Intel chips to power WiMax on mobiles

Wednesday, 18 April 2007, 19:30 IST
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Beijing: Intel Corp, the world's largest chip-maker, Wednesday announced here that it would unleash a family of new chipsets in May to enable quicker and easy access to the Internet on mobile computing devices. Intel's next-generation Centrino processor technology, codenamed Santa Rosa, would facilitate manufacturers of mobile devices such as notebooks, cell phones and PDA (personal device accessories) to deploy WiMax (broadband wireless networks) in their products for seamless connectivity and greater access to the net. "Personalisation and content are driving the demand for notebook PCs and mobile Internet devices (MIDs). With increasing use of mobile computing, Santa Rosa family of chips and processors have been designed and developed to provide high-speed access to content and personalized services," Intel mobility group vice-president David Perlmutter told delegates on the second day of the developers' forum. The Santa Rosa technology consists of next-generation Intel core duo processor, mobile express chipset family, wireless network connection, gigabit network connection and optional turbo memory. At a preview of the processor family to about 4,000 industry delegates from the world over, Perlmutter demonstrated how turbo memory decreases resume time from notebook hibernation to increase productivity and reduce system power consumption. "In the first-half of 2008, a new version of Santa Rosa will be rolled out with our 45nm (nano metre) Hi-k dual core mobile processor, code-named Penryn. By next year-end, we will have Montevina process technology for greater performance and energy efficiency. With about 40 percent smaller components, Montevina will be ideal for mini and sub-notebooks and will have an integrated hardware decode for high-definition video. For the first time, Intel will offer WiFi (wireless fidelity)/WiMax solution as an option to enable Montevina-based notebooks access networks worldwide. Mobile WiMax provides multi-megabit speed, greater throughput and wider range than other wireless broadband technologies and enables easier/faster access to user-generated content, high-definition videos, music, photos and large data files. Based on the IEEE 802.16 standard, WiMax refers to broadband wireless networks that ensure compatibility and interoperability between broadband wireless access equipment. The WiMax Forum advocacy group was floated in 2003 by wireless equipment suppliers to enhance the standards effort and establish product certification rules. On the other hand, WiFi is a limited range wireless networking protocol based on the n802.11 standards and uses spectrum in the 2.4GHz range to exchange data at broadband speeds. Describing the evolution of the personal mobile Internet, Intel senior vice-president for ultra mobility group Anand Chandrasekher said the dramatic changes in the silicon roadmap would reduce power requirements in mobile devices and usher in new packaging technology. "We have roped in a host of industry players to establish the MID and ultra-mobile PC (UMPC) product portfolios. Our ultra mobile platform 2007, formerly code-named McCaslin, for MIDs and UMPCs will be made available to vendors (read OEMs) such as Aigo, Asus, Fujitsu, Haier, HTC and Samsung," Chandrasekhar said. The platform is based on the Intel processor A100 and A110 and comes with 945GU chipset and a controller hub. When the new platform based on 45nm low-power micro-architecture gets readied, the company plans to roll out a new version of the Santa Rosa.
Source: IANS