Centrino 2 live in the wild…..WiMAX gods smile down with envy and delight
posted by Craig Raymond on May 30, 2008
Live from Computex 2008 in Taipei, your favorite demo guy gets his hands on the real deal.
I’ve never said that being a demo guy doesn’t have its perks. And today I’ve got my privileged hands on a brand spanking new Asus Centrino 2 (“Montevina” for us nerds) system, as I blog away under the sexy glow of my new mobile powerhouse. Mmmmmmmm…..Asus M51VA with Penryn (drool); I can feel the high-K love quadrupling my words per minute as we speak. Well, not really. But I do want to finish up my post so I can get back to playing, er…testing, World of Warcraft over the live Fitel WiMAX network here in Taipei.
That’s right. You heard me correctly. Montevina, WiMAX; live in Taipei. Kind of strange to say it all in one mouthful, but it’s finally here.
When WiMAX ships with Centrino 2 later this year, no add on card required, the Echo Peak mini-card hidden under the hood (like the one inside this Asus) promises the “always on” connection we’ve been lusting for. And now my Fitel WiMAX connection serves up a steady stream of bits while I leisurely stroll with it around the TICC to put it through the paces. How’s the streaming video, you ask? Kobe looked pretty good scoring 39 to put the Lakers in the NBA finals from my Slingbox back in the States (place/time-shifting, oh how I love thee). Skype rings clear as a bell, except maybe for the drowning concert of scooter horns that screech from the busy Taipei traffic. But online gaming over a live carrier network has long been my holy grail around WiMAX. Here from my outside park bench, after downloading my Warcraft client, I’m able log into the game world to slay all manner of goblins and over sized gerbils. It’s not the raw speed I’m looking for in this scenario, but the responsiveness, so my game character isn’t cut to ribbons by a rabid squirrel while he scratches his head awaiting the next delivery of network packets to tell him to run the hell out of there (cough 3G cough).
The best part of it all? It feels like WiFi, but I’m outside, and I can’t even SEE a Starbucks from where I’m at. Freedom!!! Only thing I have to worry about is the rain.
Oh Montevina, you crafty minx. You broke our hearts with the launch delay, but with all the new Centrino 2 platforms to be shown this week at Computex, it won’t be long before we kiss and make up with the promise of what will be the highest performing and best connected Centrino yet. More to come on Fitel’s WiMAX network and the other Intel Centrino 2 models here at Computex. But for now, please excuse me. It’s WoW time.
Comments (19)
tagged: computex, craigraymond, demo, intel, Intel, intelcentrino2, mobility, Montevina
Comments
Jun 01 | John Love said:
Can’t wait, been waiting for WiMax technology to be rolled out. Hope to see it in New Zealand by the end of the year!!! And I love that the demo guy for the Montevino is a WoW geek!
Jun 01 | Alex said:
drool you bastard! drool :|
Jun 01 | JW said:
I see DoTA. The alchemist?
Jun 01 | Kevin said:
Erm, that’s not World of Warcraft… just plain Warcraft. But still awesome. ;-)
Jun 01 | Richard Lai said:
WiMAX certainly sounds promising, but I’d like to know where Intel stands in terms of putting it onto mobile phones, as I’ve only heard about LTE? In other words: is Intel also aiming to put WiMAX onto mobile phones to fight against LTE? Or will it be just a replacement for the current 802.11B/G(/Draft-N) hardware, thus LTE (or any 3.5G connection) and WiMAX will both be present on one device?
Jun 01 | Anonymous said:
Who the hell gets Heart of Tarrasque on Alchemist?
Jun 01 | john said:
actually the game on the screen is called DOTA and it’s awsome
Jun 01 | john said:
this post just got hijacked into a DOTA conversation
Jun 01 | Anonymous said:
Hes in one player you idiot…
Jun 01 | Craig said:
Man, there are some HARDCORE WoW and DTOA fans out there! Here’s some more updates to the games I’ve been testing. LOTRO, and a new undisclosed MMORG that’s was recently released this month (disclaimer pending). Things are looking up for WiMAX and the mobile gamer.
And I’ve got something special for you gamers maybe you haven’t seen before for some new network tech here at Computex. Stay tuned, ‘cause I’m not spilling it before the keynote.
Jun 01 | Anonymous said:
grats no boots
Jun 01 | Dean said:
and ONLY a Heart of Tarrasque?!
Jun 01 | Anonymous said:
That look like DOTA now WOW
Jun 01 | Alison said:
Defense of the Ancients custom game ftw!
Jun 02 | Maximum Jun Win Tang said:
lol its DOTA not world of warcraft
must go farm
Jun 02 | Anonymous said:
Intel to sponsor DotA?
/rumor
Jun 03 | Anonymous said:
u are playing dota too~~hands~~~lol
Jun 03 | Craig said:
Intel is looking to get WiMAX into EVERYTHING. Handsets, MIDs, Laptops; and you’re going to see a mix of radios in upcoming devices (WiMAX+GSM for sure, WiMAX+LTE? Hmmmmm…Maybe. WiMAX+WiFi=Definately.) It’s going to be really cool what mix of devices we’ll see when all the WiMAX networks go live worldwide.
On a seperate note, rapid DOTA fans have taken over this thread!!!!! Where’s the Vangard players? Where are my CoH homies at?
Jun 04 | Muhammad Wasif Laeeq said:
It sounds good….