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In Intel's second major technology announcement in the span of a week, the chip manufacturer has revealed a refresh of its Atom processor line. Intel's new "Silvermont" architecture promises faster speeds and reduced power draw with what the company calls best-in-class performance plus power efficiency.
The Lenovo K900, first revealed at CES in January, will hit its home market in China on May 6. The device is notable as the first smartphone to feature Intel’s Clover Trail+ SoC running a dual-core design. It is also one of the growing number of Android devices crashing through the 5-inch barrier centering on a large 5.5-inch 1080p IPS LCD display.
Touch-based devices running Windows 8 and using the upcoming Bay Trail processor could cost as little as $200 each, according to Intel 's CEO, Paul Otellini. The upcoming Atom Micro architecture due to be released by the end of 2013 will help bring device prices lower, as well as allowing for improved device designs and features.
Say what you will about Windows 8, but it has succeeded in yielding the most interesting crop of PC hardware that we have yet to see on the market. The Asus VivoTab Smart is a shining example of an innovative design that has been directly spawned to take advantage of the dual user interface in Windows 8. It is also one of the best value full Windows 8 tablet propositions out there, powered by a dual-core Intel Atom (Z2760) clocked at 1.8Ghz and all for as little as $450.
Confirming recent rumors, Asus has unveiled a new seven-inch tablet, the Fonepad, that is powered by Intel's Lexington Atom processor. Consistent with its name, the Fonepad is a tablet but doubles as a smartphone with 3G voice-calling functionality. We met with Asus at Mobile World Congress to check out the hybrid device and see how it performs as a tablet and as a phone.
Acer is one of a few companies that has partnered with Intel for smartphone hardware, despite the overwhelming popularity of ARM-based chips. We already took a close look at the company's Liquid E1 and Z1 handsets, which are aimed at the entry-level and midrange market, and today we tried out top of the Liquid lineup, the C1, which is powered by a Lexington Atom processor.
Intel's Atom processor is being used in an Android smartphone in Africa for the first time, courtesy of Safaricom. The Yolo, based on Intel's smartphone reference design shown at CES this year, appears to be a mid-range offering that has been designed for the "cost-conscious and first-time buyers" in the Kenyan emerging market.
Intel has received permission to build a new processor fabrication facility in Ireland, after receiving the go-ahead from Irish planning agency An Bord Pleanála. The $4 billion chip plant will be used by the processor manufacturer to create its 14-nanometer processors, with only the final decision from Intel management left before it can be constructed.
Lenovo followed up its CES computer announcements with several cellphone unveilings, introducing the K900 alongside several other phones. The flagship phone caught our attention, as one of the first to be powered by Intel's Clover Trail Atom platform, and we had a chance to handle the company's new flagship phone at a CES media event.
Intel has demonstrated its fourth generation of Core processors at the company's CES press event. The demonstration also gave the chip maker a chance to demonstrate a new quad-core 22nm Atom System-on-Chip processor it calls "Bay Trail," as well as low-powered versions of existing architectures and processors aimed towards developing nations.
Intel’s next-generation mobile SoCs have been detailed in leaked slides. The successor to the new Clover Trail platform is codenamed Bay Trail-T and is scheduled for release in 2014. It will move to a 22nm process, down from the Clover Trail’s 32-nm process, and will bost performance by 50 – 60 percent. Bay Trail-T will also move to a quad-core architecture, but will drop hyperthreading in the transition.
AT&T on Monday revealed it will begin shipping the Windows 8-powered ATIV Smart PC tablet on November 9, with pricing set at $800. The 11.6-inch device runs a 1.5GHz, dual-core Intel Atom processor and has the full-blown operating system that's found on desktop and notebook PCs, hence the $300 premium over a Microsoft Windows RT tablet. The tablet has 1366x768 resolution and has 64GB of flash storage space supplemented by a microSDHC memory card slot.
Trimble has followed up its rugged Yuma tablet with the Yuma 2. It is also powered by Windows 7, like the past device, and is powered by a 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU, and there is 4GB of RAM onboard. It uses a 7-inch capacitive multitouch screen with 1,024x600 resolution and an anti-reflective coating.
