Mobile
Intel Unveils MID Moorestown Platform
While we’re still waiting for the first crop of MIDs to really roll out (there have been a few), Intel has just unveiled the first prototype running the Moorestown platform. Headed for a 2009/10 release, what Intel is showing off is a reference design for the MID platform, not an actual device. You’ll hear in the video how big a deal they think this is.
Moorestown comprises of an SOC, codenamed “Lincroft,” which integrates the 45nm processor, graphics, memory controller and video encode/decode onto a single chip and an I/O hub codenamed “Langwell”, which supports a range of I/O ports to connect with wireless, storage, and display components in addition to incorporating several board level functions. Chandrasekher stated that Intel is on track to reduce Moorestown platform idle power by more than 10x compared to the first-generation MIDs based on the Intel Atom processor.
Another intriguing part of the announcement is that Intel is targeting Moorestown at the Smartphone market.
Ronald A. Dowty
10/20/2008 at 4:57 pm
It looks like a stretched out iPhone to me. I personally don’t want a device any bigger if I plan to carry it all the time.
JC
10/21/2008 at 5:52 am
Didn’t they already show off this form factor at CES 2008? In any case, it’s worth noting that he said several times that what he is showing is a mock up.
To me, reference design implies that the guts inside the box work. That is, like the Via NanoBook, one could take their schematics to create a working product. A mock up is just a pretty prop which gives you a sense of the physical design they’d like other manufacturers to make feasible. (And other manufacturers may come through. But, right now, it’s just a pretty prop.)
The good news is that if you don’t like the physical design, actual Moorestown based devices may not look anything like this mock up. In comparison, there are a few netbooks which look an awful lot like the Via NanoBook reference design.
Ben
10/21/2008 at 6:32 am
I’d really like them to make these work with pen input too. They’d be handy for a pocket notebook.