Friday, December 21, 2007
Exclusive: Apple to adopt Intel's ultra-mobile PC platform
The two firms have been rubbing the sticks ever since the Spring of 2005, when Apple agreed to use Intel's desktop and mobile class processors to further the development of its Mac product line, leaving behind an ailing relationship with PowerPC chip supplier IBM.
In the months that followed, Intel went on to form an internal 'Apple Group' comprised of engineering and sales staff who serve to aid Apple's engineers in Intel-related product development, while pitching to the computer maker new technologies from its own internal skunkwork operations.�
By last March, the two industry heavyweights were admittedly on to something when Deborah Conrad, vice president and director of Team Apple at Intel, told a group of CNet reporters that Apple's way of looking at the world was making Intel "think different" about its own business.
"That's really what's interesting about Apple, is they look at our technology in a very Apple way," she said, adding that when it came to the prospect of future gadgets other than the iPod, her team got "very, very excited."
The pair's first foray into this extended venture appears to have been the Apple TV wireless set-top-box, which employed a down clocked Intel Pentium M "Crofton" chip at its core. But what's on tap next promises to push the envelope in a completely different direction -- ultra-mobile PCs.
People familiar with the matter tell AppleInsider that Apple will soon emerge as one of the largest supporters of Intel's "Menlow" Mobile Internet Device (MID) platform -- the same platform the Santa Clara-based chipmaker has been harping about for the past several months.
More specifically, those same people say, Apple has taken a liking to the upcoming 45-nanometer (nm) "Silverthorne" chip, agreeing to use it in not one but multiple products currently situated on its 2008 calendar year product roadmap.�
Introduced at this year's Spring Intel Developer Forum (IDF) with availability slated for early 2008, Silverthorne is aimed specifically at cell phones, ultra-mobile PCs and other MIDs. The chip is expected to be as fast as the second-generation of Pentium M processors, but use only between half a watt and 2 watts of electrical power -- about one tenth as much as a typical notebook chip.
For his part, Intel chief executive Paul Otellini has gone on record in placing the advancements due with Silverthorne in the same light as those delivered by the original Pentium microprocessor way back when.
"The importance of the new Silverthorne chip is only comparable with the 8088 processor or Pentium,� he told the German-language Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in a June interview. Otellini added that his firm plans to deploy a whole "product family" of 45 nm Silverthorne chips in the near future aimed at capturing the "top 10 to 20 percent of the cellphone market.�
While those people familiar with Apple's product roadmap did not specify in which products the company planned to utilize the Silverthorne processors, two seemingly apparent contenders appear to be the second-generation 3G iPhone and the much rumored Newton successor / ultra-portable slate computer.
Silverthorne side by side with a penny.
That's because, in addition to its extremely favorable power envelope, Silverthorne can fit onto a scant 74mm by 143mm motherboard -- paving the way for lighter, sleeker industrial designs. What's more, Intel in September announced plans to offer ultra-mobile PC builders such as Apple the option to build WiFi, 3G, and WiMAX technologies into their Menlow-based chip packages, such as Silverthorne.
While embedded support for these features threatens Apple's ongoing relationship with several component makers like South Korea-based system-on-a-chip (SoC) supplier Samsung -- whose chips power both the iPhone and new iPod touch -- it presents several cost- and space-saving opportunities for iPhone-like gadgets going forward.
Speaking at the Spring IDF, Otellini said Silverthorne focuses more on cost-efficiency than any of his company's recent designs, which should help Intel boost margins while simultaneously making ultra-mobile computing more affordable worldwide.�
A Silverthone wafer based on Intel's new 45nm Hi-k low power microarchitecture.
"Silverthorne is the most cost efficient processor since the 286," he said, wielding a 300mm wafer containing a whopping of 2500 of the 45nm processors. "But it is about 100 times faster."
Otellini promised that the average price of a Silverthorne-based product would be approximately $100, which in itself suggests numerous inexpensive devices for Apple. However, several pricier products are also expected to sport the technology alongside added features.
It remains unclear whether Apple will be ready to divulge details of its own Silverthrone-based products at next month's Macworld Expo, or if those announcements will be reserved until a later date to coincide with general availability of the Intel chip.
Nevertheless, Apple's decision to adopt the Menlow platform further suggests a longer-term strategy that would indeed see the electronics maker step up to that platform's successor, Moorestown, in 2009 or 2010.
Intel shows off iPhone-like concept device running on Moorestown platform | Image courtesy of DailyTech.
