Intel Details -Moorestown’ Platform, Two New Atom Chips

On the one-year anniversary of Intel’s Atom processor launch, the company introduced “Moorestown,” the next generation of Intel’s Atom-based Mobile Internet Device (MID) platform, as well as two new Atom processors for MIDs.
Speaking from the Intel Developer Forum in Beijing on April 8, Anand Chandrasekher, Intel senior vice president and general manager of the Ultra Mobility Group, showcased the low-power innovations of Moorestown by comparing it to an Atom-based platform in a side-by-side demo.
The power reductions on display were said to be the result of new power-management techniques, a new, optimized partition for the MID segment and Intel’s high-k metal gate, 45-nanometer manufacturing process. As much as enterprise devices, and solutions for vertical markets such as a heath care and government, MIDs are a significant portion of Intel’s focus.
Due out by 2010, the Moorestown platform will use the SOC (system on a chip) design “Lincroft.” Intel engineers will combine Lincroft with a 45-nanometer Intel Atom processor core, graphics, video, a memory controller and an input/output hub codenamed “Langwell.”
The Moorestown platform will come with a new version of Moblin software, optimized to offer MID users a rich, PC-like Internet experience with cellular voice capabilities.
Additionally, Intel announced the Z550 and Z515, two Atom processors for the MID market. The 2.0GHz Z550 with Intel Hyper-Threading technology support is now the highest-performing processor in the under-3-watt category. The other Atom chip – the Z515 – is designed for smaller formats, runs at 1.2 GHz and includes Intel Burst Performance Technology (BPT).
Chandrasekher noted that low-voltage processors are ideal for ultra-thin laptops, including netbooks – a category that continues to grow even as notebook shipment numbers shrink.
The next-generation processors for laptops based on the Nehalem architecture will be available in the second half of 2009 on the “Calpella” platform. The next generation, Chandrasekher said, will also rely on Hyper-Threading and Intel BPT, and be more powerful than current offerings.