IDF Taiwan: Father of the Atom an Indian!

Delegates at the Intel Developer Forum, Taiwan were treated to a a rare spectacle when Intel's executive Anand Chandrasekher introduced Belliappa Kuttanna, Senior Principle Engineer, Chief Architect Intel Atom Processor, whom he dubbed as ''The father of Atom,'' during the opening day keynote.



When asked about specific challenges faced while developing the Atom processor, Kuttanna said, "It was pretty challenging to reduce the power levels, while maintaining the balance with Intel architecture." The Atom processor has brought about a fundamental shift in design, and was launched at the Shanghai IDF.

The Atom processor is said to be addressing four market segments: embedded, consumer electronics, mobile Internet devices (MIDs), and netbooks and net-tops.

The immersive Web
The digital home has been dubbed as the TV-Internet ecosystem. "Consumers love the rich, social experience of the TV. They can't get it on the Internet," added Chandrasekher. "We are merging the TV and PC worlds seamlessly."

The Intel executive highlighted the CE 3100 media processor, which is said to be the first optimized media processor for consumer electronics, a third-generation SoC. He cited Yahoo's example of the "Cinematic Internet."

Focusing on the embedded segment, Chandrasekher added: "Fifteen billion devices will get connected by 2015. People will interact 24x7 with the Internet. Embedded will be everywhere. Devices will be built for specific applications." Consequently, he felt that mobile Internet would explode. "Social networking today accounts for 27 percent of all traffic on the Internet. Rich media and social networking are driving the immersive Web," he said.

Send emails using voice dictation
Intel's partners took the opportunity to showcase their products and solutions. Eric Montague, vice president, Asia Pacific sales, Nuance, demonstrated two applications: one, sending email using voice dictation easily, even via a Bluetooth headset, and two, doing a voice search on the Web, over an MID.

Montague said: "We are leveraging on the power of the Atom processor on the MID. The Atom is built for mobility." It was no surprise that the IDF saw as many as 38 MID designs, 50 netbook designs, and over 70 net-top designs.

Next, Jonney Shih, chairman, ASUS, demonstrated an ultra-slim netbook. Shih said: "We have been able to achieve a compact design with low power. Besides a lot of our Eee PC products, we will implement the Atom processor into our eTops, eBoxes, etc. Our Eee family of products answers to the future evolution. We are also very excited about Moorestown."

WiMAX and broadband key
A robust broadband infrastructure is key for delivering an ultimate full Internet experience. Intel has been aggressively promoting WiMAX, which has so far had about 407 deployments in 133 countries.

Chandrasekher took time out to introduce Atish Gude, senior vice president, mobile broadband operations, Sprint. For the reference, the entire city of Baltimore is now on XOHM, a Sprint network. Speaking on this particular deployment, Gude said: "The in-building coverage has been fantastic. You know that our network is not complete yet. However, we have not had even one issue with our systems yet! Our highlight has been offering embedded devices."

Chandrasekher wrapped up his session adding that innovation had been his theme. He also highlighted the fact that Intel has been investing in education in over 50 countries. Intel invests over $100 million annually on education.