Intel set to unveil new line of speedy microprocessors
Plans for a new generation of smart phones and hand-held devices will get a boost today when the giant chipmaker Intel Corp. unveils a new family of microprocessors with enough computing power to enable full-motion video conferencing on cellular phones and high-resolution movies and games on personal digital assistants.
Intel's new PXA27x application processors for wireless platforms are set to be rolled out at a developer forum in Taipei. They were designed, in a project code-named Bulverde, by Intel engineers working in Arizona, Texas, and Massachusetts.
The research team at Intel's plant in Hudson designed a circuit board template for the new dime-sized processors as well as the software tools that will enable them to power Windows or Linux operating systems and a range of software programs on small mobile devices.
''These are the things that help our customers get their products to market," said Intel platform architect Laurence Pegrum.
These new multimedia applications are targeted at a wide swath of consumers, from mobile professionals to college students seeking to upgrade their cellphones and PDAs. International Data Corp., the technology research firm based in Framingham, projects that 21.2 million new ''converged mobile devices" will be sold this year for $6.3 billion.
The market will more than triple to 80 million devices valued at $19.2 billion by 2008, according to the IDC estimates.
''We're in the incubation phase," said Kevin Burden, mobile device analyst for IDC. ''It's small now, but it's going to grow rapidly."
Software makers like Microsoft Corp., and hardware makers ranging from Nokia Corp. to Hewlett-Packard Development Co., also will claim shares of the burgeoning market.
Among makers of processors, the ''brains" that let the new devices handle multiple forms of wireless broadband access, Intel can expect competition from rival chipmakers such as Motorola Inc., Texas Instruments Inc., and Hitachi Ltd.
Intel executives are hoping the PXA27x family of processors will give them a leg up in the fast-growing market that now represents only a small fraction of the company's overall business.
In addition to the multimedia applications, such as three-dimensional renderings and video equal to the quality of high-definition television, Intel's new processors contain features that improve security on mobile devices and increase their battery life by reducing power consumption.
They ramp up to speeds of 624 megahertz, compared to the current generation of Intel processors for devices, which range between speeds of 200 and 400 megahertz.
Leading cellphone and handheld device makers, such as Hewlett-Packard, Dell Inc., and Samsung Electronics Co., are readying next-generation products to capitalize on faster processors and richer multimedia applications. Some hardware makers are expected to announce purchases of the new Intel processors in the coming weeks, and new Intel-powered devices could be on store shelves by the middle of this year.
But if the past is any guide, device makers are not likely to designate any single chipmaker as their exclusive provider, said IDC's Burden. ''If they rely too heavily on any one vendor, it could come back to bite them if the supplier can't deliver on their orders," he said.
While researchers in Hudson were deeply involved in designing the architecture of the new processors, the PXA27x line of chips will be built at other Intel locations.
The company's 2,500-employee Hudson site, its largest on the East Coast, includes research and development labs and a fabrication plant that produces chips to power laptop and desktop personal computers.
Robert Weisman can be reached at weisman@globe.com.
