Updated at 1:45 p.m. PDT with additional comments about Moblin market share.
On Tuesday, Intel released information on its next-generation Atom silicon and the next version of its Linux operating system for Netbooks.
Noury Al-Khaledy, general manager of Nettop and Netbook Computing at Intel, announced a technology platform called "Pine Trail" that--at the risk of confounding readers with similar product names--uses a new Atom processor dubbed "Pineview."
Intel announced the Moblin v2.0 Beta Tuesday
(Credit: Intel)Essentially, what all of this means is that Intel will move more features onto the "Pineview" Atom processor that are currently in the surrounding chipset. The graphics function and so-called memory controller--which connects memory with other parts of the system--will now be on the same piece of silicon as the processor.
Other functionality--the so-called I/O hub--will remain on a separate chip.
"We have a processor, we have a chipset, and we have an I/O hub. What we've done is reduce that three-chip partition to a two-chip partition," Al-Khaledy said.
The new Atom technology will launch in the second half of this year, Al-Khaledy said.
The goal of integration is to reduce power consumption and increase performance in Netbooks--which are small, inexpensive laptops designed for Web browsing, email, and less-demanding media applications.
Intel also announced the Beta version of the Moblin version 2.0 Linux operating system, which is targeted at Atom processor-based Netbooks, handhelds, Nettops (Atom-based desktops), as well as other markets such as automotive. "We're doing Moblin to unify Linux across all these segments," said Doug Fisher, general manager at Intel's software and services group.
Moblin 2.0 includes a new interface called the M-zone, which replaces the desktop and is "the entry point to the Netbook and Nettop," according to an Intel statement. This new interface is aimed at improving social networking and media--audio and video--consumption.
Intel did not disclose what PC makers may use the operating system--which will compete with Windows 7--but said Acer and Asus have used Linux in the past for Netbooks.
"We're seeing 20, 25 percent Mobilin share in Netbooks and Nettops," Al-Khaledy said. Much of the Netbook market today uses Windows XP and is expected to adopt Windows 7 when it comes out later this year.
Moblin 2.0 Beta is available for immediate download here.
Updated at 10:45 p.m. PDT throughout.
Intel celebrated the first anniversary of the Atom processor by introducing two new models, while confirming the arrival of Nehalem-based mobile processors later this year and disclosing a new chip dubbed "Jasper Forest."
The chipmaker also did a live demonstration for the first time of the next-generation Atom-based platform, code-named Moorestown. The platform will include a new Moblin software version that will enable a PC-like Internet experience along with cellular voice capabilities, Intel said.
Intel senior vice president Anand Chandrasekher did a live demonstration of the upcoming Moorestown Atom chip in Beijing
(Credit: Intel)Intel announced two new Atom processors for mobile Internet devices, or MIDs: the Z550 and Z515. The Z550 extends the performance of the Atom line to 2GHz. The Z515 incorporates the Intel Burst Performance Technology (Intel BPT), which enables the processor to run at 1.2GHz when performance is needed, Intel said.
Anand Chandrasekher, Intel senior vice president and general manager of the Ultra Mobility Group, in a keynote speech at the Intel Developer Forum in Beijing, discussed upcoming processors for laptops based on the Nehalem architecture that will be available in the second half of this year as part of the "Calpella" platform. These processors will be more powerful than their predecessors by including such technologies as Intel Hyper-Threading Technology and Intel Turbo Boost Technology.
Chandrasekher also touched on Intel's ultra low-voltage (ULV) processors and how they are creating a category of ultra-thin laptops less than 1-inch thick. Intel is slated to offer lower-priced versions of these processors by early summer that are expected to engender a class of low-cost ultra-thin laptops, which some have described as a MacBook Air for the masses.
Pat Gelsinger, Intel senior vice president and general manager of the Digital Enterprise Group, disclosed, for the first time, the Nehalem EP-based processor code-named Jasper Forest that is specifically designed for embedded and storage applications "to deliver optimal performance per watt...Jasper Forest will be offered in single-, dual- or quad-core designs; ranging from 23 watts to 85 watts," Intel said.
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