Intel to Bow New Atom Processors at CES

Intel will take the wraps off its Z600 series of Atom processors at CES targeting netbook and tablet PCs as it seeks to broaden the reach of the ICs, analysts said.

The new Atom chips, which are said to have 1.5-1.9 GHz clockspeeds, are said to have been designed into 35 tablet PCs from eight manufacturers, including Asus, Dell, Lenovo, Micro-Star International and Toshiba. Intel hasn’t disclosed details of the so-called Oak Trail processors, but it introduced the ICs in June.

The new chips are said to cut power consumption 50 percent and have been designed across Linux, Windows and MeeGo operating systems. MeeGo was developed by merging Intel’s Moblin and Nokia’s Maemo platforms. At a recent Barclays Capital conference, Intel CEO Paul Otellini showed a slide indicating that Acer will offer a MeeGo-based tablet. MSI is said to be readying a Oak Trail-based WindPad with a 10.1 inch LCD for introduction at CES. And South Korea’s Ocosmos recently released details of an Atom-equipped tablet featuring a 1.5 or 1.9 GHz processor running Windows 7 and a 400 MHz graphics processor with 720p decoding. The tablet had a slider design with a 5-inch LCD and a 5-10 hour run time. The Atom processor paired with MeeGo is said to be priced at $25, and a Windows version costs slightly more.

"For us it’s choice, and for certain customers, they desire to have a MeeGo-like operating system because for them Linux is important and a more open frame work,” Ton Steenman, general manager of Intel’s Embedded & Communications Group, told us. “But customers also enjoy the broad application spectrum that’s available with the Microsoft platform. It’s very customer-preference driven” and Intel uses both platforms in “most of our industries."

As it makes a major push in tablets, Intel also is developing an Atom-based Medfield platform for cellphones that’s expected to further lower power consumption. The Medfield chip, manufactured using a 32-nanometer process, is expected to be available in second half 2011, Otellini said at the Barclays conference. Medfield is said to be sampling with cellphone makers and finished products are” expected to reach market by early 2012. Medfield will mark a return for Intel to the cellphone market it left in 2006 with the sale of its XScale processors to Marvel. At the time, Intel already had begun development of the Atom core with a goal of building it into smartphones, Steenman said. Steenan declined to comment on Medfield plans. Intel strengthened its position in cellphones with its $1.4 billion acquisition of Infineon’s baseband-processor business (CED Aug 31 p3).

"As we divested the Xscale products we made a decision to focus on the smartphone market,” Steenman said. “We were in development for the Atom core at the time, which was a product we knew would fit into these smartphones.”

Intel also will continue efforts to expand its presence in CE products. Sony and Logitech designed the CE4100 IC into Google TV-equipped products that shipped this fall, while Boxee is fielding in a set-top box, having replaced an Nvidia Tegra chip. Intel, which has attempted for years to get a foothold in CE, has formed applications-based engineering groups including those targeting the digital home, embedded and, most recently, ultra-mobile. Steenman, a former general manager of the low power embedded products group, in November replaced Douglas Davis, who is heading up the ultra-mobile effort.

For set-tops and TVs, Intel is starting production of the CE4200 using a 45-nanometer process and said Sagecom, Samsung and Technicolor are among those planning to use it. The 1.2-GHz chip can handle full 1080p playback as well as 3D and H.264 encoding. The Atom-based CE4200 will be key as Intel seeks to expand its share of the Internet-ready TV through alliances with Google and other companies, Steenman said.

"Google is one implementation of Smart TV, but there will be others and we are trying to enable the industry in this transition to these much smarter TVs more so than we have in the past,” Steenman said. Intel’s partnership with Google has been “great in establishing what that category is all about,” he said.

On the embedded front, Intel expects the Atom chips will play a key role in bringing connected services to motor vehicles. It has alliances with Mercedes Benz and BMW to supply E600 Atom chips for what are called infotainment systems that combine telematics and navigation with the Internet. Intel is working with Harman International in the case of BMW. In some cases, vehicles will require two Atom processors to handle separate entertainment and telematics/navigation functions, Steenman said. BMW and Mercedes vehicles with Atom processors are expected to debut in BMW 7 series and Mercedes S and C class vehicles in 2012. Intel announced Atom-based alliances with the companies in 2009.

The blending of Internet and automotive functions is “much more advanced,” and automakers are “struggling” to keep pace with the changes, Steenman said. “As you increase the functionality of these systems how do you make sure it’s done a way that’s safe?” he said. “In order to do it well you need put a lot more interface intelligence into the system like gesture and speech control."

Intel and BMW are in the Genivi Alliance, formed in 2009 to develop a Linux-based platform to enable automakers to provide integrated support for cellphones, digital audio players and other products. Other alliance members are Delphi, General Motors, Marelli, Visteon and Wind River. Ford is allied with Microsoft on its automotive platform, which introduced a 4.0 version of the software this year. With the addition of MeeGo, downloadable software applications “will be a big deal” for motor vehicles within three years, Steenman said. Automakers see open-source software as a “great way to bring applications to vehicles in a connected world,” Steenman said.