Acer has revealed the pricing and ship dates for its second Windows 8-powered tablet, the Iconia W510. It will slot in below the Iconia W700 and follow that tablet's October 26 release date, arriving in stores on November 9. It will carry a $500 starting price and pack a 10.1-inch, IPS touchscreen with 1,366x768 resolution.
Intel has confirmed with TechCrunch that it is currently prepping a dual-core Medfield-class Atom processor for mobile devices including smartphones. The new chip will also support LTE where currently its only smartphone processor shipping in handsets is only 3G-capable. Some speculate that it has been the lack of LTE support that has seen ‘Intel Inside’ devices only shipping in Europe, China, Russia, India and South America to date, and not the U.S.
At IFA, ZTE unveiled a refreshed Grand X smartphone that sports a 1.6GHz Atom Z2460 processor, which is a first for the Chinese phonemaker. The preloaded OS is Android 4.0. The other technical specs carry over from the original phone, including its 4.3-inch, 960x540 touchscreen and eight-megapixel rear camera capable of recording 1080p videos.
September is shaping up to be a busy month for new product announcements, as Nokia has its Nokia World event on September 5, where Windows Phone 8 devices are expected to be debuted, while Motorola and Intel have an event of their own scheduled for September 18. The reveal at this event is expected to be an Intel Medfield-powered phone. The teaser invitation for the event reveals that it will be held at the Victoria House in London.
The latest Windows 7 Home Premium tablet from Netbook Navigator is the NAV9i. It runs on a dual-core, 1.5GHz Atom N550 processor paired with 2GB of RAM and can be had in 16-, 32-, or 64GB flash drive capacities or with a 128GB, 1.8-inch SSD. The touchscreen gets 1024x768 resolution, which is on the low side compared to similarly-sized competition that runs on Android on iOS.
Processor maker Intel has confirmed in a statement that it is working on porting Android 4.1 Jelly Bean to its Atom chips. The company hasn't revealed a timeframe for when the update will arrive. Intel devices are currently running Android 2.3.
Shuttle has unveiled two new slim desktops in its extensive XPS range. Measuring less than 10 inches long, just over 6 inches wide, and 1.5 inches in height, the XS35GTA V3 and XS35V3 barebones PCs notably have optional VESA mounting kits for attachment to the back of monitors; this can be used to keep a computer off a desk or the floor.
Toshiba won't bring any new netbooks to the US market, a company executive told Liliputing. This means that the NB510 netbook powered by Intel's Atom N2600 processor introduced at CES won't be sold in the US. Instead, Toshiba America will sell ultrabook computers, which are lighter and thinner, but also more expensive.
Intel crossed a milestone Thursday and confirmed that its first shipping Intel-based phone would be the Lava Xolo X900. The phone is due both online and in Croma stores in Lava's native India on April 23, when it will cost 22,000 rupees ($422) off-contract. Despite early hopes, it will ship with Android 2.3 at first and get 4.0 relatively soon afterwards.
Intel CEO Paul Otellini during a call discussing his company's latest results revealed that the first phone with one of its company's processors would at last be shipping this week. The executive didn't name the specific phone, but it may be the Lenovo K800, which had originally been promised for May. Other candidates could include the Orange Santa Clara or its near-identical cousin, the Lava Xolo X900.
Intel had relatively lackluster results that showed a dampened PC environment with most of its hope resting in the future. Its revenue was flat from year to year, at $12.9 billion. Intel hadn't divulged its exact PC Client group revenue in 2011 results, but it noted that the mostly desktop- and notebook-focused group's revenue was down seven percent from this past fall, to $8.5 billion.
Intel's Developer Forum in Beijing has slipped out a new set of guidelines for Intel-based Windows 8 tablets. The chip designer wants tablets based on its Atom Z2760 chip to largely fit in with a 10-inch, touch-only tablet or a 11-inch version with a keyboard, CNET saw in its copy of the hardware advice. All of the dimensions would be targeted at matching or beating the iPad, with weight under 1.5 pounds, thicknesses below 0.35 inches, and over none hours of at least theoretical battery life.
When the full Corpora website goes live on April 18, it will allow visitors to pre-order the Qbo open-source robot. Qbo runs Linux operating on its x86 component hardware, letting developers experiment with their code. It will be available in three models, with the entry-level one coming as a kit buyers will need to assemble on their own.
