Intel launches low-power chip

Intel is raising the stakes in the low-power laptop chip market by launching a new product to give users more battery time.

The company's increased activity in the market is in response to an expected move by rival Transmeta to increase its product line. But while Transmeta has courted most of the publicity about its battery saving solutions, Intel has been the one to deliver the most machines to market, with Transmeta having no presence yet in the UK.

Intel has launched a 500Mhz Pentium III chip costing around $200. When running from a main power source, the 500Mhz clock speed is used, but when on battery power, the speed automatically reduces to 300Mhz, using a lower voltage.

At 300Mhz, the average power consumption of the chip is less than 0.5 watts. It also produces little heat and doesn't need a fan.

When Intel launched its SpeedStep technology at the beginning of the year, it got the first laptops containing the chips to the UK market by the spring. The SpeedStep launch was in response to Transmeta's overtures, given publicity thanks to Linux developer Linus Torvalds being the main technical brain behind Transmeta.

But Transmeta has failed to gain a foothold in the European market, as it prefers to try out its products first in Japan and the US. It is also without commercial backing from the major laptop manufacturers.