medfield

LAS VEGAS--Intel demonstrated today at CES a Lenovo tablet based on its new "Medfield" Atom processor and said a Windows 8 tablet based on a next-generation Atom was on the way.

The Lenovo IdeaTab K2110 tablet (see photo and video) is based on Intel's freshly-minted Medfield Atom processor--the same processor powering the Lenovo K800 smartphone announced today.

This Android Ice Cream Sandwich-based tablet is slated to appear sometime in the second quarter.

Intel and Lenovo are also demonstrating a more futuristic Lenovo tablet running Windows 8 and packing Intel's next-generation Atom chip, dubbed Clover Trail.

That … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Investment bank Piper Jaffray says Windows 8 running on ARM chips won't be anything to write home about. And neither will Intel's latest chip for smartphones.

Windows 8 is a milestone for Microsoft and the PC industry because it's the first mainstream Microsoft operating system to run on both ARM chips--typically found in smartphones and tablets--and Intel's X86 chip design.

"It is time once again for CES...we expect another dollop of hype and hyperbole coming out of CES this year," wrote analyst Gus Richard in a research note Monday morning.

Windows 8--not … Read more

Intel's Clover Trail silicon will be the first major push by the chipmaker for Windows 8 tablets, CNET has learned.

Clover Trail is an Atom chip slated for the second half of the year, about the same time frame that Windows 8 is due, a source familiar with Intel's plans told CNET.

Clover Trail is a follow-on to Medfield--due in the second quarter--which is aimed primarily at smartphones. While the Medfield chip will undoubtedly be used in some tablets, it is a single-core design, while Clover Trail will also be offered in dual-core versions, making it more attractive … Read more

Intel has its sights set on ARM, and now, it's showing off some mobile devices to prove it.

Technology Review reported today that it recently had the chance to try out smartphones and tablets running Intel's Atom-based "Medfield" system-on-a-chip. The devices, known as "reference designs," are made to help the company entice handset makers to develop products running its processor. And in this case, they were also designed to provide some insight into what the company has planned.

There is a lot riding on Intel's Medfield processor. For years now, the company has … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--Intel hauled out its first Android tablet running on "Medfield," an upcoming Atom chip for smartphones and tablets, while two executives also chatted with CNET about their relationship with Google, all at Intel's developer conference today.

The Medfield Atom chip is one of Intel's most power-efficient chip designs--a strict requirement for tablets and smartphones. It contains a single processing core--as opposed to more power-hungry dual-core Atom chips used in Netbooks--and will be available in devices in the first half of 2012.

The tablet that Intel showed today (see photo below) is a so-called reference design … Read more

Intel's plans for tablets and smartphones are crystallizing into a clear roadmap, as the chip giant begins to marshal its considerable chip design and manufacturing forces to address markets where it is not competitive--yet.

As tablets pour into national retailers like Staples and Best Buy, they are encroaching on shelf space occupied by laptops. Unlike laptops, however, tablets don't sport Intel silicon. Most notably, of course, Apple's iPad, which uses Apple's A5 chip. But Android tablets, too, from the likes of Motorola and Samsung, use chips mostly from Nvidia.

Intel, of course, would like to change that. Its first system-on-a-chip for tablets and smartphones--codenamed Medfield--will be a crucial component of that strategy, though chips that follow may be more important commercially. Medfield will arrive in the first half of 2012, followed by Clover Trail technology in the second half of 2012, Intel spokeswoman Suzy Ramirez told CNET.

Both of those chips will be better suited to the power sensitivities of tablets and smartphones and anything in between--the latter referred to as convertibles or hybrids. "Both Medfield and Clover Trail are targeted at tablet designs but could also be used as tablet hybrids," Ramirez said in an e-mail. Intel's move to Clover Trail was discussed at tech blog This Is My Next.

Medfield marks Intel's move to a 32-nanometer system-on-a-chip Atom processor for tablets and smartphones. At long last leaving 45-nanometer Atom processors behind. Generally, the smaller the chip geometry, the faster and/or more power efficient the chip is. … Read more

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--Intel's push into the smartphone market is facing growing skepticism from some analysts who attended the company's investor meeting yesterday. The chipmaker, meanwhile, tried to dispel doubts by disclosing for the first time that its "Medfield" smartphone chip will get a major update.

Financial analysts had lots of questions for Intel yesterday about how it will offer a distinct advantage over smartphone processors from rival chipmakers such as Texas Instruments, Nvidia, and Qualcomm, which make silicon based on the dominant ARM architecture.

In post-presentation Q&A sessions and informal meetings with executives, … Read more

Intel is now moving not-so-subtly toward Android as the default operating system for handheld devices, as the chipmaker yields to market realities.

With Android leading Apple's iOS software in smartphone market share according to calculations by Gartner (and other market researchers), the Google operating system has plenty of momentum. That's not the case for Intel's in-house MeeGo operating system--which is not even a blip on the handheld device market-share radar screen--and is only staying in the public's eye because of Intel's stubborn support.

And Windows 7, which is not optimized for tablets, will never be … Read more

Intel is moving aggressively into the tablet and phone segments as Netbook sales begin to plateau, Chief Financial Officer Stacy Smith said in an interview today with CNET.

Intel reported blockbuster first-quarter profits today of $3.2 billion, up 29 percent over the same period last year. Revenue came in at $12.8 billion, up 25 percent year-over-year. And the chipmaker is investing some of these hefty earnings into cutting-edge chips that will power smartphones and tablets in an effort to close the gap with competitors like Qualcomm and Samsung.

Smith confessed that Netbooks are the most vulnerable to tablet … Read more