Advancing the concept of laptops as replacement desktops, Intel today announced that they are readying a new beast of a processor for mobile platforms. They will be taking from their fastest line of desktop processors, aimed at enthusiasts, and converting it into a mobile variant. The Core 2 Extreme will then be the most powerful “mobile” CPU to hit the market yet.

On top of that, they also announced that next year they hope to make “battery-friendly” quad-core mobile processors available. The new Core2 Extreme X7800 CPU will be dual core and will operate at 2.6GHz. They claim it is a performance step about 28% above their existing mobile lineup. While Intel has been opposed to unlocked multipliers for many years, this interesting (and no doubt expensive) CPU will come factory unlocked:

In addition, for experienced enthusiasts who desire more capability, the Intel Core 2 Extreme mobile processor bus ratio locks (overspeed protection) have been removed3. This offers added technical flexibility in customizing the system so OEMs can unleash even more performance.
The provided chart for availability doesn't list specific pricing on that CPU, nor does the release mention the power draw of this new processor. On the desktop front, Intel is also introducing a new Extreme Edition Core 2 Quad, the QX6850, which Techspot has reviewed. Using the 1333MHz bus, the new CPU will run at 3GHz. Given the current performance level of the Core 2 series, likely this one won't disappoint. Expect that to set you back quite a bit though, with a price tag starting at $1000.

You can read the full press release at Intel's site.