Japan Handheld With Intel Atom Chip Debuts

Sharp got atomized Monday. The Japanese electronics maker along with Willcom announced the ultra-mobile Willcom D4 "communication device" based on Intel's Atom processor and Microsoft's Vista operating system.

Microsoft and Intel were also credited with development of the device, according to the Japanese-language release on the Sharp Web site.

The handheld-size device uses a 1.33GHz Z520 Intel Atom processor and runs Windows Vista Home Premium (with Service Pack 1). Other prototype devices based on similar designs--referred to as mobile Internet devices or MIDs--have also been shown running the Linux operating system.

With a separate headset, the device can also be used as a phone using Wilcom's Personal Handy-phone System (PHS) network, both Sharp and Willcom said.

The device weighs in at 470 grams (about one pound) and features a 5-inch sliding LCD (1024x600/262K colors) with an LED backlight, a 1.8-inch 40GB hard disk drive (Ultra ATA/100), 64-key QWERTY keyboard, a built-in camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a mirco SD card slot, and a USB 2.0 slot.

The D4's inclusion of a 40GB hard disk drive is an indicator that the device is meant to run Windows--because of the operating system's typically larger footprint--not Linux.

Intel Atom technology includes a single-chip with integrated graphics called the Intel System Controller Hub.

Atom will find its way into fit-in-your-pocket MIDs from Gigabyte, Toshiba, LG Electronics, Lenovo, and BenQ, among others. Netbooks (inexpensive, Internet-centric ultra-small notebook PCs) such as Asus's popular Intel-based Eee PC, MSI's Wind PC, and Clevo will also use the chip.

Willcom D4 is slated for a June release and is expected to be priced at 128,600 yen ($1,272).

Atom means Intel is Serious About Smallness

The new moniker "Atom" sets in marketing stone the Intel brand for small devices. I'll skip the banalities about Atom silicon being crucial for Intel's future and just pose a question: Can Intel spur innovation in ultrasmall devices the way it has in the PC and server industry?

I won't hazard any rash predictions but will make a few observations about the current landscape.

First, a little recent history. The ultramobile PC (UMPC) based on Intel's first-generation processor (the A110) for small devices has not exactly been the market sensation that the iPhone has. The Samsung Q1 and the Asus R2H are two examples of products that never really took off. As if to recognize this mistake (and confuse people in the process), Intel has stopped referring to this category of gadgets as UMPC and now calls it the Mobile Internet Device or MID.

This underscores the pitfalls and potential for Intel. The pitfalls: consumers will forever unfavorably compare the UMPC and MID to the more feature-rich notebook PC or, conversely, to the smaller, cheaper cell phone. The potential: a new category of computers spearheaded by a device with an iPhone-like following.

Enter the Atom-branded low-cost platform for ultraportable devices. Asus's popular Intel-based Eee PC is already demonstrating the potential here. So much so that a Sony vice president recently cited the Eee PC as a threat. (He depicted it as causing "a race to the bottom" because of its low price.) The XO laptop offered by the One Laptop Per Child organization is another example. (It uses an AMD Geode processor.) Both are priced around $300 and both are Internet-centric devices that offer the same wireless capabilities of more expensive laptops.

For smaller MID-like devices, such as the iPhone and Nokia N810, success is less certain. Many of the scores of pocket-sized gadgets on the market use processors based on the tried-and-true ARM design. Intel won't displace ARM anytime soon. But these devices are proprietary, which may leave Intel an opening. Because Intel's Atom processor is compatible with the Core 2 Duo instruction set, developers of small devices have a common platform to target.

"This is our smallest processor built with the world's smallest transistors," Intel Executive Vice President and Chief Sales and Marketing Officer Sean Maloney said in a statement. "This is...a fundamental new shift in design. We believe it will unleash new innovation across the industry."

This is probably true. But Intel has a long way to go in a crowded market that bears little if any resemblance to the PC industry, where the chipmaker competes relatively comfortably with only one other company (AMD). There's also a long wait for Intel's Moorestown, the next generation of small chips for small devices due in 2009 or 2010. The great expectations for Moorestown almost overshadow the current Atom technology. Moorestown will not only be more power efficient but more highly integrated: a system-on-chip (SOC) design combining the CPU, graphics, and memory controller onto a single chip.

