Skip to main content

iPod/iPhone > News

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 Intel 'Moorestown' chip for future iPhone?

Will Apple move to Intel's new ultramobile processor for future generation iPhones?

Jonny Evans, Sumner Lemon

  • Email to a friend
  • Print this article
  • Bookmark this page
  • RSS feed

Application development for the iPhone may not truly see the light of day until as late as 2009, a report claims.

DigiTimes reports Apple to be considering adopting an Intel processor for a future generation of its mobile device.

Question of the day!

Mark Hattersley
Editor in Chief

Do you share your creations online?

Question of the day!

Do you share your creations online?

% of Macworld readers agree with you

Yes
TBC
No
TBC

What do you create and how do you share it?

124 characters remaining

Follow the conversation at @TabletChat

paintings & illustrations, mostly, which i upload to flickr.RT @fragmentedm

I draw manga/anime characters. I also do graphic design and photography.RT @spialelo

Yes. I usually put them up on my #deviantart account for feedback on how to improve.RT @spialelo

Intel's processor - the Moorestown MID (mobile internet device) processor - was revealed at the recent Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco and is expected to launch in 2009.

Moving to the chip would require Apple to abandon the ARM processor it is currently deploying in iPhones. The report suggests Apple may reposition its iPhone as a device somewhere between a laptop and a portable device once it moves to Intel's chip.

Moorestown is scheduled to replace Menlow, a package of chips set to debut early next year. Menlow is designed for ultramobile PCs and includes the dual-core Silverthorne processor and Poulsbo single-chip chipset. These chips can be paired with modules for WiMax, Wi-Fi or 3G (third-generation) mobile services for hardware makers that want to add wireless support to their devices.

Moorestown's biggest advantages will be smaller size and lower power consumption. An ultramobile computer based on Moorestown will consume one-tenth of the power that a Menlow-based device requires when idling, Intel said.

Moorestown will consist of a system-on-chip (SOC) design that packs a CPU, graphics processor, video and a memory controller into a single chip. Previously, many of these capabilities were handled by a separate chipset. Combining them with the CPU allows Intel to reduce the space required by the chips and save power.

In addition to the SOC, Moorestown will include a communications chip, which will handle input/output for storage and wireless connections.

Email A Friend

Email this article to a friend or colleague:



PLEASE NOTE: Your name is used only to let the recipient know who sent the story, and in case of transmission error. Both your name and the recipient's name and address will not be used for any other purpose.

<<prev article | back to news index | next article>>

Latest News


More news...