Intel Corp is rolling out five new Atom micro-processors and a collection of chips designed for portable gadgets that access the Internet and for other uses, as the world's largest chipmaker uses its marketing muscle to help create a new market.
The low-power, tiny Atom chips will come in speeds of up to 1.86 gigahertz and Intel says that speed, plus other technologies designed into the chip, make it the fastest processor that consumes 3 watts of electricity or less. The recently named Atom family of processors is part of Intel's effort to have chips designed with Intel Architecture - the fundamental blueprint of its semiconductors in myriad computing devices - from what it calls mobile Internet devices (MIDs), all the way up to high-performance computers.
Intel is making the announcements at its Intel Developer Forum conference in Shanghai. That is where the Atom and Centrino Atom come in. The Centrino Atom also includes a single-chip with integrated graphics called Intel System Controller Hub that allows for PC-like capabilities and long battery life for devices that fit in a user's pocket.
Intel said that the features of the Atom processor - the 'brains' of an electronic device - and its system controller hub would help device makers create a range of MIDs with differing functions and designs.
MID device makers include Asus, Fujitsu, Lenovo, NEC, Panasonic, Samsung, Sharp and Toshiba, among others, and prices will probably average about $500, with some priced higher than that or lower, depending on the functions.
The small size of the Atom processor - the die of the chip is less than 25 square millimeters, or about a 10th of the low-cost Celeron desktop and notebook PC chip.
Embedded chips are used in devices such as portable cash registers, robotics for industrial manufacturing, kiosks, patient monitoring and car 'infotainment' systems.
The low-power, tiny Atom chips will come in speeds of up to 1.86 gigahertz and Intel says that speed, plus other technologies designed into the chip, make it the fastest processor that consumes 3 watts of electricity or less. The recently named Atom family of processors is part of Intel's effort to have chips designed with Intel Architecture - the fundamental blueprint of its semiconductors in myriad computing devices - from what it calls mobile Internet devices (MIDs), all the way up to high-performance computers.
Intel is making the announcements at its Intel Developer Forum conference in Shanghai. That is where the Atom and Centrino Atom come in. The Centrino Atom also includes a single-chip with integrated graphics called Intel System Controller Hub that allows for PC-like capabilities and long battery life for devices that fit in a user's pocket.
Intel said that the features of the Atom processor - the 'brains' of an electronic device - and its system controller hub would help device makers create a range of MIDs with differing functions and designs.
MID device makers include Asus, Fujitsu, Lenovo, NEC, Panasonic, Samsung, Sharp and Toshiba, among others, and prices will probably average about $500, with some priced higher than that or lower, depending on the functions.
The small size of the Atom processor - the die of the chip is less than 25 square millimeters, or about a 10th of the low-cost Celeron desktop and notebook PC chip.
Embedded chips are used in devices such as portable cash registers, robotics for industrial manufacturing, kiosks, patient monitoring and car 'infotainment' systems.