Intel has reportedly told customers they will no longer be able to buy 'Dothan' Pentium M processors come January 2007. These processors - and, indeed, other components of the 'Sonoma' generation of the company's Centrino platform - now have a December deadline for orders.

Given we're already onto the second incarnation of 'Napa', the follow-up to Sonoma and the third generation of Centrino, it's a wonder anyone wants Sonoma parts. Even budget laptops these days have a Core Duo on board.

Come Q2 2007, and 'Santa Rosa', the fourth major Centrino release, should be on the market. So too will Core 2 Duo-derived single-core Celeron M chips, which pretty much means curtains for Pentium M in any case.

No wonder then, the company has officially signalled Sonoma's demise, according to sources cited by DigiTimes. The moles also allege the last Dothans will ship February 2007.

By November 2008, Napa will likewise have been discontinued, they claimed, even though Intel appears a long way from formally announcing the platform's component chips have been EOL'd. ®