Intel’s new concept mobile platform

BANGALORE: Intel’s new venture is a Centrino-tablet PC that goes steps ahead in flexibility and mobility. This mobile PC is claimed to be extremely light. And it has a smaller keyboard. You can swivel it around to make it a tablet PC.

Or snap it off from its leather folder binding and you have a tablet that makes it still lighter to carry around. There are two Li polymer batteries in this concept mobile, so the snap–off portion can also function by itself. Intel expects the battery life to be 7 hours by the time the concept device will hit the market–scheduled for 2004.

Close the laptop, power it down. But you’re still connected and receive e-mail–even without snapping the notebook open. There’s a tiny screen on the lid that tells you that you have received mail. You can access PIM apps like your schedule and calendar, instant messenger and mail program on this secondary screen.

The concept mobile has antenna for multiple radio links–802.11 a/b, GSM/GPRS and Bluetooth. It uses a low power display–3W compared to the 4.5W used by the notebooks available now. It also packs in some power management for the display which will tone down the brightness depending on the environment you’re working in.

Intel’s research lab is working on this concept along with the industry to iron out the problems that can come up with the multiple radio antennae, low power consumption and high speed performance issues that may come up in the new form factors it’s trying to introduce. This concept PC will also have a multi-generation design that will allow Intel to test it with its future processors also.