IDG
News Service - Intel's upcoming Core i-series processors based on the Ivy
Bridge architecture are being pitched at ultrabooks, but the company is now
extending the chips to high-performance tablets with Microsoft's upcoming
Windows 8 operating system.
Intel
hopes the new Ivy Bridge chips will make it to tablets, according to a slide
from this week's Intel Developer Forum trade show in Beijing. The slide shows
one tablet with gaming controllers attached on both sides and another tablet
with a keyboard attached to it.
The
tablets will provide "leading performance," Intel said on the slide.
The tablets could have processors with up to four CPU cores, low-power memory
and other power-saving features to extend battery life, according to the slide.
Intel
until now had established a tablet strategy around low-power Atom chips. The
company is due to release its latest tablet chips code-named Clover Trail later
this year, which will help Windows 8 tablets offer more than nine hours of battery
life.
Intel's
upcoming Ivy Bridge mobile processors have been mainly targeted at a new
category of thin and light laptops called ultrabooks, which is a way for the
company to combat its weakness in tablets. Intel is promoting ultrabooks as an
alternative to tablets, as the lightweight laptops let users consume and create
content. Intel is implementing some tablet features in Ivy Bridge ultrabooks,
with some models meshing keyboards with features such as touchscreens, quick
boot and instant connectivity.
Intel
could not immediately comment on whether any device makers would offer those
tablets. Intel has code-named the Ivy Bridge tablet platform Chief River, which
is also the code-name for the upcoming ultrabook platform. The Chief River
platform supports USB 3.0 and could also bring Thunderbolt ports to tablets.
Ivy
Bridge tablets could be very similar in specifications to ultrabooks, just
without the keyboard, said Dean McCarron, principal analyst at Mercury
Research. Intel could be pushing the high-performance tablets to test new use
cases of x86 devices.
"You
are looking at an evolutionary step," McCarron said. "Particularly in
the x86 space, the evolution is more the convertible-type design where the
keyboard is an optional piece," McCarron said.
The
tablet may appeal to customers who need the performance of a Core processor,
but also need a more highly portable platform than is currently offered by
laptops, McCarron said. Tablet use is on the rise in enterprises, and customers
may want a high-performing device resembling a tablet with a separate keyboard.
The
Core processors have specific on-chip features that provide the processors a
performance and security edge over power-optimized Atom tablet chips. In
addition to Windows 8, tablets with Core processors will improve graphics with
DirectX 11, which is supported on the Ivy Bridge chipset.
McCarron
didn't know the specific tablet implementations Intel was targeting, but said
the 7-series chipset accompanying Ivy Bridge processors could be tweaked for
tablets. Enterprises are a better fit for Ivy Bridge tablets than gamers, who
usually need high-resolution displays, refresh rates and graphics performance,
McCarron said.
Most
tablets today come with ARM processors, and ARM-based chip makers Nvidia and
Qualcomm are targeting faster quad-core chips at tablets. ARM has an advantage
on power consumption, while Intel is better on raw performance, analysts said.
Intel
is throwing its weight behind its Atom and Ivy Bridge processors to see if it
can gain some market share against ARM, said Jim McGregor, an independent chip
analyst.
"They
are going after every angle they can to get a foothold in a market,"
McGregor said, adding that Intel has had limited success to date.
Gaming
tablets with ARM are now available, and Intel may be targeting Ivy Bridge chips
to disrupt ARM's dominance in the area, McGregor said.
Intel
is working with Microsoft on Windows 8 tablets, but also has a relationship
with Google on Android so the chip maker will have to play its cards carefully,
McGregor said. But the higher performance on Intel's Ivy Bridge chips may be
relevant for specific productivity applications on both operating systems
compared to ARM.
View orginal artical here- Intel
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