Intel has introduced its next-gen Moorestown Atom platform for smartphones and tablet devices.
The platform offers significantly lower power consumption compared to the first-gen Menlow package, while enabling seamless multitasking, HD video streaming and multi-point conferencing.
“Moorestown includes the Atom processor Z6xx (‘Lincroft’), the platform controller hub MP20 (‘Langwell’) and a dedicated mixed signal IC (MSIC), formerly Briertown,” explained chief Intel Atom architect Belli Kuttanna.
“The platform has been repartitioned to include the Atom Processor Z6xx, which combines the 45nm Atom processor core with 3-D graphics, video encode and decode, as well as memory and display controllers into a single SoC design.”
According to Intel senior VP Anand Chandrasekher, Moorestown delivers a 50x reduction in idle power, 20x reduction in audio power and 2-3x reductions across browsing and video apps.
“Moorestown certainly exceeds what the competition has to offer from a performance standpoint [up to 1.9 GHz]. And we believe the battery life will be extremely competitive as well. [For example], the power savings translate into 10 days of standby, up to 2 days of audio playback and 4-5 hours of browsing and video battery life,” said Chandrasekher.
“When combined with 1.5-3x higher compute performance, 2-4x richer graphics, 4x higher JavaScript performance and support for full HD 1080p high-profile video decoding and 720p HD video recording, [this] low-power [platform] brings a rich, PC-like visual experience to powerful handheld computers.”
Chandrasekher also noted that Moorestown offered a range of scalable frequencies: up to 1.5 GHz for smartphones and 1.9 GHz for tablets.
In addition, the chips support Wi-Fi, 3G/HSPA and WiMAX, as well as a number of operating systems, including Android, Meego and Moblin.
