Intel unveils latest processors for handheld gadgets

Taipei, April 13, 2004 (CENS)--Intel Corp. demonstrated a series of latest microprocessors for handheld gadgets including mobile phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) yesterday at the Taipei round of its Intel Developer Forum (IDF), posing it a formidable rival to existing giant Texas Instruments.

Its PXA270-family microprocessors and 2700G multimedia accelerators allow consumers on the move to confer on-line on mobile phones and play on-line 3-dimension games on the phones.

Sean Malone, executive vice president and general manager of Intel Communication Group, pointed out that PXA700 ensures consumers a much better multimedia effect on their phones. Also, mobile phones embedded with the chips can conserve 42% more power than phones with other chips when they are doing MP3 music download. Compared with comparable chips, PXA700 enables mobile phones doing teleconferencing to conserve 30% more power and phones receiving on-line movies conserve 77% more power.

Malone stressed that mobile devices must have plenty of performance balanced with low power capability to be able to handle all that the Internet has to offer as various forms of wireless broadband access become increasingly available.

To help device makers develop and deliver next-generation communication and computing devices, Intel is also providing a number of the key technologies and platform in addition to processing power.

The Intel cell phone concept design provides customers and developers with and example of how to utilize many of the application and communications technologies needed to build an advanced smart phone with multi-operating system support. The platform is the first design from Intel to support a number of wireless networks, or "modes" including cellular GSM/GPRS, Wi-Fi (802.11b) and Bluetooth technologies. The phone platform supports full-featured operating systems from companies like Microsoft, PalmSource, Symbian as well as MontaVista Linux and Java environments.

Intel has integrated security function into chips for next-generation mobile phones in order to ensure the phones are in safe state whenever they are activated and personal data is saved safely. The company has also helped camera-phone suppliers boost the phones' quality and function so that they can take four-megapixel pictures.

Although TI has long dominated the market of wireless solutions, Intel, Taiwanese industry watchers analyzed, Intel plans to force into the market by cashing in on the advantages of its chips including power conservation and powerful processing capability.

Intel invited executives of leading Taiwanese information-technology manufacturers to attend the annually held meeting yesterday, suggesting likely cooperation among them. The Taiwanese companies include Wistron Corp., MiTac International Corp., Asustek Computer Inc., Compal Electronics Inc., and Inventec Corp.