In a re-branding exercise of sorts, Intel Corp is moving away from its traditional image of being a chip outfit, to that of being a provider of platforms such as its Centrino technology for NBs, or its upcoming Viiv for entertainment PCs.

As part of this strategy, the world’s biggest chip maker is launching a new corporate and brand identity that will include a re-worked company logo, a change in the ubiquitous “Intel Inside” stickers, and a shift from the Pentium name for its micro-processors. Eric Kim, chief marketing officer, Intel, will lead this effort. According to Kim, the change will enable Intel to be better-recognized for its contributions, and to strengthen its overall position in the market.
The company plans to remove the familiar dropped “e” from its logo, which has been around since the company was founded in 1968 by Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce. The letters that make up “Intel” will now appear in lower case. The company’s logo will include a tag line, “Leap ahead,” which according to Kim is “a simple expression that declares who we are and what we do”.
Intel will also simplify the “Intel Inside” stickers, which first appeared on PCs in 1991 under the then-CEO, Andy Grove. However the marketing program in which Intel subsidizes PC makers who use Intel chips and stickers, will continue.

Further Santa Clara-based Intel will call its Gen-Next processors for mobile computers “Core,” instead of “Pentium M”. While processors with a single computing engine will be known as “Core Solo,” chips with two engines will be called “Core Duo.”

Intel’s shift toward platform technologies actually started in 2003, when Centrino technology comprising an Intel micro-processor, chip-set and communications chips tuned for wireless computing, was launched. Intel is expected to launch its Viiv platform in early 2006, which promises to focus on the home entertainment PC market. It is said that Intel micro-processors will soon be found at the core of Macintosh computers, though it’s unclear whether Apple Computer will participate in Intel’s marketing programs.

Paul Otellini, chief executive, Intel, will unveil the company’s new strategy based on Gen-X multi-media platforms and chips, next week at the “Consumer Electronics Show” in Las Vegas.