Intel details new mobile systems

Power-saving technology, better graphics, easier manageability and more wireless support feature in Intel's latest plans for laptops

Intel has detailed its mobile technology roadmap. It unveiled specifications for the next version of its Centrino platform and demonstrated a new Ultra Mobile PC design that Intel said will bring laptop functionality to a handheld device only slightly larger than some PDAs.

Speaking in his keynote at Intel's Developer's Forum in San Francisco, vice-president Sean Maloney said the new Centrino platform, codenamed Santa Rosa, would be available in first half of 2007 and will feature greater energy efficiency, better graphics, enhanced manageability and improved connectivity.

The platform will be based on the newly architected Merom notebook processor - which will be launched later this year. It will include a new graphics chipset, codenamed Crestline; an IEEE 802.11n Wi-Fi adapter, codenamed Kedron; and a Nand Flash-based platform accelerator, codenamed Robson.

Maloney said Robson would allow notebooks to boot up significantly faster and make applications more responsive. He added that coupled with Merom's ability to shut down parts of the processor when they are idle, the system will also reduce demands on the battery.

Maloney also demonstrated a new category of small devices called Ultra Mobile PCs (UMPCs), which he said would be available from major hardware partners by the end of the month.

Despite improvements in notebook design, laptops remain too large for people to have on them at all times, while PDF devices often lack functionality and support for all the applications that mobile workers need, Maloney argued. He said UMPCs may avoid these shortcomings "by shrinking the classic PC architecture into a much smaller device".

Maloney also underlined Intel's commitment to WiMAX broadband wireless technology. He said Intel will enable WiMAX in laptops by launching a new PCMCIA card in the second half of the year. He also demonstrated a single chip multi-band Wi-Fi and WiMAX radio, codenamed Ofer. "The chip will handle both standards and allow people to connect using Wi-Fi or WiMAX networks," Maloney said.