Atom attack
Intel has chosen to promote both its low-power chips and its OS collaboration with Nokia - MeeGo - at this year's Computex.
The Atom-based action was plentiful at the keynote taken by Dadi Perlmutter, EVP and GM of the Intel Architecture Group. He gave good roadmap - introducing a dual-core Pine Trail evolution of the platform, as well as an especially low-powered one called Oak Trail, that's optimised for tablets (as opposed to Moorestown? - Ed).
There was also Canoe Lake - an Intel ‘innovation platform' based around Pine Trail - that enables a mini-notebook with a thickness of 14 mm. Dual-core Pine Trail systems should be on the shelves before the end of the year, while Oak Trail will be made available to customers early next year and there was no timescale attached to Canoe Lake.
Renee James, SVP and GM of the Software and Services Group at Intel, joined Perlmutter on stage to talk MeeGo. Version 1.0 was released last week and James was keen to highlight OEM support for the OS.To that end, they were joined by Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci, who was keen to promote MeeGo as another alternative in the mobile device mix.
"Acer will be ready with MeeGo-based mobile devices," said Lanci. "MeeGo's open software platform will present our customers with another choice of a friendly, easy-to-use operating system. We are pleased to collaborate with Intel in our continuous drive to provide effortless technologies that empower people at work, home - anytime, anywhere."
James also announced that Asus will be the first OEM to ship a system with Intel's AppUp app store pre-installed. It will crop up in Windows netbooks this autumn - called ‘ASUS app store' - and MeeGo devices will also follow from ASUS. The MeeGo tablet below is called Ravdale and is made by Quanta.
