Intel just celebrated the first anniversary of the Intel Atom processor family at its developer forum in Beijing. Two new Intel Atom processors were also unveiled at the forum -- the Z550 and Z515. These low power processors will carry forward the momentum generated by its predecessors with an increased clock speed and Intel HyperThreading (HT) technology support. At the developer forum, Anand Chandrashekhar -- Intel's senior vice president and general manager of the Ultra Mobility Group -- shed light on the 'next wave' of growth for mobility. In his keynote he mentioned the improvements to expect from Intel's next-generation Atom-based platform -- low power consumption and improved fabrication processes being one of their main innovations for its mobile Internet devices (MID) platform. Moorestown -- the latest Intel Atom-based platform that is due by 2010. Now, it was not an unknown fact that even though the Intel Atom processor is a sub-3 watt processor, total power usage when combined with the chipset (called the System Controller Hub in the Menlow platform), does not match the energy efficiency of Texas Instruments' OMAP 3 platform.
But now with the Moorestown, which has been touted to reduce power usage by ten times with its new power management techniques, Intel hopes to cut down on idle power usage, leak currents and improve overall efficiency. Reduction of overall size (which was earlier a 2-chip solution) and power usage (during full load as well as idle) of the platform are the two main areas that can make the platform more viable for cellular functions. This is what Intel might be hoping to achieve while moving into a new gear with the Moorestown platform, given that it will also support voice capabilities. However, this platform may not still be ready for smaller devices (probably of the iPhone form factor) yet.
Even though it may seem that Intel may be on a slight handicap when it comes to 'chip space' and power usage, this one year has certainly not been uneventful for the MID platform and the Intel Atom -- right from the single core processor to the unveiling of the Moorestown platform. There is definitely one aspect its processors seem to have an advantage and it is in the fact that they are more scalable in terms of performance. The Intel Atom seems to be known more for finding its way into almost all of the netbooks available in stores today. (Though that will change soon too, as more players begin launching their offerings.) Discounting netbooks -- since the Acers, Eee PCs, Wind and such are all over the place for everyone to know and see -- here are some areas the Intel Atom platform has found its way into.
Nettops
Nettops are small form factor (SFF) PCs that do not resemble the SFF that had entered the scene a few years ago. Those small form factor PCs were marketted as home entertainment computers. The nettop, which is a combination of the words 'Internet' and 'desktop', uses an external power adapter and is based on a different platform. The Intel Atom-based platform is one of the three available for nettops today. A nettop's computing power and small footprint make it ideal for Web browsing, document processing, media viewing and sharing. Intel has also announced its dual core Intel Atom (at 1.6 GHz) for nettops. The MSI Nettop CS 120, ASUS Eee Box and the HCL Nettop are some nettops that are already available today.
Small Form Factor PCs
The small form factor PCs have usually been based around the Intel and AMD desktop series of processors. The motherboard designs are usually of the mini-ITX form factor. There were few that were even designed to host Intel's mobile too. Now, small form factor -- or mini-ITX -- motherboards based on the Intel Atom platform are also available. Gigabyte was in the news recently with its launch of an Intel Atom 230-based motherboard in India. The board is based on Intel's D945GCLF. Cabinets for the mini-ITX motherboards are also available to house such motherboards. Kobian cabinets already supplies cabinets that support these form factors.
Thin Client Solutions
The Intel Atom platforms can also make for cost-effective thin client solutions. The architecture has been designed to address performance and application for thin client platforms. Last year in October, Dell divulged plans to include an Intel Atom-based thin client -- the FX160 -- in its revamped Optiplex series of desktops. Last month, MSI unveiled its fanless thin-client solution called WindBOX. It also supports a VESA wall-mount interface and can be fitted neatly behind an LCD monitor. Around the same time, Devon IT launched the TC5, also fanless, which supports a dual digital video outputs. These sort of solutions are ideal for institutions, government that function on tighter budgets and do not require powerful desktop computing.
Embedded Computing
Intel's Atom Z5xx series of processors are meant for embedded computing solutions. These processors are intended for embedded market segments such as in-vehicle infotainment (an area that Microsoft has been into for a decade with its Microsoft Automotive Business Unit), medical, retail and transaction solutions through kiosks, point-of-service terminals. It has potential for gaming and industrial control and automation as well. Compared to the thin client and nettops, these processors differ in speed (marginally), temperature range and the chipset they are paired with. BMW recently displayed a concept X5 car that uses an Intel Atom processor to enable passengers to communicate via e-mail, SMS, MMS and support different audio formats. This concept has been done in collaboration with Harman Becker -- the same company that has already showcased its Intel Atom-based car infotainment solutions at the CeBIT trade fair this February.
Arrow Electronics, a global provider of solutions to users of electronic components and enterprise computing solutions has even created a development platform for the Intel Atom processor family. According to Arrow Electronics the development kit supports development of embedded applications for mobile devices, gaming machines and building automation, interactive kiosks and industrial systems. In February at the Mobile World Congress, Intel and LG announced a collaboration that will enable the consumer electronics company to build a new smartphone based on the latest Moorestown platform and Linux Moblin (an open source project backed by Intel). This is the road Intel intends to take -- which it refers to as 'media phones' that are capable of Internet-based communication.
Low Power Server Computing
When news got around about this research project, it drew quite a few quips -- simply because it involves Microsoft Research using Intel Atom processors as a possible server solution due to their low power consumption. As odd as it may seem, the Microsoft Research team are quite convinced that their research (and reasons for doing so -- Atom's EM64T and HT support being some of them) does offer some food for thought.
Judging by the plans that have been laid out for the new Moorestown platform, which is expected to see the light of day by 2010, there is much more that one can expect from the semiconductor company in the mobility segment. It does have to deal with contenders like Via, Nvidia, ARM and Texas Instruments but things might just get interesting with the dual core Atom processors.
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