Intel China chairman Sean Maloney at the Intel Developer Forum in Beijing on Wednesday said many Intel-based tablets with Windows 8 are coming before year's end. He went on to say the company is working with 10 Chinese and global hardware makers on such tablets, but didn't name them. The most likely candidate chip to power the tablets is the Atom Z2460, also dubbed Medfield internally.
Lenovo's Intel-powered K800 (hands-on) is expected to arrive in North America by the end of May, according to Intel's China Chairman, Sean Maloney. The K800 is the first smartphone to run Intel's 1.6GHz Atom Medfield processor, although it may launch with an x86-compatible variant of Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), instead of Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). Google has developed an x86-compatible version of ICS, although it is not known whether it will arrive in time on the K800 for its US launch.
Intel just officially announced its Studybook tablet for students. Part of the company's Learing Series, the device sports a rugged design and is preloaded with tailored educational software. The seven-inch tablet sports a 1024x600-resolution touchscreen and a 1.2GHz Atom Z650 processor. In a unique touch, it can be made to run on either Android or Windows 7, depending on the wishes of the school district that buys it.
The first CPU from Intel to be based on the company's 14nm manufacturing process will be the Atom Z2580, SemiWiki reported recently. Production is likely to begin early in 2013, and the chip will fill an as-yet-untapped market necessity. The Z2580 will support 4G LTE networks but be very energy-efficient, making it ideal for use in tablets and smartphones.
Nissan and Intel have forged a relationship to integrate the latter's Atom chips into some of the former's vehicles. Only higher-end vehicles will be equipped with these Atom-powered in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) systems starting in 2013, however, and will likely first appear in Nissan's luxury brand, Infiniti. The Infiniti LE electric car concept was just unveiled earlier on Thursday at the New York International Auto Show sporting the twin-display IVI.
A new discovery within Chromium OS bug tracking has suggested that Chrome OS is not only close to using ARM but may use one of its fastest processors. Thomas Taschauer has spotted numerous references to "Daisy," an unknown device that would use Samsung's Exynos 5250. The 2GHz, ARM Cortex-A15-based chip could both significantly improve battery life and thinness while making a Chrome OS device as fast or faster than current Intel Atom Chromebooks.
Intel through a combination of a Linux driver posting by its own engineer Jesse Barnes, as well as roadmap presentations by Advantech PPT 1, PPT 2), has given a peek at a major upgrade to the Atom platform due in early 2013. The processor, Valley View, would run on a Balboa Pier chipset and improve both the baseline performance as well as visuals. Chips would carry as many as four cores, and the graphics would be the same as in Ivy Bridge, giving about a fourfold improvement over the existing Cedar View and Cedar Trail platforms.
Intel's smart TV efforts got a lift early in the week with a newly updated Atom chip for digital media hubs. The CE5300, nicknamed Berryville, is its first 32-nanometer chip of its kind. Details are short, although it should carry two cores, "advanced" graphics with H.264 B-frame hardware encoding, and support both Hyperthreading (for up to four code threads at once) as well as virtual machines.
Intel is in the midst of developing its own online TV streaming service and hardware to match, leaks disclosed Monday. It would create a form of virtual TV that would sell access in cable- and satellite-style bundles, the Wall Street Journal understood. While possibly a white box service that would let others put their own badge on top, Intel would sometimes run under its own name.
Browser benchmark tests performed at CeBIT by Caschys Blog on a Medfield phone reveal strong performance. The handset, due out at carrier Orange in France this June as the Santa Clara, was tested using Rightware and Vellamo. In the former, which measures JavaScript and HTML rendering performance, it beat out the iPhone 4S' 87801 score, at 89180, while falling behind the Galaxy Nexus' top 98272 performance.
Sony may be readying its hybrid slate for a market launch. Pocketnow has posted a picture of the company's marketing collateral which shows the tablet/notebook cross bearing the "Vaio U" series label. Sony had shown off a prototype of the device concept, sporting a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, at CES back in January.
