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One of the biggest downsides to having an Intel processor inside of a mobile device compared to having an ARM processor is been power consumption. Intel processors traditionally use more power than competing products leading to shorter battery life for the devices using Intel processors. However, Intel is aiming to change that with the goal of reducing the power consumption on its Ivy Bridge processors.

CNET reports that an industry source familiar with Intel’s plans has stated that Intel plans to cut power consumption significantly for future versions of its Ivy Bridge chip. The most powerful Ivy Bridge chips on the market today consume 17 W of power. These chips are commonly used in various Windows ultrabooks and inside the Apple MacBook Air.

According to the source who claims to be familiar with Intel’s plans, the future version of the Ivy Bridge chip will have power consumption well below the 17-watt level. The power consumption of the chip would be low enough that computer makers could use the chip inside tablets. Microsoft plans to use an Ivy Bridge Core i5 inside the Surface Pro tablet set to launch soon.

However, that Surface Pro tablet will use the 17-watt chip that’s already on the market and is expected to have roughly half the battery life of me Surface RT tablet using a ARM processor. Right now the downside to Intel’s line of low power consumption chips, such as the Z2760, is that the performance is significantly less than what the Ivy Bridge parts offer. By comparison, power consumption on ARM processors, commonly used in mobile devices such as tablets, is typically below two watts.

[via CNET]

Intel plans to make Ivy Bridge chips more power miserly is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

I believe that Dospara is the first company in Japan to offer Intel’s NUC or Next Unit of Computing Mini PC, behold the Diginnos Mini NUC-TB. In just 116.6x112x39mm and for 510g you Intel’s NUC comes with 8GB of RAM, a 128GB SSD, a Core i3-3217U at 1.80GHz, Thunderbolt, HDMI, USB 2.0, WiFi and even WiDi! The perfect little companion for those who are looking for a powerful yet compact HTPC or Linux Box, the Diginnos Mini NUC-TB, is now available at around 60,000 Yen

Sharp has reportedly begun talks with Dell, Intel, and other US companies for a potential share in the display firm, in a move that may be designed to put pressure on existing Foxconn negotiations. The discussions – which are also believed to be ongoing with Qualcomm, according to the WSJ‘s sources – would see struggling Sharp offer up a stake in return for as much as $240m depending on the suitor, with the spoils of the deal being a guaranteed supply of the company’s IGZO displays.

According to the insiders, Sharp is hoping to squeeze up to $240m from Intel or Dell, though its ambitions for Qualcomm investment are more modest. The display firm has been mired in ongoing negotiations with Foxconn/Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. for several months, with the firms needing to reach a conclusion by March 2013 but uncertainty around Sharp’s value stalling the deal.

Unofficially, however, a Sharp executive speaking to the newspaper said that while the companies continue to talk, “the unpredictability of its earnings are hindering” the likelihood of a deal. Others familiar with the deal have said that Sharp is laying on hyperbole about IGZO’s promise as a key negotiating point, routinely describing it as “potentially game-changing technology.”

That game-changer comes down to how IGZO works, replacing the substrate material among other changes, and in doing so reducing power consumption and increasing pixel density. That makes for displays that can offer the same brightness as regular LCD but with lesser power demands, or alternatively use the same power as traditional panels but for a much brighter picture, useful for outdoor applications.

IGZO production, however, has struggled to meet Sharp’s goals, and so far the panels are only showing up in a limited way in tablets and phones for the Japanese market. However, Sharp claims it is ready to offer a 32-inch IGZO panel that runs at an impressive 3840 x 2160 resolution, and which could well find its way into future Apple products according to some industry speculation.

In fact, Apple involvement in Sharp’s ongoing business has been the source of display channel muttering for some time. One analyst has suggested that a $2bn blip on Apple’s most recent financial results sheet was in fact a helping hand to the Japanese firm, potentially bringing forward future panel orders onto the books so as to help shore up the supplier.

Sharp has declined to comment on whether it is in negotiations with companies outside of Foxconn, and neither Dell, Qualcomm, nor Intel would comment on the rumors. It’s possible, however, that the move to widen negotiations – or, indeed, the leaks that such a move is being considered – is a tactical one to increase pressure on Foxconn management.

Sharp $240m talks tipped with Dell, Intel and Qualcomm: IGZO the prize is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It’s been just over a month since Google unveiled its gorgeous and affordable $249 Samsung Chromebook only to surprise us days later with an even cheaper system, the $199 Acer C7 Chromebook. At first glance, these two laptops are very similar, both in purpose (cloud-based computing on a budget) and in specs (11.6-inch display, dual-core CPU, 2GB of RAM), but there are significant differences under the hood. Samsung’s offering achieves its svelte form factor, 6.5-hour battery life and attractive price via a fully integrated and fanless ARM-based design while Acer takes a more conservative approach — cramming standard off-the-shelf components like a 2.5-inch hard drive, small-outline memory module, mini-PCIe WiFi card, and Intel Celeron processor into a traditional netbook-like chassis. Does being $50 cheaper make up for the C7’s lack of sex appeal and short 4-hour battery life? What other compromises in performance and build quality (if any) were made to achieve this lower cost? Most importantly, which budget Chromebook is right for you? Find out after the break.

Continue reading Acer C7 Chromebook review: Chrome OS on the cheap, but at what cost?

Filed under: Laptops, Google, Acer

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