Mike Temporale
09-21-2005, 04:15 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.pcworld.com/resource/article/0,aid,122609,pg,1,RSS,RSS,00.asp' target='_blank'>http://www.pcworld.com/resource/article/0,aid,122609,pg,1,RSS,RSS,00.asp</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Intel expects to announce on Tuesday plans to build chips for handhelds and mobile phones on a separate version of its future manufacturing technology that greatly minimizes transistor current leakage, according to the company's manufacturing chief. Intel is getting ready to introduce its first chips built on its 65-nanometer process technology, which is a generational advance over the company's current chip-making blueprint. While the company has made strides in reducing the problem of power leakage with its upcoming generation of PC and server processors, a more aggressive approach is needed to produce future chips for battery-operated devices, said Mark Bohr, a senior fellow and director of Intel's process architecture and implementation."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/images/Temporale-IntelLogo.gif" alt="User submitted image" title="User submitted image"/> <br /><br />Transistors used in Intel's chips can leak power in the form of heat. In some cases, this can happen even when the device is not turned on. While this isn't a problem specific to Intel's chips or designs, they plan on addressing this issue to help extend battery life and improve the overall performance of their chips. I'm sure it will be a number of years before we see anything from this effort in our phones, but it's nice to see that everyone is taking a serious look at power consumption and working to find new ways of extending the life of a battery powered device.