In a Webcast (still ongoing) by Intel today, Mooly Eden has  just presented Intel’s processor range for ultra-thin laptops.

Based on Nehalem, products will include Intel Turbo technology that will allow cores to run up to thermal limits based on live measurements.

The U3400 (1Ghz Celeron) , U5400 (1.2Ghz Pentium) could be interesting for high-end UMPCs although Mooly talked about 17W TDP in his presentation. Remember that the parts are relatively expensive too. Mainly though, this is a product range for stylish laptops…

Update: In the Q&A, Mooly mentioned that Intel will disclose and discuss new silicon for the tablet space.

Press release is not yet available but there’s an ultrathin press kit here.

News about the ‘Tablet’ silicon revealed in the Q&A can be found here.

The internet was abundant yesterday with news that Google had announced Android 2.2 or Froyo. Whilst a new version of Android with extra speed and flash support is certainly an exciting thing, for me it was over-shadowed by the news of Google TV.

I know, I know, why would another box to go under the TV and complicate the already muddy waters that are TV, cable, satellite, DVD, Blu-ray, etc get someone who loves innovative technology excited?

There are two reasons why;

Firstly at the heart of the Google TV set top box or new LCD is an Intel Atom processor. Intel have been making plenty of noise of late that the Atom can power Android, the operating system on which Google TV works and this has been the first real taste of this marriage which many have speculated about.

Secondly and more importantly, Google announced the full internet experience on your TV. Not Android’s standard mobile browser, the full internet experience including flash. To achieve this they will use Chrome.

Why is this significant? Just think about it, Android running Chrome, a full internet experience browser on an operating system that I think is going to be one of main two used in the emerging ‘smart’ devices market.

Chippy has posted his review today of the Compaq Airlife 100 ‘smart’ device (full specifications);

“The mobile operating systems are built with short-term use in mind and although they offer new and interesting features that you don’t get on your desktop, they don’t offer the full internet experience that we all expect. If you use the Airlife 100 as a traditional laptop, as one might expect from something that looks like a traditional laptop, you will run into issues inch

Imagine how the review would have gone if the Airlife 100 had Chrome, the several day battery life and instant on of Android and the full internet experience and browsing prowess of Chrome.

Will it happen? I don’t know and there is certainly no suggestion that Chrome will come with Android on these new bread of ‘smart’ devices. We also have to remember that Google announced its ChromeOS for this emerging market.

Tying-up the rumors of an Intel, Google, Android project today is the announcement that Google will launch Google TV on Intel hardware. While the product is not important for mobile computing fans it does prove that Android on X86 has had a lot of investment and is ready for mainstream. It’s a potentially huge win for Atom.

Google TV is probably using  the Intel CE4100 processor formerly known as Sodaville.

The CE4100 processor can deliver speeds up to 1.2GHz while offering lower power and a small footprint to help decrease system costs. It is backward compatible with the Intel® Media Processor CE 3100 and features Intel® Precision View Technology, a display processing engine to support high-definition picture quality and Intel® Media Play Technology for seamless audio and video. It also supports hardware decode of up to two 1080p video streams and advanced 3-D graphics and audio standards. To provide OEMs flexibility in their product offerings, new features were added such as hardware decode for MPEG4 video that is ready for DivX* Home Theater 3.0 certification, an integrated NAND flash controller, support for both DDR2 and DDR3 memory and 512K L2 cache. The CE SoC contains a display processor, graphics processor, video display controller, transport processor, a dedicated security processor and general I/O including SATA-300 and USB 2.0. [source, Intel]

We mentioned before that Android puts a new dynamic on Intel’s Moorestown platform, the fact that they are working so closely with Google shows that it’s not just marketing talk. My prediction: Expect an Android Phone based on Moorestown to be launched at Computex in just over a weeks time.

Update: Engadget were told it is indeed the CE4100.

You can find out more on the Google Blog

Completing the modular picture of the Moorestown platform for us today is the news about the GPU/video processing engine that will be used. It’s been a long time coming.

