Intel will not reveal its next-generation mobile chip code-named Dothan in February, as expected originally. The firm explains second delay for its new Pentium M processor with a glitch requiring to make some circuitry changes.

Intel’s president Paul Otellini said that the bug found in the design of code-named Dothan processor meant to be released this quarter “would hamper manufacturability” of the chip. To avoid this, Intel had to redesign the next-gen Pentium M CPU.

“We have redesigned the circuits and have already seen functional silicon resulting from the fix. In the interim we will meet all of our commitments with the existing version of the Pentium M. We expect no significant impact to revenue or our 90nm ramp for the year,” Otellini said.

This is, at least, the second time Intel delays its 90nm mobile chip and not the only delay of 90nm CPUs in the firm’s history. Once planned to launch in mid-2003, the Dothan processor with 2MB L2 cache was eventually delayed to Fall 2003, but after that the part was moved into Q1 due to some shady reasons. Now the chip is officially targeted for the Q2 2004. Prescott chip – Intel’s desktop 90nm microprocessor – was also delayed numerous times in the past, though, Intel did not loudly explained the reasons for such moves.

90nm fabrication technology allows Intel to decrease the cost of manufacturing seriously enough to add more caches and certain other features amid growing clock-speed while maintaining product margins at high-level.

The initial clock-speed for Dothan processor is 1.80GHz, though, given that Intel revamps its plans quite often, there is slight possibility that the chip giant will also roll-out 1.90GHz Pentium M SKU in Q2 2004.