Intel Shrinks

Not the company, but the chips that they make. Intel is working on a top secret project called Medfield. The name was leaked by one of the engineers working in their Austin office. Intel is also working on ‘Moorestown’ which is an Atom-like processor that has two chips and is supposed to consume even less power than the Atom chips do.

Intel is changing its direction and is looking towards the consumer electronics and mobile phone market. With Intel’s stock down by 31 per cent in the last 12 months, they are trying hard to break into this sector and excel.

Now the Moorestown processors aren’t small enough to fit into mobile phones; that’s where ‘Medfield’ comes in.

The thought behind this new shift is that with evolving technologies, mobile phones are now able to do what computers can. Intel already makes around US $2 billion a year from embedded chips present in medical devices, cars and other such devices. But now they plan to spread Medfield to all consumer electronics ranging from mobile phones to MP3 players even to household appliances.

However, don’t expect this any time soon, as Medfield is scheduled sometime in 2011. It’s a long wait, but we’re already imagining the possibilities — mobile phones that perform as well as a laptop anyone?