At the most recent Fall IDF, Intel executives flaunted an unnamed Moorestown processor, describing it as the 'chip the iPhone would have wanted.' Similar to Silverthorne, the 45nm design bundles an integrated memory controller, video encode/decode engine and graphics processor all on a single SoC.
During an ensuing demonstration, executives whipped out an iPhone-like ultra-mobile PC in apparent homage to Apple, explaining that the Moorestown-based device could run constantly for 24 hours between charges.
NTT DoCoMo, Japan's largest mobile wireless carrier, confirmed Wednesday that its president has met with Apple chief executive Steve Jobs, presumably over the prospect of launching the iPhone exclusively on its Japanese network.
"It is true that Mr. Steve Jobs of Apple Inc. and our president (Masao) Nakamura held a meeting," an NTT DoCoMo spokesman told the Agence France-Presse, declining to reveal the timing or content of the discussions.
Kyodo News in its own report said DoCoMo is Apple's first choice to market the iPhone to Japanese consumers. However, the carrier may be reluctant to accept Apple's demand for a share of subscriber revenue, the news agency added.
The Wall Street Journal had reported earlier this week that Jobs met with Nakamura, but that Apple has also been talking to Japan's No. 3 operator, Softbank Corp.
A subsequent report by way of Reuters suggested the iPhone maker was playing the two Japanese carriers off of one another ahead of a deal to launch the iPhone in Japan sometime in 2008.
A new study from MacTech reveals that both Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion have their strong points, but that software Mac users should choose depends heavily on Windows and the user's goals -- and that a Mac may outpace a separate PC in a native environment.
The technology magazine notes in its benchmark tests that the older Windows XP operating system runs considerably faster than Vista regardless of the environment, but also that the relative speed of each OS inside a virtual machine can vary widely.
Using a MacBook, MacBook Pro, and a Mac Pro tower as its comparison systems, MacTech finds that Parallels Desktop is generally faster than VMware Fusion in common networking and office tasks when using Windows XP. When switching to Vista, however, Fusion handles the performance hit more gracefully and drops by an average of 32 percent across the three systems versus a steeper 85 percent for Parallels.
Surprisingly, either can be slightly faster than running Windows through the native Boot Camp mode for some of these particular tasks, the publication says. Parallels earns additional recommendations for those who depend on a tight link between Mac OS X and Windows, though VMware's solution may be better for Windows software that depends on multiple cores.
Both have a good selection of virtual appliances and are easy enough to use that selecting a solution can be just a matter of opinion, according to the comparison.
Nonetheless, users who don't need the tie-in between the two operating systems are still better-served by running Windows in Boot Camp, MacTech tells readers. And when compared to a reference Fujitsu notebook running a 1.86GHz Core Duo, even the base MacBook was typically faster, making it more feasible to run Windows directly from the Mac itself.
"It's faster than a PC anyway," MacTech says.
Complete test results, comparison graphs, and further analysis are available at the MacTech site.
Faced with criticism over the implementation of a new desktop organizational feature of its recently-released Leopard operating system, Apple Inc. is reported to be implementing some refinements as part of an upcoming update to the system software.
Mac OS X 10.5.2, due early next year as a free maintenance and security release for Leopard users, will pack a plethora of bug fixes and code corrections, but also include revised version of the system's Stacks feature.
A stack is a Mac OS X Dock item that aims to provide users with fast access to a folder of files. When users click a stack, the files within spring from the Dock in a fan or a grid, depending on the number of items or the preference set by the user.
The feature was conceived as a means of tackling the ever-growing problem faced by users when file downloads and general system usage rapidly results in a cluttering of the Mac OS X desktop. The implementation of the feature, however, was been met with some harsh initial criticism.
"There's just not enough room in a single Dock tile for a stack of icons to convey any meaningful information," wrote ArsTechinca's John Siracusa in his in-depth review of Leopard following its release. "Only the top one, two, maybe three items have any visual impact. And those few items may be misleading (e.g., the home folder appearing to be the Desktop folder) or completely generic (e.g., the Pictures and Movies folders showing up as plain folder icons.) Seriously, Apple, this is a bad idea."
A screenshot of the revised Stacks interface published by Macenstein.
Mac OS X 10.5.2 will reportedly add a missing "list view" to stacks that many pundits argue should have been there from the start. In addition, users will also reportedly be presented with the option to display a stack as a plain pile of files -- as Apple originally intended it -- or as an icon "so you know what you�re looking at."