As expected, Intel and Indian phone maker Lava have debuted a new, Medfield-powered handset at MWC, the Xolo X900. It uses Intel's Medfield platform and gets a 1.6GHz Atom Z2460 chip. The screen is 4.03 inches in size and will have an HDMI port for HD video playback. There will also be an NFC radio onboard for wallet-less payments.
Intel and Orange confirmed late rumors in the evening and previewed the Santa Clara, the first officially launching Intel-based phone. Built behind the scenes by Taiwan's Gigabyte, the phone we first saw at CES will run Intel's new 1.6GHz Medfield-based chip as well as Intel's 21Mbps HSPA 3G chipset from its recent acquisition target Infineon. While not a high-end phone, it should potentially outperform many others at a similar price.
Intel has reportedly teamed with Lava to create a new series of smartphones based on Medfield-series Atom chips. The Indian handset maker is said to be preparing to introduce a new smartphone brand for the Medfield devices, rather than sticking with its own branding that is currently tied to feature phones and a single budget-priced Android handset.
Intel is readying a new dual-core Atom-based chip with a digital 2.4GHz Wi-Fi receiver built into the same die. Dubbed Rosepoint, the new architecture is built on a 32nm process and will show for the first time as a research project (PDF) at ISSCC 2012 in San Francisco. For end-users, devices equipped this technology significantly improve power consumption and produce a more reliable Wi-Fi connection than current analogue-based receivers.
The Intel-based Android phone shown off at CES may have secretly been the prototype for a production phone. A survey taker showed a sample description to Coolsmartphone that implied the phone was the London, a phone that would be branded by European carrier Orange. Along with its look, the specifications lined up closely, including the 1.6GHz Atom chip and the rapid-fire, 10-photo burst shooting.
Motorola's recent partnership with Intel may manifest itself soon if a possibly leaked render is accurate. The shot captured by PocketNow showed a silver, wedge-shaped design with no buttons on the front. Appropriately, it would be using Android 4.0 and appeared to have a handful of tweaks, such as a hybrid battery/time/weather widget and badges for missed messages.
Multiple sources stated Monday that the ARM-native version of Windows 8 is in good enough shape to reach developers in February. The release was deemed "quite stable" by CNET contacts, which had been told by hardware partners to anticipate a release sometime in February. There was no indication that Microsoft planned to separate the Intel- and ARM-based versions of Windows.
HP showed the changing roles of netbooks on Monday with the introduction of its first new netbook for 2012, theMini 1104. The 10-inch netbook is focused on schools and business and primarily adds Intel's faster Cedar Trail-era 1.6GHz Atom N2600 for faster graphics and overall performance. It comes with Computrace Pro and a TPM security chip to help track the netbook if it's stolen.
Intel on Friday shook up its executive structure at both technical and formal levels. To reward Dadi Perlmutter's responsibility for the chip architecture group, he would be promoted to the spot of chief product officer to take up responsibilities given by newly full-time executive chairman Andy Bryant. He would still head up architecture, but would take on a wider responsibility.
Intel has posted its full-year financial details, pointing to a record year with $54.2 billion in overall revenue. The chip maker's profits were up nearly six percent in the fourth quarter, as its PC client division posted a 17-percent jump in revenue for both the fourth quarter and the entire year.
Sony had a surprisingly large number of prototype devices at CES 2012, including a pure tablet. Those were only a small piece of its prototypes. We revisited to catch the rest as well as to see just how Sony was gearing up what looked to be a more direct challenge to Apple for 2012.
An insistence on earlier pricing policies from Intel and Microsoft may put Windows 8 tablets out of contention, notebook PC builders getting into the field claimed Monday. Intel was reported by Digitimes contacts as unwilling to cut profit margins on its Clover Trail-based Atom chips, while Microsoft wasn't planning on trimming its Windows 8 price. As such, Intel-based Windows 8 tablets might start at a minimum $599 and scale up to $899, all well over the benchmark $499 price of the iPad.
Intel is currently showing off a Lenovo tablet, the IdeaTab K2110, that appears to be the first Atom-based Android device to run the latest Ice Cream Sandwich build. The tablet utilizes the same Atom Z2460 processor that powers Intel's own Medfield smartphone reference design and Lenovo's K800 Android smartphone that are also on hand this week at CES.
