Intel Corporation officially confirmed the actual beginning of shipments of a Celeron microprocessor originally due in 2004. The Ultra Low-Voltage 0.13 micron chip running at 800MHz and featuring the so-called Banias architecture is available now in some systems from at least two system vendors.

Intel has had a quite clear plan to shift all its mobile processors to its specially developed architecture for mobile PCs enabling high-speed computing on platforms with very low power consumption. The first chip of the kind is Intel Pentium M processor found in this year’s Centrino notebooks internally code-named Banias. The CPU and its architecture this year proved their strength and efficiency and next year Intel was expected to unleash a top-to-bottom lineup of Pentium M like processors, including value models named Celeron M. However, in an attempt to unify some mobile platforms, Intel is shipping the Celeron M microprocessors to some of its partners now, according to News.com.

The chipmaker has begun shipping its new 800MHz ULV Celeron M chip to tablet PC manufacturers such as Motion Computing, weeks earlier than the industry originally anticipated the shipments of low-cost Celeron M to start.

Motion Computing is including the 800MHz mobile Celeron M in a version of its M1300 tablet designed to offer a lower price for customers who aren't necessarily in need of all-out performance. Motion’s Celeron M1300 model starts at $1 699, while its Pentium M begins at $1 999. The 800MHz chip also appears to be an option on HP Compaq Tablet PC TC1100, which came out in October.

Earlier this year Intel sold 600MHz ULV Pentium M CPUs branded as “Celeron 600A” exclusively to Sony for its VAIO PCG-U101 notebook.

The Intel Celeron M processors produced using 0.13 micron technology pack 512KB of L2 cache and utilize 400MHz Quad Pumped Bus. There will be a variety of Celeron M, LV Celeron M and ULV Celeron M microprocessors available next year. The products will be offered as a part of Centrino platform and also separately. In the second half of the year 2004 Intel is bringing 90nm Celeron M chips into the market.