Intel-Based Sony Notebooks Add Wind To The Sails Of Yachts Competing In Global Challenge 2004

SWINDON, UK, Nov. 24, 2004 - Crews toughing it out in the world's only around-the-world amateur yacht race, Global Challenge 2004, are relying on Intel-powered Sony VAIO* laptops to make it through the harrowing 10-month, 30,000-mile journey.

Crews are using satellite technology and Intel® Centrino™ mobile technology**-based Sony notebooks in all 12 competing yachts to log their journeys, check weather conditions, communicate with family and friends, and navigate their course as they vie to achieve victory in Portsmouth, UK, next July. The yachts set sail from Portsmouth on Oct. 3 and are currently docked at Buenos Aires, Argentina, until Nov. 28, when they will set sail for Wellington, New Zealand.

Each 18-man team is equipped with Sony digital stills cameras and digital camcorders to capture the excitement, which they can then email to friends, family and the Global Challenge team using a high-performance Intel Centrino mobile technology-based Sony laptop. Two other identical laptops are used for navigation and communication purposes, providing the latest weather information at their fingertips to help skippers be more competitive in making crucial decisions throughout the race.

The great battery life and thin, light, robust designs of the Sony laptops based on Intel Centrino mobile technology enable the crew to spend more time with the laptops on board. Integrated wireless LAN capability allows teams to access the Internet wirelessly at hotspots in each of the harbors where the yachts will dock, including Buenos Aires; Argentina; Wellington, New Zealand; Sydney, Australia; Cape Town, South Africa; Boston; USA; La Rochelle, France and Portsmouth, UK.

"Spending such long periods of time away from friends and family, it's important for the crew to be able to send and receive regular emails and photos to people back home and those following the race," said Amedeo Sorrentino, Skipper of the VAIO yacht, currently placed second overall. "The technology onboard enables us to more easily access the latest weather reports and use vital navigational technology to our advantage."

"Global Challenge 2004 is a great example of how mobile technology touches many different aspects of people's lives," said Andrew Allison, mobile solutions marketing manager, Intel UK and Ireland. "Every item taken on the yacht had to be chosen very carefully. It's important for the yachts to have slim, light laptops. Notebooks based on Intel Centrino mobile technology fit the bill perfectly, providing all the processing power needed by the teams in a thin and light space-saving package, with outstanding battery life."

"This sailing challenge gives ordinary people an extraordinary opportunity to do something different with their lives," commented Stewart Burness at Sony. "The same can be said of the unusual way that the Intel-based Sony notebook PCs are being used - which proves that it is the people that bring the products to life."

About Sony
Sony manufactures audio, video, communications and information technology products for the global consumer and professional markets. With its music, pictures, game and online businesses, Sony is uniquely positioned to become a leading personal broadband entertainment company in the 21st century. In Europe, Sony recorded consolidated annual sales of EUR 13.47 billion (yen 1,765 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2004, based on an average market exchange rate for the same period of yen 131 to the EUR. Sony Europe, headquartered at the Sony Center am Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, is responsible for the company's European electronics business and registered consolidated sales of EUR 8.71 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2004.

For more information on Sony Europe, please visit http://www.sony-europe.com and http://www.sony-europe.com/presscenter

About Global Challenge
The Global Challenge was the brainchild of Sir Chay Blyth CBE BEM, the legendary yachtsmen who was the first person to sail around the world against prevailing winds and currents, non-stop. He wanted to make the dream of sailing around the world accessible to all and hence Challenge Business and the Global Challenge were born in 1989.

The Global Challenge 2004, now in its forth series, started from Portsmouth on October 3rd 2004 and will race, against prevailing winds and currents, to Buenos Aires, Wellington, Sydney, Cape Town, Boston, La Rochelle and then back to Portsmouth. It features 12 identical 72ft race yachts, 12 professional skippers and over 200 crew made up from men and women of all walks of life and nationality. The Global Challenge helps the ordinary achieve the extraordinary.

For further information, please visit: www.globalchallenge2004.com

About Intel
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom and blogs.intel.com.

Photography: Photographs to accompany this release are available by contacting tracey.gillespie@intel.com. onEdition are the official race photographers. Images are available from their online library at http://www.world-wide-images.com. Register online for access to the Global Challenge image library, updated and available throughout the race.

Broadcast Footage: Footage is available from official news broadcasters, Meridian/ITV. Further details available from Rachel Anning (rachelanning@challengebusiness.com).

Intel, the Intel logo and Centrino are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.

* Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.