Welcome to the Future
SAN FRANCISCO, May 16 (AFP) -
Computer chip giant Intel said Thursday it has succeeded in creating a computer chip that includes the core circuitry of a cell phone and a hand-held computer etched into its surface.
The components are embedded onto a single silicon wafer using a single manufacturing process, the company said.
Traditionally, these different components are incorporated separately in a cell phone or hand-held device, and manufactured and assembled in different plants.
The company said the cell phone circuits will be five times more powerful than existing, stand-alone cell phone circuits, while consuming a fraction of the battery power required for today's devices.
The company hopes the chip will power next-generation ultraportable hand-held computers and cell phones with fast Internet connections, a market the depressed computing industry has been rushing to capture.
"Within the next five to 10 years, we should not be surprised to see devices such as wearable computers or even video watch phones become widely available," said Ron Smith, senior vice president of Intel's wireless division. "We believe Intel's new process technology will extend this trend."
Intel, based in Santa Clara, California, was to unveil the chip at its developers forum in Amsterdam Thursday.