Intel's Smallest Processor Built Using World's Smallest Transistors Designed for New Internet Devices, Low-Cost PCs, is coming soon!

The Intel Atom™ processor will be the name for a new family of low-power processors designed specifically for mobile Internet devices (MIDs) and a new class of simple and affordable Internet-centric computers arriving later this year. Together, these new market segments represent a significant new opportunity to grow the overall market for Intel silicon, using the Intel Atom processor as the foundation. The company also announced the Intel Centrino Atom™ processor technology brand for MID platforms, consisting of multiple chips that enable the best Internet experience in a pocketable device.

The Intel Atom processor is based on an entirely new microarchitecture designed specifically for small devices and low power, while maintaining the Intel® Core™ 2 Duo instruction set compatibility consumers are accustomed to when using a standard PC and the Internet. The design also includes support for multiple threads for better performance and increased system responsiveness. All of this on a chip that measures less than 25 mm², making it Intel's smallest and lowest power processor yet.1 Up to 11 Intel Atom processor die -- the tiny slivers of silicon packed with 47 million transistors each -- would fit in an area the size of an American penny.

Intel® Atom™ processor	Intel® Centrino® Atom™ processor technology

These new chips, previously codenamed Silverthorne and Diamondville, will be manufactured on Intel's industry-leading 45nm process with hi-k metal gate technology. The chips have a thermal design power (TDP) specification in 0.6-2.5 watt range and scale to 1.8GHz speeds depending on customer need. By comparison, today's mainstream mobile Core 2 Duo processors have a TDP in the 35-watt range.

"This is our smallest processor built with the world's smallest transistors," said Intel Executive Vice President and Chief Sales and Marketing Officer Sean Maloney. "This small wonder is a fundamental new shift in design, small yet powerful enough to enable a big Internet experience on these new devices. We believe it will unleash new innovation across the industry."

With personal computing increasingly going mobile and the computer industry rapidly developing new classes of products to connect the next billion people to the Internet, the Intel Atom processor offers customers the unique ability to innovate around the new low-power design. In addition to the MID opportunity, Intel believes the demand for a new category of low-cost, Internet-centric mobile computing devices dubbed "netbooks" and basic Internet-centric desktop PCs dubbed "nettops," will grow substantially over the next several years. The Intel Atom processor is perfectly suited to meet these new market segments.

Intel said the Intel Atom processor also has potential for future revenue opportunities in consumer electronic devices, embedded applications and thin clients.

Intel Centrino Atom Processor Technology
The Intel Centrino Atom processor technology brand represents Intel's best technology for MIDs. Formerly codenamed "Menlow," Intel Centrino Atom processor technology includes the Intel Atom processor, a low-power companion chip with integrated graphics, a wireless radio, and thinner and lighter designs. Together, these components are designed to enable the best mobile computing and Internet experience on these new devices.

Source: Intel

ComingSoon...
Google® Says Android™ Phone
Beats Everything!

One day, Google believes, software developers will love its "non-existent" Android handset just as much as they love the iPhone - and maybe more.

Speaking this morning at eComm, a conference dedicated to "emerging communications," Google mobile platforms guru Rich Miner acknowledged that for the moment, Apple may have an advantage. After all, Steve Jobs and company have actually shipped a piece of hardware, while the first Android handset won't arrive until "the second half of this year." But Miner also told the crowd that Stevo hasn't treated developers as well as they deserve.

"There are certain apps you just can’t build on an iPhone," Miner said. "Apple doesn’t let you do multiprocessing. They don’t let your app run in the background after you switch to another. And they don't let you have interpretive language in your iPhone apps."

All this may be true. But even that interpretive language bit hasn't stopped Sun from a very public show of unrequited iPhone love.

Nonetheless, Miner says that Android - an open source software platform based on Linux - will soon be neck-and-neck with the Jesus Phone. "My belief is that any startup company or company that’s trying to build a popular mobile app will build it for both platforms," he said. "They’re both contemporary programming environments. As long as somebody cleanly architects their system and uses contemporary techniques. It shouldn’t be too hard to maintain multiple versions of apps across both Android and iPhone."

At that same time, Miner insists that one of the chief advantages of the Linux-based Android is that it eliminates the need for developers to maintain multiple versions of apps across multiple platforms. This was an effort to prove that Android - billed as a "handset stack" - is more than just "(another) Linux OS".

"Yes, there are lots of other Linux initiatives," he proclaimed, "but the problem is that there are lots of them. The problem is that if they just focus on the Linux OS, and they leave out all the other parts of the mobile stack.

"So, if two companies build two phones, they make two different sets of decisions about the stack. And that means the phones are different. You can't just write for one phone and move it over. You have to write for two."

So, with Android, you don't have to write for more than one platform except when you do. How to resolve this paradox? Well, maybe Miner thinks the iPhone is even more useless than he lets on.

