Event Coverage

IDF Fall 2008 Update (Part 2)

By Dr. Jimmy Tang - 22 Aug 2008

Living in the Atomic Times

Living in the Atomic Times

The buzz around Intel's latest sensation, the Atom processor, continued to soar even though the product was only a couple of month's old. Developers were talking about the Atom, users wanted to buy devices based on the Atom, and Intel executives could not stop talking about the Atom. Seems that the world suddenly realized that there was a huge potential for a multi-purpose, low power and not too performance oriented x86 processor.

The Intel Atom processor has already seen successful implementations in devices like netbooks and nettops. Orders for Intel Atom processors and its associated chipset have gone up, and have continued to go up so much that Intel is having trouble keeping up with demands. Part of this demand will now go into more 'yet to be announced' products and they will soon appear in the form of devices like MIDs (Mobile Internet Devices).

Anand Chandrasekher, Intel Senior VP and GM of Ultra Mobility Group showed developers during his keynote the wide range of MIDs based on the new Intel Atom processor Z5xx series. He demonstrated how Intel's highest performance Atom processor running at 1.86GHz could perform intensive tasks like running World of Warcraft or even playing Full HD (1080p, 30fps) video.

Besides showcasing a wide range of MIDs from well known brands such as Aigo, Asus, BenQ, Fujitsu, Gigabyte, Panasonic, Lenovo and Sharp, Chandrasekher also talked about the next generation platform codenamed "Moorestown". The next architecture will target devices with both voice and data capabilities, as well as having reduction of more than 10 times in idle power. According to Chandrasekher, Moorestown's development is healthy with the first silicon produced and on track for 2009/2010. No other details were released about Moorestown as Intel is tight-lipped about this highly talked about chip.

 Anand Chandrasekher, Intel senior vice president and general manager, Ultra Mobility Group showing the IDF audience the first Moorestown platform ''Lincroft'' wafer. Moorestown, the next-generation of Intel's ultra-mobile platform is on-track for 2009/2010.

 The Clarion MiND (Mobile Internet Navigation Device) installed on the car's dashboard providing users with real-time, location-based services and full Internet-based experiences.

 The new Panasonic Toughbook U1 is an ultra-mobile rugged PC equipped with the Intel Atom processor Z520 running at 1.33GHz. It comes with 1GB of DDR2 memory and a 16GB solid-state removable drive. The large 5.6-inch WSVGA full color screen and a 61-key Windows keyboard allows users to use the device just like a PC.

 Another Panasonic rugged device for medical professionals based on the Atom processor.

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