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Intel's Itanium Slips Schedule

Intel's first 64-bit chip won't appear until early 2001.

By James Niccolai, PCWorld   

The new processor won't add to Intel's revenues until the fourth quarter, one quarter later than previously expected, Intel executives said in a financial briefing Tuesday.

The first "pilot" Itanium systems will be available shortly, but general availability of Itanium PCs, operating systems, and applications won't materialize until the first half of 2001, Paul Otellini, vice president and general manager of the Intel Architecture Group, says.

The decision to push back the Itanium release was apparently made recently. Just last week Ron Curry, an Intel marketing director, said the first Itanium systems were on track for delivery before the end of this year.

Despite the delay, Intel "continued to make solid progress" with Itanium during the past quarter, Otellini says. The processor, which was formerly known as Merced and was developed with input from Hewlett-Packard, was originally expected to appear in 1999.

High-End Chip

Itanium is an important chip because, along with subsequent 64-bit offerings, it's expected to help Intel penetrate the more lucrative markets for higher-end workstations and servers, where Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) chips from the likes of Sun Microsystems and IBM currently hold sway.

The delay in Itanium will push the chip's release closer onto the heels of McKinley, a follow-up 64-bit processor that Intel plans to release in the second half of 2001. McKinley will have double the performance of its first 64-bit offering, Intel representatives say. Some analysts say they expect McKinley to quickly eclipse its predecessor.

The delay should also give Microsoft some breathing room with its 64-bit version of Windows, which was released in pre-beta form last week. Microsoft plans to launch the 64-bit version of Windows at around the same time the first Itanium systems go on sale, according to Michael Stephenson, lead product manager for Windows Enterprise Server.

Despite the news about Itanium, Intel reported strong financial results Tuesday. Second quarter revenue increased 23 percent, to a record $8.3 billion.