strong hold in Australia's established mobile market, and "local guys are happy selling multinational brands", said Tapsas.

However, two Australian resellers were looking at buying notebooks under the project, added Tapsas.