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-------------------------------------------------------------- This story was printed from CNET Asia. --------------------------------------------------------------
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Intel showcases future tech at IDF
By Reuben Lee
09/03/2006 URL: http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/pcperipherals/0,39051168,39342500,00.htm
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA--The Intel Developer Forum (IDF) has traditionally been a platform for chipmaker to share some of its tech initiatives with journalists and analysts from all over the world. This year's Spring event in San Francisco was no different. The chipmaker touched on several key topics including its Tera-Scale Computing Research Program, mobile and desktop platform strategies as well as new standards such as wireless USB and Unified Display Interface (UDI).  Click here for the full IDF photo coverage.
Enhanced features in the new microarchitecture include: Intel announced that its next-generation processors such as Merom (for notebook), Conroe (for desktops) and Woodcrest (for servers) will be built based on the Core architecture. They are expected to be available as early as the third quarter of this year.
Going quad-core and 45 nanometer After announcing its dual-core processors at CES earlier this year, Intel unveils plans to introduce quad-core chips in 2007. Among them are Cloverton and Tigerton for the enterprise segment as well as Kentsfield for the high-end desktop market. The company, however, does not see the core-doubling trend to continue into 2008 with eight-core processors. Instead, it hopes to first see software companies optimize their applications to work in multi-core systems. Intel also announced that it will move into the 45-nanometer manufacturing process, which will allow for more cores and cache to be added on a single processor, in the later half of next year. It is estimated that the switch from 60- to 45-nanometer technology can improve transistor performance by 20 percent and results in a 30 percent drop in switching power. The chipmaker moved from the 90-nanometer technology to the 65-nanometer process last year.
Mobile platform vision
While Intel confirms that Kedron will support the new 802.11n Wi-Fi standard, the company clearly has WiMax in its upcoming roadmap, as well. Sean Maloney, Intel's executive vice president and head of the Mobility Group, revealed that Intel will be offering a WiMax PCMCIA card for laptops later this year. A Wi-Fi/WiMax radio, codenamed Ofer, was also showcased during his keynote address.
Also showcased at IDF was a new category of small form factor portable devices called Ultra Mobile PCs (UMPC). Targeted at those who are frequently on the go, two sample designs of this Origami-like device were put on display. The larger 1.75-pound unit shown here features a 1GHz Pentium M chip, 800 x 600-pixel touchscreen, full Windows XP OS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and an estimated sticker price between US$800 and US$1,000. It is expected to be out in the next few weeks. The smaller unit is a prototype sample slated for launch in 2007. It comes with a touchscreen display, a WXGA display, 0.6 pounds, a hidden QWERTY keyboard and the standard Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.
Desktop processor roadmap
According to the roadmap given by Intel, a new 965 chipset will also be introduced in the second half of the year for the Conroe processor. At the same time, a new version of the Extreme Edition processor, that works on the current 975 chipset, will also be available. Kentsfield, also based on the Intel Core microarchitecture, will be Intel's first quad-core processor for the top-of-the-line desktop PC market. It is expected to start shipping in the first quarter of 2007. Tera-Scale Computing Research Program This is one of the new initiatives announced by Intel at IDF where the chipmaker will collaborate with university researchers to develop computing platforms for the future. The program will cover key technologies in silicon, platform and software developments which can improve the operation and implementation of multi-core systems. The goal, within the next 10 years, is to deliver processors with tens and possibly hundreds of cores. According to Intel's chief technology officer, Justin Rattner, who was speaking at the pre-IDF briefing, the challenge in multi-core systems is not putting the processors together. That's the easy part, he claims. Rather, it's the whole lot of architectural work required to take advantage of the multi-core platform. He pointed out common issues such as the interconnects between processors and the memory bandwidth as examples. As a further example, Rattner talked about how Intel is working on Transactional Memory research to improve the way various cores in a processor access the same memory for data.
Unified Display Interface (UDI)
The UDI SIG (unified display interface special interest group), which includes major industry players such as Intel, Apple, LG Electronics, Samsung and National Semiconductor, first released the 0.8 version specification for UDI in December 2005. Version 1.0 is expected to be published in the second quarter of 2006.
Wireless USB and UltraWideBand (UWB)
According to Jeff Ravencraft, Intel's Technology strategist, and President and Chairman of USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), the new wireless protocol is expected to be used first in imaging products such as digital cameras and printers as well as external storage devices. He also expects Wireless USB products to ramp up much faster than the wired USB devices when they were first introduced.
While proprietary wireless USB technologies have been unveiled much earlier, the Certified Wireless USB specifications 1.0 announced at IDF is a certification program the USB-IF group hopes can ensure the interoperability and security of wireless USB equipment, Ravencraft said. A Certified Wireless USB logo will accompany all products which meet the necessary specifications. Initial introduction of wireless USB will require a dongle or add-on card to be connected to enable connection between devices. This will be replaced by integrated modules in later stages. Ironically, wireless USB connection between devices can be first established by connecting a USB cable to both devices. Alternatively, a pin code can be used to connect the two devices, much like how Bluetooth devices are linked these days. Why wireless USB when there is already Bluetooth and Wi-Fi in the market? According to vendors CNET Asia spoke to at IDF, the key advantage of wireless USB is its speed. Bluetooth offers up to 12Mbps transfer speeds while wireless USB can theoretically hit up to 480Mbps (within 3m or 110Mbps within 10m). More importantly, wireless USB is said to consume only half the power required for Wi-Fi. This is expected to be an attractive wireless option for use on mobile devices where battery drain has always been a critical issue.
HomePlug
According to the chipmaker, there are 4.5 million HomePlug chipsets deployed to date, with the number expected to rise to between seven and eight million by the year end. Intel, which announced its membership in the HomePlug Alliance at last year's Fall IDF, predicts that the number of members will increase from the current 65 to 90 by the end of 2006. A key development announced at last year's CES event in January is the HomePlug AV standard. This is a successor to HomePlug 1.0 which supports a bandwidth of 14Mbps. Rated to deliver up to 200Mbps networking bandwidth, HomePlug AV is expected to be able to handle streaming of HDTV content around the house. It also features other enhanced technologies as well as compatibility with existing HomePlug devices. Aztech and Devolo will be among the first vendors to announce HomePlug AV products. When asked about the premium price of HomePlug devices, Intel believes that it can get the members in the alliance to synergize manufacturing efforts to reduce cost. At the same time, it hopes to streamline powerline standards to ensure interoperability. |
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