Intel Stresses Versatility of 2011 Chips, Sweep of Expanding Ambitions

Increases in the productivity and energy-efficiency of Intel processors continue apace, Intel CEO Paul Otellini said Monday. The company is “on track to deliver” 22 nanometer process chips in the second half of 2011, he said in a keynote at the Intel Developer Forum.

Meanwhile, the 2nd Generation Intel Core processor, made on the 32 nanometer processor, will ship in “very high volumes” early in the year, Otellini said. Previously code-named Sandy Bridge, it will feature on one chip “all the critical capabilities for computing,” including graphics, he said. Intel is “becoming a solution provider,” not just a chipmaker, and delivery of energy efficiency, Internet connectivity and security is “an increasing need for all of us in all devices,” Otellini said.

The recent acquisition of McAfee will allow Intel to extend its security efforts beyond the 255 million corporate machines using its vPro technology, he said. The goal is a shift from the current “known bad model,” in which identified threats are combated, to a “known good model,” in which “only trusted software” is allowed access to devices,” Otellini said. David Perlmutter, Intel executive vice president, said the company’s security goals are ID protection, malware detection and protection, protecting data and assets, recovery and improved patching.

Intel’s other acquisitions in recent weeks show how broad its ambitions are, Otellini indicated. The purchase of Infineon’s wireless division, called WLS, is the basis for “becoming leaders in delivering LTE technology,” in addition to WiMAX, whose development Intel has invested heavily in, he said.

And the acquisition of Texas Instruments’ cable-modem business will “enable our vision of smart TV,” he said. The company has high hopes for its Wireless Display technology, known as “WiDi,” to stream to flat-panel TV sets anything that a notebook PC screen can show, Otellini said. Twenty-two SKUs with the capability are shipping this half of 2010, and 40 retailers in 12 countries are supporting it, he said.

The keynote featured the first public demonstration of WiDi streaming from an Atom-powered tablet, a type of product that Otellini said, without elaborating, that AT&T will offer soon. “Smart TV” will “take off very quickly” after the launch of one of the first offerings, the Intel-supported Google TV, this fall, Otellini said.

Intel Developer Forum Notebook

An industry association has a year-end goal of having certified 50 interoperable medical-technology products to funnel information ultimately into electronic health records, more than double the current 22, the president said Monday. The Continua Health Alliance, started by Intel in 2006 and now made up of about 235 companies, is working around the world to expand the environment for advanced products and services that work together, President Rick Cnossen said Monday at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco. The group modeled its work on the Wi-Fi Alliance, starting by creating industry standards, layering on guidelines and then adopting product testing and certification, he said. Continua works with the Health Level Seven International standards organizations concerning electronic health records, Cnossen said. Members of the group include Cisco, IBM, Qualcomm, Nokia, Texas Instruments and several CE giants, including Panasonic, Samsung and Sharp.