IDF: Intel sets sights on mobile computing

By James Morris, PC Pro Editor, San Jose

Posted on 20 Feb 2003 at 09:18

Intel bolstered its commitment to mobile computing at IDF on Wednesday with a string of announcements. The Centrino platform was further detailed. Clock speeds at launch will range from 900MHz Ultra Low Voltage parts to a 1.6GHz flagship.

Performance of the 1.6MHz part beats a 2.4GHz Pentium 4 M by up to 10 per cent, yet it still draws considerably less power. Intel vice president Anand Chandrasekher claimed battery life of over five hours 'typical' usage would be possible. This would be further aided by the introduction of Low Temperature Polymorphous Silicon (LTPS) displays. LPTS increases the amount of light each LCD pixel allows through, which means the backlight requires 30 per cent less power for the same brightness.

Displays drawing as little as 3W are possible, and Toshiba has already moved all its notebook screens over to the technology. Chandrasekher also showed the first working portable notebook fuel cell from tech startup PolyFuel. The prototype was still a bulky add-on, but fuel cells offering three times the battery life of current standard lithium ion models could hit the market in two or three years. If Intel's five-hour claims for Centrino are borne out, that could mean 15 hours from one charge for a PolyFuel fuel cell.

Mobile telephones were Intel's other major focus. After the announcement of PXA800F at 3GSM, the new combo of XScale CPU, GSM/GPRS radio and flash memory had its first public demonstration in a reference design. Intel claims that the PXA800F's integration doesn't just save on device costs and size, but has performance implications too. According to Intel vice president Gadi Singer, running software from flash memory integrated on the same die as the processor reduces latency considerably. Another demonstration showed off Intel's stacking of its current XScale processor, the PXA262, and flash memory one on top of the other to save space. This allowed more powerful mobile phones for multimedia applications like music and gaming. Clearly, Intel has a strong interest in the growing area of colour screened all-singing, all-dancing mobile phones. With analysts predicting a market of potentially over a billion users by 2007, it's not hard to see why.