Not eager to miss out on the varied opportunities and the immense potential existing in the mobile market, the chip maker reveals plans for new Intel-powered smartphones and tablets to be launched in 2013
The year 2013 seems to be a game-changing year for Intel. The chip maker is aware that mobile technology for smartphones and tablets is the faster-growing arena, and more active competitors have taken dominance over it. After having monopolised the computing market, the world?s largest semiconductor company is not eager to miss out on the varied opportunities and the immense potential existing in the mobile market. After a long wait, Intel is getting into the innovative mode. With new mobile processors for devices such as smartphones, tablets and ultrabooks, the company is slowly making an attempt to push itself as a leader across the computing spectrum.
Leighton Phillips, director, product management and pricing, Intel Asia-Pacific, while announcing Intel?s new range of products, said, ?In less than a year?s time we have worked closely with our customers to bring Intel-based smartphones to market in more than 20 countries around the world, and have also delivered an industry-leading low-power Atom SoC tablet solution running Windows8, and shipping with leading OEM customers today. Going forward, we will build upon this foundation and work closely with our ecosystem partners, across operating systems, to deliver the best mobile products and experiences for consumers with Intel Inside.? Phillips was speaking at a press briefing in the Capital. ?We are set to deliver the biggest increase in battery efficiency in Intel?s history with the fourth generation Intel Core processors, while adding broad new human interfaces to computing devices through touch, voice, facial recognition and gesture-based interactions.?
Talking about the microchip giant’s new offerings, particularly in the mobile space, Pillips spoke at length about Intel?s new Atom processor platform or Clover Trail+. According to Intel, the platform design delivers industry-leading performance with low-power and long battery life that pits it against some of the most popular Android devices. The processor features support for Intel Hyper-Threading Technology, supporting four simultaneous application threads. Recently, XOLO announced its fastest phone up to date ? X1000, which is based on the Intel Atom Z2460 chipset powered by a single-core Intel Atom processor clocked at 2GHz with Hyper-Threading support.
Phillips also spoke about a new low-power Atom processor-based platform, earlier known as Lexington, and smartphone reference design, targeted at the value smartphone-market segment. Mobile and tablet manufacturers who have announced support for the platform include the likes of Acer, Lava International and Safaricom. ?The addition of the low-power Atom platform enables Intel to address new market segments and further rounds out our expanding portfolio of smartphone offerings,? said Phillips. ?We believe the experience that comes with Intel Inside will be a welcome choice by first-time buyers in emerging markets, as well as with our customers who can deploy more cost-conscious devices without sacrificing device performance or user experience.?
Further, Intel?s first quad-core Atom SoC or Bay Trail is being pitched by the company as the most powerful Atom processor to-date?doubling the computing performance of Intel?s current-generation tablet offering. The Bay Trail platform is already up and running on Windows and Android. Intel is currently working with Compal, ECS, Pegatron, Quanta and Wistron to accelerate Bay Trail tablets to the market.
But these developments don?t mean that Intel is not focusing enough on its computing vertical, said Phillips. Since mid-2011, Intel has been pushing its Ultrabook devices, positioning them as the next-generation laptops. Last September, Intel announced that it added a new line of processors to its forthcoming fourth generation Intel Core processor family targeted at about 10 watt design power, without compromising on performance. These low power line of processors are now available in the existing third generation Intel Core processor family and operate as low as seven watts. Phillips disclosed that new systems are expected to deliver up to nine hours of continuous battery life.