November 4 - 9:40am EST   Intel is developing an update to its Atom variants for handhelds that should arrive in just a few months, says an apparent tip from companies building mobile Internet devices, or MIDs. Known as the Menlow refresh for the processor platform's codename, the update would boost most of the line a speed grade upwards; the Z550 would clock higher than 1.83GHz, while the Z534 would escape the 1.6GHz speeds used by nearly all Atom computers. A Z515 would also bring clock speeds faster than 800MHz to the very smallest handhelds. [full story]

October 20 - 7:50am EDT   Intel today at the start of its fall Developer Forum showed off a working example of a Moorestown-based device, putting the chipset on track for its 2009-2010 launch window. The chipmaker has yet to describe the device but reiterates that the technology should be much more effective for mobile Internet devices (MIDs) and ultra-mobile PCs. Through a 45 nanometer process as well as a redesign of the processor itself, the idle power alone will represent just a tenth that of an Atom system today, Intel claims. [full story]

July 24 - 12:35pm EDT   Intel today introduced what it says is a new class of processor for itself and the wider industry. The EP80579 Integrated Processor is a system-on-a-chip that builds in a main Pentium M processor as well as the necessary interface and memory controllers, communications, graphics, and security all into one part. The technology is efficient that it can shrink the total size of the board and its components by as much as 45 percent compared to what they would require separately, Intel says. It also reduces power by about 34 percent. [full story]

May 14 - 5:00pm EDT   Intel Germany chief Hannes Schwaderer today claimed at a Munich company event that Apple is developing a touchscreen device based on his firm's new Atom processor for ultra-mobile devices. As interpreted by AppleInsider, the executive provides few details but indicates that it will be slightly larger than the iPhone due to a larger display. [full story]

April 3 - 4:40pm EDT   Intel at its Developer Forum in Shanghai has provided early details of the Moorestown architecture that will likely find its way into smartphones and handhelds. A successor to today's Atom, Moorestown will include both a separate processor, codenamed Lincroft, as well as a new version of the System Controller Hub known for now as Langwell. Unlike the current Atom design, which splits graphics off to the Hub, the Lincroft chip will build its own video hardware directly into the main processor. The design should both improve visual performance but also reduce the size of Langwell to less than the size of a US quarter, according to Intel. [full story]

March 12 - 1:20pm EDT   The Apple iPhone will be migrating from its current processor to something based on Intel's x86 architecture, information suggests. Multiple unnamed sources, including some who were correct about the switch of Macs to Intel technology, say that the iPhone will join Apple's computers within a year or two. More substantial evidence is said to have come out of last week's CeBIT expo in Hannover, Germany, in which an Intel slide presentation depicted the iPhone as a next-generation mobile Internet device (MID). [full story]

December 21 - 10:40am EST   Apple will use the chipsets that form the basis of Intel's ultra-mobile PC (UMPC) and mobile Internet device (MID) reference platforms, according to a claim by AppleInsider. Expanding on previous statements from Taiwan suppliers, the rumor site points to Apple using the 45-nanometer Silverthorne mobile chip for "multiple products" during 2008. The small manufacturing process lets it run as quickly as the better Pentium M chips that preceded the Core Duo but consume less than 2 watts of power -- less than a tenth of a typical notebook processor, based on Intel's own figures. Modern Core 2 Duo notebook processors consume an average 25 watts or more at their thermal ... [full story]