As our non-official sources report, Intel has really started shipping (yet in limited quantities) a cheaper version of i845 B-Step chipset without DDR SDRAM support.
Absurd as it may seem (we mean introducing and then withdrawing DDR SDRAM support), in practice this move is justified by the currently high prices for DDR SDRAM. The justification is only partial, though: PC133 SDRAM has turned much more expensive than DDR SDRAM. Anyway, Intel will have to reassess its decision on analyzing comments from the mainboard makers.
Speaking about the cheaper i845 again, we admit that all the assumptions have proven correct. Intel will go on producing i845 chipsets (B0-Step), but part of them will have no DDR SDRAM support selling at “less than $30” and the other wholesome i845 chipsets will be still sold at $36-$38.