Targeted squarely at the "value PC market segment," Intel has introduced a 333MHz mobile Celeron for $159.

Intel says the chip is designed for low power to prolong battery life, unique packaging for smaller and lighter systems, and a mobile-friendly thermal design specification which avoids the need for bulky, noisy cooling devices to manage heat dissipation.

Intel also introduced new low-voltage versions of the mobile Pentium II and Celeron processors at 266MHz. Available in a ball grid array (BGA) package, the new mobile Pentium II and Celeron processors at 266MHz operate at 1.5 volts and consume 5.8 watts of thermal design power.

The 333MHz mobile Celeron is based on the P6 microarchitecture and contains 128 kB of integrated level 2 cache. It operates at 1.6 volts and consumes approximately 6 watts of power while running typical word processing, spreadsheet and presentation applications,according to Intel.

The 333MHz mobile Celeron is up to 11 percent faster than the 300MHz version. For more details on performance benchmarks, visit www.intel.com/mobile/performance.htm .