Intel key Q1 2006 product launches will come on 6 and 9 January, respectively, it has been claimed.

First comes the debut of 'Yonah', the 65nm dual-core Pentium M processor, to be launched alongside the next incarnation of Intel's Centrino platform. So claim "a few Intel partners", cited by CoolTechZone.

The following Monday will see Intel launch its Viiv home media centre platform, according to moles from with Taiwan's hardware manufacturer community by way of a DigiTimes report.

The Viiv unveiling may well take place at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, though the sources make no suggestion as to the location of the launch. Curiously, the Yonah launch is said to have been scheduled to take place in India, though the possibility of a CES event too can't be ruled out.

The availability of 'Centrino 3' kit doesn't appear to have been addressed by the sources, but the Taiwanese moles reckon volume production of Viiv kit won't kick in until early February. Like Centrino, Viiv is based on Intel's Pentium M processor line - at least as far as small form-factor models are concerned - and Intel may prefer to push initial volumes of Yonah to notebook makers rather than companies producing the desktop machines. ®