Intel GMA600 Graphics Integrated power-optimizes 2-D/3-D graphics with up to 400Mhz graphics core clock frequency, support for OpenGL ES2.0, Open GL 2.1 and Open VG 1.1 and hardware-accelerated HD video decode (MPEG4 part 2, H.264, WMV and VC1) and encode (MPEG4 part 2, H.264) Supports internal display up to 1366×768 LVDS or 1024×600 MIPI

The details are given in the Moorestown fact-sheet that was published today (PDF) as part of the Moorestown official launch.

In general I think we can safely say that this is a GMA500 with 2Xclock (400Mhz compared to 200Mhz on Menlow) and video encode.

Although we’ve been hearing bits and pieces about Android on Intel’s Moorestown platform over the last few months we’ve never really had it in writing from Intel. Today we have.

Almost hidden in the latter part of a Fact-Sheet (PDF)on the Moorestown / Z6xx launch today, Intel has this to say.

“As a founding member of the Open Handset Alliance (OHA), Intel has worked with Google over the past few years and is providing support for the Android platform at launch. The performance characteristics of the Intel Atom processor Z6xx Series are reflected across Android implementations making it a compelling platform for a range of handheld devices. inch

Support for Moblin/MeeGo is also mentioned. Windows isn’t.

This changes the game somewhat in my opinion.

Firstly, Intel now has a non-Windows platform. Politically, that’s huge. This is probably the first Intel computing platform since Windows launched, that doesn’t support Windows!

Secondly, Intel have just pulled in support for one of the most interesting and developed ‘smart’ computing platforms there is. There’s no longer any need to convince customers that MeeGo is going to be great because the trust will already be there. What a set of brands Intel, Google, Android. You wonder what the long-term aim is for MeeGo now. How long will they continue with MeeGo if Android on Intel becomes successful.

Moorestown and Android could really be a killer combination and it already scales to netbook-like performance to enable some very interesting tablet, MID and ‘smart’ book devices. 1M iPads proves that this new market is ripe.

This could also explain why Google haven’t yet opened the marketplace for tablets and other large-format handheld devices.

Here’s a video we took of Android running on Moorestown recently.

Intel press release.

In a report from Morgan Stanley we find out that Intel have launched the Moorestown platform today.

Update: Information is obviously under embargo at this stage but there are a string of tweets that have just gone through that mention Moorestown and a Z6xx processor. e.g. this one. “Intel Z6xx smart-phone processor prototypes: Moorestown massacre: Intel says that fantasy phone is on its way, wit…” They all link to a Cnet UK article that has obviously been removed. The current Menlow platform uses Z5xx processors. This makes sense.

Update 2: Everything is official now. The Z6xx has been launched. Interesting news on Android too.

Morgan Stanley have studied Moorestown and believe that Intel is ‘well positioned with MeeGo’ and that video performance will compare with the latest smartphone platforms, including Tegra 2. They also think that Moorestown will ‘meet or exceed’ current smartphone performance. It’s a bright report that will definitely give the ARM ecosystem partners something to think about.

At its Moorestown launch on May 4, we expect
Intel to introduce and advocate multiple benchmarks to
measure and compare highly debated performance and
power consumption attributes of Smartphone
application processors. In this report, we present
several comparison frameworks, which we plan to
update after actual Moorestown data become available.
Our view is that with Moorestown, Intel will finally start to
meet the power budget for Smartphones, but will show
more favorably on processing power benchmarks.

See also: UMPCPortal Moorestown analysis here.

The financial report also states:

Our checks indicate that Intel and Nokia are also collaborating on a
Smartphone device, which we think is likely to become available in the market in
mid-to-late 2011.

Considering that this report is focusing purely on Intel’s smartphone processor and this statement appears in a section on MeeGo, the report implies that the Nokia phone will be based on Intel’s Moorestown platform and running MeeGo.

The Morgan Stanley report was published on May 3rd and has been promoted by Intel in its ‘Chip Shot’ blog. The full PDF, an interesting read if you’re comparing smartphone platforms, is available as a download here. (or via the Chip Shot blog linked above.)

Stand-by for official Moorestown launch info!

