Unleashing the internet experience?
Anand Chandrasekhar noted that the massive explosion in social-networking continues unabated. He reckoned that 154M people use social-networking sites every day, but 95 per cent of such activity is confined to desktop PCs. Obviously we're missing out on a fully immersive mobile experience, and Intel wants to cash in on that.He also commented that mobile devices still lag significantly behind in realising the full internet experience. Software compatibility is poor, with significant errors when rendering content on leading internet sites. Part of the reason is attributable to lag in exporting appropriate apps from the desktop to mobile devices. For example, Adobe's Flash has consistently taken two years to migrate fully from PC to Mobile Internet Devices (MID).
Performance is still problematic for current MIDs, he said. Intel's Menlow platform, specifically designed for UMPC/MIDs, comprising of the 45nm Silverthorne CPU and highly-integrated Paulsbo chipset, will debut in 2008. Anand demonstrated the platform playing Flash content with the CPU drawing 0.5W. Menlow will also provide WiMAX connectivity via add-in modules, and we were treated to a demonstration of a Compal MID accessing MySpace via WiMAX.
Thinking of software compatibility again, Adobe's Al Ramadan showcased AIR, a cross-platform operating system that's designed to create internet applications for both the desktop and mobile devices. It's novel insofar as the application can be ported quickly without extensive mobile-oriented modification.
Looking further afield, Anand announced Intel's System-On-Chip (SOC) Moorestown platform that adds in a versatile communications hub and promises a power reduction of 10x compared to Menlow. Moorestown is due to debut in mid-2009, perhaps on 32nm, but finished products will be more reminiscent of today's smartphones rather than larger UMPCs, though. No other details were put forwarded, as expected.
Taking a look at a Moorestown-based mock-up, pictured above, it's a Subway-enhanced iPhone, right? The ARM-powered iPhone's set the standard for an all-in-one devices; let's see how Intel and its software partners follow. Intel reckons its IA is better-suited to pervasive application development for mobile devices, but that didn't hinder Apple, did it? It helps if you have an established OS, no doubt.
