Intel's chief product officer has described how its low-power
processors, starting with the company's fourth-generation Intel Core processor
family available in 2013, will set a new standard for mobile computing
experiences and innovative ultrabook, convertible and tablet designs.
Speaking at the Intel Developer
Forum (IDF) in San Francisco, David Perlmutter said Intel reduced the platform
idle power of its fourth-generation Intel Core processor family based on the
next-generation Haswell microarchitecture by more than 20 times over the
second-generation while delivering outstanding performance and responsiveness.
He also said Intel will add a new line of even lower-power processors based on
the same microarchitecture to its roadmap starting in 2013.
Both new products underscore the company's
focus to aggressively drive power consumption down to enable longer battery
life and a wave of new, more mobile designs, while delivering ever-increasing
processor, graphics and media performance.
Since Intel created and invested in
the ecosystem for the new category of ultrabook systems in 2011, it has already
inspired dramatic innovation in personal computing, the company claimed. More
than 140 different ultrabook designs are in development, a number of which are
convertibles, with more than 70 powered by third-generation Intel Core
processors available today.
When the company's 22nm
fourth-generation Intel Core processor family comes to the ultrabook and other
PCs in 2013, it will bring Intel HD graphics support, new instructions for
faster encryption and performance, new hardware-based security features and
low-power processor sub-states to enable longer battery life.
To spur even more innovation in
mobile computing, Intel's new low-power chips based on Haswell
microarchitecture will broaden the company's mobile roadmap, initially
operating at about 10W to enable thinner, lighter ultrabook, convertible and
tablet designs with better performance and battery life.
Turning his attention to the full
mobility spectrum, Perlmutter detailed how Intel delivers the best choices for
every mobile experience. Coming soon, the next-generation Intel Atom processor
(Clover Trail) is a new system-on-chip (SoC) architected specifically for
Windows 8. Based on Intel's 32nm process technology, it powers lightweight tablets
and convertibles, and includes outstanding battery life and always-on
technology in sleek designs.
Perlmutter also articulated the
advantages of Intel-based Windows 8 devices, noting that Intel Atom- and Intel
Core-based tablets and convertibles will deliver a range of new features from
enhanced media capabilities, security built for enterprise vertical market
solutions, and support for the breadth of applications written for Intel
processors, thus retaining the software investment of IT and consumers.
The personal computing experience is
shifting to one based on perceptual computing where devices will take on
human-like senses to perceive the user's intentions, according to Perlmutter,
adding that Intel is driving these capabilities across Intel platforms both now
and into the future.
Perlmutter invited the developer
community to work with Intel to bring the next wave of perceptual computing
capability to Intel Core-based platforms with the release of the company's
first Intel Perceptual Computing Software Development Kit (SDK) beta. The SDK,
targeted for release early in the fourth quarter of 2012, will enable hardware
and software developers to bring gesture interaction, facial and voice
recognition, and augmented reality to life on existing and future Intel Core
processor-based ultrabook systems and PCs.
Perlmutter talked about progress
made to bring voice recognition to the ultrabook while showing a system running
the Nuance Dragon Assistant Beta optimized for Intel Core processors. Dell
plans to make the Dragon Assistant Beta available in the US next quarter
in its Dell XPS13 ultrabook, Intel said.
~networld
