It's CES time again and hoping to cut through the noise, Intel has decided to jump the gun with a pre-show press conference. Let's cut to the chase, shall we?

• In January, the company will release what they're calling "the smallest SSD in the industry." Intel's Z-P140 PATA SSD holds either 2GB or 4GB on a chip that's about the same size as a penny. Holy cow!
• Intel's WiFi/WiMAX chip, code-named "Echo Park," will be available in devices sometime next year.
• The company will launch "Skulltrail," a new dual-processor platform next year, making it easier to produce 8-core machines based on quad-core Core 2 Extreme CPUs.
• The Centrino platform will get a much-needed boost with "Santa Rosa Refresh," which will feature a new 45nm CPU and better integrated graphics. There will also be a Refresh for desktops, though details on that remain sketchy.

For more on Intel's CES announcements:
- see this fact sheet (PDF link)