Intel Quad-Core Xeon E5440

This industry's first quad-core processor for mainstream servers provides breakthrough performance and capabilities for the ultimate in powerful, dense and energy efficient servers. With the Quad-Core Intel Xeon processor you get breakthrough performance - up to 50% greater than the industry-leading Dual-Core Intel Xeon processor in the same power envelope.

Processor

• Type / Form Factor: Intel Quad-Core Xeon E5440
• Multi-Core Technology: Quad-Core
• Processor Qty: 1
• Clock Speed: 2.83 GHz
• Bus Speed: 1333 MHz
• Thermal Design Power: 80 W
• 64-bit Computing: Yes
• Manufacturing Process: 45 nm
• Compatible Processor Socket: LGA771 Socket
• Thermal Specification: 67 °C
• Packaging Type: FC-LGA6

Cache memory

• Installed Size: L2 cache - 12 MB
• Type: Advanced Smart Cache

Expansion / connectivity

• Compatible Slots: 1 x processor, 1 x processor - LGA771 Socket

Miscellaneous

• Pricing Type: CTO,
• Included Accessories: Passive 2U heatsink,
  
• Package Type: Intel Boxed, OEM/tray
• Compliant Standards: RoHS
• Manufacturer Selling Program: HP Smart Buy

Manufacturer warranty

• Service & Support: 3 years warranty
• Service & Support Details: Limited warranty - 3 years

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+

Multi-tasking has become a way of life, but sometimes your PC just can't keep up with everything you want to do on it at the same time. The AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core processor enables true multitasking - taking computing to an all new level. Dual-Core technology is like having two processors working together, each one taking care of different applications. So now you can simultaneously burn a CD, check e-mail, edit a digital photo, and run your virus protection - all without slowing down your computer. To protect your computer you've installed all the latest virus protection and firewall software. The result? Your PC is safer but slower. Upgrade to a computer powered by the AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core processor - now you can run protection programs in the background while a second runs the applications you want to work on - making computing fast again.

Processor

• Type / Form Factor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+
• Multi-Core Technology: Dual-Core
• 64-bit Computing: Yes
• Power Efficiency: Energy Efficient
• Processor Qty: 1
• Clock Speed: 2.7 GHz, 2.6 GHz
• Compatible Processor Socket: Socket AM2
• Core Voltage: 1.325 V/1.35 V/1.375 V, 1.3 V/1.35 V, 1.2 V/1.25 V
• Manufacturing Process: 65 nm, 90 nm
• Thermal Design Power: 65 W, 89 W
• Thermal Specification: 68 °C, 70 °C, 72 °C
• Architecture Features: 3DNow! Professional technology, HyperTransport technology, AMD64 technology, integrated memory controller, Enhanced Virus Protection, AMD Cool'n'Quiet Technology, AMD Virtualization, HyperTransport technology, AMD64 technology, integrated memory controller, Enhanced Virus Protection

Cache memory

• Installed Size: L2 cache - 1 MB ( 2 x 512 KB ), L2 cache - 2 MB ( 2 x 1 MB ), L2 cache

Expansion / connectivity

• Compatible Slots: 1 x processor - Socket AM2, 1 x processor

Miscellaneous

• Included Accessories: Cooler (fansink)
• Package Type: AMD Processor in a Box (PIB), OEM/tray

Mallika Blackmailing Himesh???

Maliika of the useless Nakhras, Mallika Sherawat, was on sets of Sa Re Ga Ma PA recently, to promote her flick, “Ugly Aur Pagli”, and the first thing she seems to have said after hearing a little sarcasm from the mentor Himesh Reshamiya, was “Should I expose you in front of the people?”. Himesh, sources reveal, looked stunned at this and kept quite after that.
Well, with very few good films to her credit, we now know how Mallika affords all that luxury… We now kno what her side business is…