Intel targets ARM tablets with new Atom Z670

by Steven Mostyn - Apr 12 2011, 05:46

The burgeoning tablet market has, thus far, been powered by the likes of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon, NVIDIA’s Tegra and Apple’s A4 and A5 processors—or, if you prefer, predominantly ARM-based platforms.

However, arriving fashionably late to the tablet party, chipmaker Intel Corp. has this week unveiled its latest Atom Z670 processor, which will be elbowing its way into numerous tablet (and netbook) devices throughout the course of this year.

Previously known under the codename of ‘Oak Trail’, the super economical Atom Z670 should provide hardware makers with the ability to employ “all day” battery life on a single charge while also chewing through less performance-related power.

This is apparently made possible because Intel’s latest low-power offering uses an “Enhanced Deep Sleep” mode to cleverly reduce energy consumption whenever the processor is inactive.

Further to that, the usual drain associated with (HD) video playback and gaming has been cut down significantly aboard the new Atom, thanks to the introduction of an integrated high-definition video decode engine.

“The new Intel Atom ‘Oak Trail’ platform, with ‘Cedar Trail’ to follow, are examples of our continued commitment to bring amazing personal and mobile experiences to netbook and tablet devices, delivering architectural enhancement for longer battery life and greater performance,” enthused Doug Davis, vice president and general manager of Intel’s netbook and tablet division, in a statement.

“We are accelerating the Intel Atom product line to now move faster than Moore’s law, bringing new products to market on three process technologies in the next three years,” he added.

Some 60 percent smaller than previous Intel processors in the ultra-mobile category, the new Atom Z670 manages to cut such an inconspicuous blueprint as it also plays host to integrated graphics and the memory controller.

Officially rolled out on Monday during Intel’s Developer Forum in Beijing, the newest entry to the Atom family also boasts versatile platform support via compatibility with Google Android, Microsoft Windows and the Linux-based MeeGo operating system.

According to Santa Clara-based Intel, the Atom Z670 processor will appear in more than 35 tablet devices before the close of 2011—including hardware produced by the likes of computer giants Lenovo and Fujitsu.

Other manufacturers expected to utilize the platform from May onwards include, Evolve III, Motion Computing, Razer and Viliv.

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