Intel developing 'Oak Trail' chips for tablet devices

by Stevie Smith - Jun 1 2010, 13:14

Using this week’s Computex trade show in Taipei as its media springboard, chip-making heavyweight Intel Corp. has formally announced the development of a processing platform designed specifically for portable devices in the emerging tablet market.

Built on the back of Intel’s existing Atom technology, which is widely utilised in low performance Netbook computers, the new line (codename: Oak Trail) is expected to arrive in early 2011 as a complete system-on-a-chip (SoC) solution – meaning each chip will essentially be equipped with central processing and graphics processing capabilities.

According to Santa Clara-based Intel, tablet devices carrying Oak Trail chips will deliver a 50 percent reduction in power consumption when gauged against existing products, while the availability of on-board graphics will enable the playback of HD video content.

Keen to keep its evolving product line versatile when it comes to operating systems, Intel has said Oak Trail processors will host a range of mobile operating systems, running from Microsoft’s Windows 7 through to Google’s increasingly popular Android, and the Intel/Nokia platform Meego.

Many of the tablet devices currently on the market are powered by ARM-based processing technology – Apple’s hugely popular touch-screen iPad being the most high profile carrier.

In related Computex news, Intel has also revealed additional details regarding new iterations of its existing Atom line – which will see the chipmaker boosting performance by introducing dual-core options (codename: Pine Trail) to its humble energy-efficient CPU.

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