"But because of their business model and their partnerships, certain people believe that there are control issues as well. But I’m not going into that. There are plenty of blogs that discuss that." We're guessing that these "certain people" include Rich Miner. As you might expect, the bulk of his speech was all about Android's uber-openness.

'We're better than Microsoft too'  [Editor: a reference to Microsoft's XPHONE?]

In this case, when Google says "open," it appears that the company actually means it. Once the first Android handset arrives, Google says, it will release the source code to world+dog. "When I or most people at Google think about 'open,' we think about source code," Miner told the eComm crowd here in Mountain View. "If something is broken, you open up the source code, and you go and fix it."

In other words, Android's openness not only trumps Apple; it trumps Microsoft too. "When I was at Orange, we launched the first Windows Mobile phone. And I was impressed with that phone, or at least the promise of it," Miner said. "But we wanted to do a push to talk service, a very simple service. So you could push a button and speak. And then we found a bug in Windows Mobile, in a documented API.

"We didn't have the source code. The manufacturer who built the phone for us didn't have the source code. So we went to Microsoft. And Microsoft took about 18 months to fix this problem in a documented API."

Google taking a swipe at Microsoft is barely worth repeating. But when asked if Google would have any objections to developers making changes to its stack, Miner said "No."

"How willing are you let people actually modify the architecture?" the questioner asked. "What happens when people get their hands dirty and maybe disagree with you on how you put it together?"

"Once we open source this, it will be like any open source project," Miner answered. "You'll start to shift from initial implementation to a process driven by the community, starting to steer the functionality."

"Just look at how Apple manages the WebKit development progress. If a 17-year-old hacker proves he's competent in driving WebKit modifications and improvements, he's allowed to contribute to the WebKit system. Webkit is one of the model examples for Android."

So, does Miner approve of Apple or not? Let's just say he thinks the two companies are alike in some ways and different in others. "Ultimately, Steve Jobs just has a different goal than we do. Apple will ship iPhones to people who want that particular experience. Meanwhile, Android will be 12-key feature phones, as well as high-end smart phones, slide-out qwerty keyboard phones, and more. There will be a much larger variety of Android phones in the the long run."

And with uber-openness, he believes, Android can make up for lost time. "750,000 have downloaded the Android SDK. Even if just one per cent of the people who downloaded the thing are building apps, that’s 7,000 to 10,000 people who are actively building applications for our platform.

"That's because it's open. I don’t think you’d have developers developing for a non-existent phone - a phone that hasn’t been released – if they didn’t believe that this openness would allow them to get their applications distributed."

Source: The Register By Cade Metz

[AdditionalResources Editor: While the market heats up in this convergent zone of total pocket automation - the sleeping giant in this equation is Microsoft. Never one to loose sight of the importance of an emerging market, especially after Apple rubs it under their nose, Microsoft is rumored to be working on an "Xphone" that will use a "Vista-tized" version of their mobile Windows. An inside source exclusive reports that a prototype exists that "blows the doors off" the iPhone, and is fully Windows XP/Vista Compatible. It is rumored that this runs on a special Sony prototype phone. While I haven't seen this new prototype, there have been strange rumors surrounding a version of Windows that would run on a next generation version of the PSP platform with a built in phone, and retaining the UMD drive. If this ultimately results in real shipping products - the combination of Windows on the PSP, retaining its game and movie catalog, could transform the PSP into a massive platform - add in a killer phone capability, along with everything else that the PSP can already do - and you have a platform that can regain the market from Apple, and eclipse Google, in a single step! But the question, as always is, can Microsoft and Sony play well together! Tim McGuinness, Ph.D.]

ComingSoon...
Microsoft Unlocks the Power of the Web for Connected Customer Experiences

Unveiled at MIX08, new releases of Microsoft Internet Explorer, Microsoft Silverlight and Microsoft Expression Studio provide Web developers and designers with game-changing benefits and business opportunities.

At MIX08, Microsoft Corp.’s Web designer and developer conference, Microsoft demonstrated the power of its platform to enable delivery of richer, more interactive customer experiences on the Web. Backed by major customers including AOL, Aston Martin, Cirque du Soleil, Hard Rock and NBCOlympics.com on MSN, Microsoft unveiled the next generation of its Web technologies with beta releases of Internet Explorer 8, Silverlight 2 and Expression Studio 2. Additional MIX08 news included a preview of Microsoft SQL Server Data Services, the announcement of a strategic relationship with Move Networks Inc., and DoubleClick Inc.’s preview of its Silverlight 2 software development kit (SDK) for in-stream advertising.

In Wednesday’s MIX08 keynote address, Ray Ozzie, chief software architect, shared his vision for the role of the Web and the services opportunity across Microsoft businesses. Dean Hachamovitch, general manager of the Internet Explorer team, demonstrated new features in Internet Explorer 8 for Web developers and end users, and Scott Guthrie, corporate vice president of the .NET Developer Division, highlighted advances in Silverlight, Expression Studio and Visual Studio that make it easier to deliver rich, connected experiences on the desktop, Web and beyond.

