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Atoms rumored to ditch Intel graphics for PowerVR
When Intel wanted to take a serious stab at the tablet market it turned to PowerVR, the company already providing the graphical muscle for its embedded chips that power the Logitech Revue and other set top boxes. Now, the folks at VR-Zone claim that Intel will be adopting the company's tech across the Atom line and ditching its own integrated graphics for the upcoming Cedarview platform. Specifically, it's rumored that Chipzilla will stick the SGX545 (an upgraded version of the pixel pusher inside Samsung's Hummingbird platform and Apple's A5) in all Cedar Trail processors. The switch will bring support for DirectX 10.1 and OpenGL 3.2 to the low-power CPUs while improving HD video decoding. Sure, when the next-gen Atoms land the graphics chip it will already be almost two years old, but its low power and robust Android support make it a natural match for Honeycomb -- Intel's best bet for tablet success now that Nokia is distancing itself from Meego.
Intel 'Canoe Lake' prototype netbook preview
Tablets may be attracting all of the attention right now, but it's clear that Intel's keeping a broad focus on mobile computing. During today's PC Client keynote at Computex, the company took a moment to talk up Canoe Lake, an experimental platform that'll enable 720p video playback on a machine that's barely thicker than a couple of envelopes stacked together. We got a chance to peek the prototype on hand in Taipei, and we were told that Intel designed the device you're peering at above completely in-house as a way to sell PC makers on the idea. They also affirmed that a GMA 3150 GPU was inside, and that the platform was capable of handling high-def multimedia. The machine was indeed functional, but few tricks were shown -- the 10-inch display looked suitable enough, though it would certainly take us a few days to stop noticing that monster gap between the keyboard and LCD. But hey, you've got to cram those components / battery / fairy dust somewhere, right? Look for a plethora of Canoe Lake-based systems (probably fashioned like the gapless netbook at the tail end of the gallery below) to start shipping in "the second half of this year" from companies that Intel simply can't name as of yet. Updated: Apparently NetbookNews grabbed some video of the thin netbook. Hit the break for a walk through. %Gallery-94043%
Intel GMA HD graphics review deems them excellent for video, mediocre for gaming
Our Intel Arrandale / Clarkdale review bonanza was sprinkled with a few graphics benchmarks, but there was never a concerted effort to break down the specific upgrades on the 45nm GPU that comes as part of the new CPU package. That omission has now been corrected by Bit-tech, who've delved deep into the murky waters of embedded graphics and report that Intel's focus appears to have been firmly on video playback. Noting full bitstreaming (our HD editors inform us that's a big deal), Blu-ray with picture-in-picture, and HDMI 1.3a support, the lads commended the "very smooth" 1080p playback of h.264-encoded video. While their conclusion about gaming was less glowing -- finding that Intel's latest gen only keeps up with older hardware -- they couldn't help but recommend the new processors on account of their feature-rich video playback and energy efficiency. More benchmarks at the source link.
Disney / ABC totally, maybe, kind of, considering supporting Intel Widget platform
In a move that in some circles counts as "throwing its weight behind" Intel's CE3100 Widget platform, the president of Disney-ABC Television Group mentioned that shows like Good Morning America and Lost could benefit from interactive TV apps. Without commiting to any action, citing unspecified legal issues that could throw a wrench in any such move, they envision real time voting or commenting onscreen or additional clues for the more-than-convoluted-enough-already-thank you Lost mysteries. From here at least it's hard to see Intel's chips making enough headway to justify such support this season, but based on recent Grey's Anatomy plot twists or the Geico Cavemen TV show we can easily see a desperate ABC desperately seeking some kind of partnership in lieu of improving the quality of its content.
NVIDIA continues to hate on Intel, promises sub-$45 integrated chipset
Following up yesterday's trash talk with a little action, NVIDIA has disclosed plans to create a sub-$45 processing platform which the GPU-maker is calling, "The World's Most Affordable Vista Premium PC." The architecture will combine VIA's Isaiah processor with an integrated NVIDIA graphics chipset, which the company claims outperforms Intel's Celeron-based, 945 IGP/ICH4 setup handily. Apparently, the combo is capable of 36 GFLOPS versus Intel's 6.4GFLOPS -- which we shouldn't have to tell you is a ton of GFLOPS. We're excited about the prospect of better performance in an integrated chipset (we've all suffered at the hands of the GMA950), but we don't want to see this end in a back-alley knife fight. Keep your cool, guys.
DS Daily: Do we need awards for the video game media?
We're not even sure we need awards for video games themselves, and now they're talking about awards for the members of the gaming media. Game|Life is reporting that Intent Media is looking to build a better relationship between the game developers and publishers and the folks who write about them, and apparently, they believe this is best accomplished through the giving of awards. There's probably some logic in there somewhere.While this doesn't have anything to do with the DS specifically, you guys are savvy web-browsing and news-reading types, and we figured you probably have opinions about the gaming media. Do you think awards will somehow legitimatize the gaming media? Would you be more inclined to believe a review written by an award-winning writer? Or would you yawn, idly flip through the news while sipping coffee and then go on about your day?
Apple Introduces $899 Education Configuration for 17-inch iMac
Apple has decided to show the EDU market even more love and has unveiled a slimmed-down 17-inch iMac for all y'all eating reheated Ramen noodles for breakfast in your dorm room right now. This model sells for a mere $899 (down from $1199 for the next model up) and includes a 1.83 Intel Core Duo CPU, as well as the typica 1440 x 900 resolution. However, the main specs that took a step down from the base retail version are a Combo drive, an 80GB Serial ATA hard drive and an Intel GMA 950 graphics with 64MB of shared memory, instead of the Radeon X1600 in the other retail versions.Students and EDU sys admins who have been pinching pennies can rejoice, for this model is shipping within 1-3 business days.
