Intel discontinues Verified By Intel program

Intel will end its Verified By Intel (VBI) standardization program by mid-2008, the company confirmed Tuesday.

The program began in 2006 as a way for notebook manufacturers to demonstrate to buyers of built-to-order computers that they were meeting minimum standards set forth by Intel, including components such as keyboards, battery packs, and hard disk drives.

An Intel spokesman in Shanghai said that the company had met the objectives set out by the program, and therefore would wrap it up by the middle of 2008, with the launch of Montevina, an upcoming version of its Centrino chip package for notebooks.

"Intel, as a result, will no longer provide testing on specific barebone notebooks for interchangeability or provide technical and post sales support for these select barebones," he said.

However, the company will continue to promote the concept of Common Building Blocks, or standardized, interchangeable parts used in the manufacture of notebooks.