“The Web is at the center of everything Microsoft is doing,” Ozzie said. “The investments we’re making will enable developers and designers to deliver a range of seamless, connected experiences across the continuum of Web applications, rich clients, mobile and other devices.”

With a focus on bridging developer-to-designer workflow while providing a common development model across a range of form factors and devices, Microsoft introduced advancements to the following tools and technologies:

First public beta of Internet Explorer 8. Internet Explorer 8 is the next version of Microsoft’s popular browser, and in beta 1 it delivers significantly improved standards support and developer platform investments with enhanced user experiences. Internet Explorer 8 beta 1 delivers increased interoperability, offers developers better predictability when designing sites, and will feature full support for cascading style sheet (CSS) 2.1 at release to manufacturing. Internet Explorer 8 beta 1 includes integrated developer tools to quickly debug HTML, CSS and scripts in a visual environment. Two new features, Activities and WebSlices, will enable developers to reach beyond the page and introduce news ways for users to stay connected to the content and services of their choice. To download Internet Explorer 8 beta 1, developers can visit the IE8 Web site.

Silverlight 2 beta available for download; support for mobile devices. Microsoft Silverlight answers customer desire for rich, cross-platform media and “zero-click” applications that match the rich interactive application experience while bringing the robustness and power of Microsoft .NET to the browser. Silverlight 2 beta includes innovative new features like Deep Zoom, more than 40 new controls and a rich .NET base class library of functionality. In addition to the beta release, Microsoft announced plans to deliver Silverlight for Windows Mobile and to work with Nokia on support for S60 on Symbian OS, the world’s leading smartphone software, as well as for Series 40 devices and Nokia Internet tablets. To download Silverlight 2 beta and learn about Silverlight for devices, developers can visit http://www.microsoft.com/silverlight.

Expression Studio 2 beta. Today Microsoft released a beta of Expression Studio 2, designed to work seamlessly with Visual Studio, enabling designers and developers to collaborate on the creation of better user experiences. Key new features of Expression Studio 2 include PHP support in Expression Web and support for Silverlight in Expression Web, Expression Blend, Expression Media Encoder and Expression Design. To enable designers to start immediately exploring the power of Silverlight 2, Microsoft also announced the availability of Expression Blend 2.5 March 2008 Preview. Microsoft also introduced the Expression Professional Subscription, which includes the full suite along with a number of other programs to help users get started at an exceptional value. To download Expression Studio developers can visit http://www.microsoft.com/expression.

Silverlight Shines

MIX08 features a diverse set of customers and partners demonstrating rich Web applications that enable new business opportunities. With an average of 1.5 million daily downloads of the Silverlight plug-in, thousands of existing Silverlight applications and more than 85 members in the Silverlight Partner Initiative, Silverlight is attracting industry-leading content providers, content delivery networks, design agencies, ISVs and solution providers.

As demonstrated on stage, AOL, Aston Martin, Cirque du Soleil, Hard Rock and NBCOlympics.com on MSN have selected Silverlight for their Web applications due to its high performance capabilities, integration with the .NET Framework and customizable advertising opportunities.

“NBCOlympics has always taken the lead in bringing Olympics fans immersive experiences through in-depth analysis and leading technology,” said Perkins Miller, senior vice president of Digital Media for NBC Sports & Olympics. “Working with Microsoft Silverlight, we will again push the boundary of sports coverage by delivering a new level of rich, high-quality viewing to the Web for the 2008 Olympic Games.”

Microsoft is also working with a broad set of customers and partners in the ad-serving, analytics, creative agency and content delivery network sectors. Today, DoubleClick demonstrated its Silverlight 2 SDK for in-stream advertising. Content publishers that deliver video content will be able to use this SDK within a Silverlight environment to target, serve, forecast and report on video-based advertising.

Microsoft Announces Strategic Relationship With Move Networks

Microsoft announced plans for a strategic alliance with Move Networks, a leading provider of live and on-demand long-form video content such as television episodes, news and sports programming. Silverlight would enable Move Networks to deliver an interactive, rich media navigation and integrated advertising on top of its hallmark high-quality online television experience that reaches all the way to HD. Move Networks’ current customers include some of the largest media companies in the world such as ABC, FOX Broadcasting Company, ESPN, the CW, Televisa and others. These customers use Move Networks to stream their most popular shows including “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” and “Lost.”

“Our strategic relationship with Microsoft represents a natural progression in the rapid evolution of online video delivery,” said John Edwards, CEO of Move Networks. “Microsoft Silverlight is emerging as a platform of choice for media companies seeking a reliable and highly configurable environment for the creation of rich video content. The integration of Move Networks’ streaming technology with Silverlight will allow customers to deliver the highest-quality viewing experience available online — driving online revenue and a competitive edge in a crowded marketplace.”

Source: Microsoft