Yes, I’m calling this a UMPC. Why? Because it is! It has closer ties to everything that we’ve done over the past four years on UMPCPortal than any social and entertainment ARM-based ‘pad.’ It’s built with ultra mobile PC components (Z530 as used in nearly all Windows-based Ultra-Mobile PC’s ) and it runs Windows 7. I won’t be subscribing to the iPad comparisons just because it’s got an 8.9 inch screen; that would be too simple and would miss the point. As for it being a ‘netbook without a keyboard’ well, it’s closer but still somewhat misleading.

Update: HP Slate information, comparison, specs and links now in the database

The HP Slate looks like it could be one of the best mobile tablet PCs we’ve seen for a long time (could it top my personal favorite, the X70?) and I’ll be working to get some review-time with it as soon as possible but I know already that it won’t impress anyone looking for a slick consumer-centric device. It’s questionable that a 1.6Ghz Menlow will provide enough power to drive Windows 7 satisfactorily too but having done lots of testing with my Viliv S10 multitouch convertible, based on exactly the same hardware and software, I can tell you it works quite well, as long as the SSD is fast. Again, not slick, just productive.

Here’s the latest hands-on article but unfortunately, they take the iPad route. They also assume that it has a broadcom chipset like everyone else; forgetting that the Poulsbo chipset that pairs with the Z530 already has an integrated HD video decoder.

They do manage to uncover a docking station though and that’s a very useful addition, especially if it’s included in standard retail package. [He says, using a U820+docking station to write this article.]

More photos at the source: Conecti.ca

Via netbooknews.de

I just hacked this image up (apologies HP and Apple) as an easy way to illustrate how Windows on netbooks is at risk. Add either of the touch, UI, app store and always-on features and you’ve got something that Microsoft can’t currently compete with.

This scenario would immediately affect sales of Windows-netbooks where people are buying netbooks as second devices, gadgets or for family, friend and other social and casual (online or off) scenarios . For productivity scenarios, Windows still counts because the apps don’t exist on the common app-store ecosystems yet. I don’t have figures but in the U.S. and Europe I guess 30% of netbooks are bought as a second PC, a gadget or for the sofa/family/friend social (online and off) scenario. That’s a lot of lost Windows 7 license sales.

I talked about the 4 ‘lock-in’ opportunities (more than just ‘good’ opportunities’) for ‘Social Netbooks’ in this article. Google could make it happen by enabling Marketplace on Android A potential risk for Intel. Intel themselves could make it happen with products like Moorestown, MeeGo and AppUp  or a surprise player could enter the market.

My opinion is that  THIS WILL HAPPEN. Someone will add a touchable, dynamic, fun user interface, an app-store, location and always-on features to a netbook form factor leaving just the productive applications as the missing piece. Given the chance (i.e. an application store) developers will move quickly to fill those  gaps in software for productive uses making the smart device BETTER than the Windows-based, traditional netbook device. What that means for Microsoft is that a huge portion of the netbook market could be served by a  non-Windows OS solutions. Just think of the market positioning too. Isn’t it easier to market an ‘upgrade’ from a smartphone than a ‘downgrade’ from a laptop.

When does this happen? I’m expecting Google to announce a move into the ‘third screen’ space with Android very soon. Intel are ready with Moorestown and MeeGo in Q4 so the change starts to happen in 2011. I estimate that while netbook sales (of both sub-genres) will increase, the percentage of Microsoft netbooks will stay level or even drop. [Sidenote: Intel thinks that the non-windows sales will reduce in percentage by 2012.  I think they are underestimating the ‘smart’ device opportunity.]

Is Intel at risk? Yes. If Google, Android and ARM reach the flag before Intel and MeeGo, Intel start to lose market share in the netbook market but also remember, Android could run on Intel’s new Moorestown platform offering smartbook manufacturers a more powerful computing experience. Also note that if netbooks flip to non-Windows ‘smart’ devices it serves as a nice dividing line between laptops and netbooks for Intel, restoring the need for different netbook, CULV and laptop processing platforms and allowing them to make more and more powerful Atom CPUs without hurting the laptop segment.

I’m not the first to talk about this and it’s certainly not the first time I’ve thought about it myself but that image just makes it crystal clear for me. Netbooks will change dramatically. If Google doesn’t enable it, someone else will and in any case, Microsoft will suffer.