Intel: There’s More to Mobility Than a Mobile

Posted on April 3, 2008
Filed Under China Internet, Mobile, Wireless Networks |

Electronista reports:

Intel at the spring version of its Intel Developer Forum today revealed more details of its Atom ultra-mobile processor line, uncovering both the full launch lineup as well as detailing the Controller Hub that forms the backbone of the Centrino Atom platform.

…Two very low-power processors will be part of the introduction, Intel says. Clocked at 800MHz and 1.1GHz, the new processors will run on a slower 400MHz system bus and drop Hyperthreading, but will consume as little as 0.65W in the case of the lower-clocked version; the reduced power will allow handheld devices such as ultra-mobile PCs and simpler, smaller Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) to be ready in the near future. No production-ready models are known to exist, though prototypes have already been shown by Lenovo, LG, and OEM builders such as Compal. Both processors will cost $45 each and in the past were said to lead to devices that may cost well below UMPCs or very small notebooks.

Intel is showing off its latest chip at its Intel Developer Forum in Shanghai. Computer Reseller News, interviewing retailer Tom Derosier, translates this into English:

Derosier predicted that Atom will spark a whole new class of pocket wireless devices. “Forget about a laptop, you’re going to have the same amount of power in a pocket device in very short order,” he said. “To get a chip to run at 3 watts at those speeds is amazing.”

That’s exactly where Intel wants to go with this:

Everything you need, all in one place. Connect with family and friends across town, or around the world. You expect convenient technology to enable your life on the go. Wireless connectivity. Internet. Communication. Information access. Digital entertainment. Intel provides all this by delivering low power technologies that enable a range of small, thin, and light devices based on its new Intel Ultra Mobile Platform 2007.

Internet access, communications (the gamut: email, IM, VOIP, video chat), entertainment (videos, games, music), and even work on what Intel is calling Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) and Ultra Mobile PCs (UMPCs). What’s interesting is that these devices are actually rolling out in China - this year.

Electronista again:

Lenovo today with Intel’s help confirmed that it will be one of the first companies to produce a Mobile Internet Device (MID) based on Intel’s Atom processor with a new all-in-one device. The IdeaPad U8 will serve as a hybrid communicator and media player and will pack multiple control schemes to match: users can tap a 5-inch touchscreen to navigate menus, browse the web via Firefox, or other complex functions, but also use a unique optical joystick that substitutes as a mouse pointer and lets an owner steer the device with one hand.

Not to be outdone, the leviathan that is China Mobile just whistled some up. Pacific Epoch:

Taiwan-based electronics manufacturer BenQ is negotiating with China Mobile on the release of a TD-SCDMA enabled mobile Internet device (MID), reports qq.com quoting BenQ laptop general manager Huang Renhong. The company expects the device to hit China Mobile stores in September, said Huang. BenQ exited the Mainland handset market earlier this year.

The much anticipated (and much fumbled) rollout of 3G in China is a key driver for these devices. There isn’t much point in these gizmos if you don’t have access to the internet.

What’s missing in all this? Microsoft. Intel opted for Linux. The first requirement for a MID operating system that device vendors gave Intel (from this PDF by Intel Senior Technologist Derek Speed) was availability from multiple vendors. So much for Microsoft.

Intel founded the Mobile & Internet Linux Project, or Moblin, to support open source operating system and application development for MIDs and UMPCs. Two Linux distributions, Ubuntu and China’s own Red Flag Linux have been working with Intel on developing for MIDs and UMPCs. The BenQ device mentioned above will run Red Flag’s Midinux.

Now let’s just hope this TD-SCDMA nonsense really works.

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