The first private builds of Mac OS X 10.5.2 began making their way into developer's hands earlier this week. Rumblings around the Web have suggested the software could arrive mid-January, complete with support for a new wave of Mac systems based on Intel's upcoming 45-nanometer Penryn-based processors.
For more on Stacks, please see An Introductory Mac OS X Leopard Review: Meet Your New Desktop and Road to Mac OS X Leopard: Dock 1.6.
In the months that followed, Intel went on to form an internal 'Apple Group' comprised of engineering and sales staff who serve to aid Apple's engineers in Intel-related product development, while pitching to the computer maker new technologies from its own internal skunkwork operations.�
By last March, the two industry heavyweights were admittedly on to something when Deborah Conrad, vice president and director of Team Apple at Intel, told a group of CNet reporters that Apple's way of looking at the world was making Intel "think different" about its own business.
"That's really what's interesting about Apple, is they look at our technology in a very Apple way," she said, adding that when it came to the prospect of future gadgets other than the iPod, her team got "very, very excited."
The pair's first foray into this extended venture appears to have been the Apple TV wireless set-top-box, which employed a down clocked Intel Pentium M "Crofton" chip at its core. But what's on tap next promises to push the envelope in a completely different direction -- ultra-mobile PCs.
People familiar with the matter tell AppleInsider that Apple will soon emerge as one of the largest supporters of Intel's "Menlow" Mobile Internet Device (MID) platform -- the same platform the Santa Clara-based chipmaker has been harping about for the past several months.
More specifically, those same people say, Apple has taken a liking to the upcoming 45-nanometer (nm) "Silverthorne" chip, agreeing to use it in not one but multiple products currently situated on its 2008 calendar year product roadmap.�
Introduced at this year's Spring Intel Developer Forum (IDF) with availability slated for early 2008, Silverthorne is aimed specifically at cell phones, ultra-mobile PCs and other MIDs. The chip is expected to be as fast as the second-generation of Pentium M processors, but use only between half a watt and 2 watts of electrical power -- about one tenth as much as a typical notebook chip.
For his part, Intel chief executive Paul Otellini has gone on record in placing the advancements due with Silverthorne in the same light as those delivered by the original Pentium microprocessor way back when.
"The importance of the new Silverthorne chip is only comparable with the 8088 processor or Pentium,� he told the German-language Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in a June interview. Otellini added that his firm plans to deploy a whole "product family" of 45 nm Silverthorne chips in the near future aimed at capturing the "top 10 to 20 percent of the cellphone market.�
While those people familiar with Apple's product roadmap did not specify in which products the company planned to utilize the Silverthorne processors, two seemingly apparent contenders appear to be the second-generation 3G iPhone and the much rumored Newton successor / ultra-portable slate computer.
Silverthorne side by side with a penny.
That's because, in addition to its extremely favorable power envelope, Silverthorne can fit onto a scant 74mm by 143mm motherboard -- paving the way for lighter, sleeker industrial designs. What's more, Intel in September announced plans to offer ultra-mobile PC builders such as Apple the option to build WiFi, 3G, and WiMAX technologies into their Menlow-based chip packages, such as Silverthorne.
While embedded support for these features threatens Apple's ongoing relationship with several component makers like South Korea-based system-on-a-chip (SoC) supplier Samsung -- whose chips power both the iPhone and new iPod touch -- it presents several cost- and space-saving opportunities for iPhone-like gadgets going forward.
Speaking at the Spring IDF, Otellini said Silverthorne focuses more on cost-efficiency than any of his company's recent designs, which should help Intel boost margins while simultaneously making ultra-mobile computing more affordable worldwide.�
A Silverthone wafer based on Intel's new 45nm Hi-k low power microarchitecture.
"Silverthorne is the most cost efficient processor since the 286," he said, wielding a 300mm wafer containing a whopping of 2500 of the 45nm processors. "But it is about 100 times faster."
Otellini promised that the average price of a Silverthorne-based product would be approximately $100, which in itself suggests numerous inexpensive devices for Apple. However, several pricier products are also expected to sport the technology alongside added features.
It remains unclear whether Apple will be ready to divulge details of its own Silverthrone-based products at next month's Macworld Expo, or if those announcements will be reserved until a later date to coincide with general availability of the Intel chip.
Nevertheless, Apple's decision to adopt the Menlow platform further suggests a longer-term strategy that would indeed see the electronics maker step up to that platform's successor, Moorestown, in 2009 or 2010.
Intel shows off iPhone-like concept device running on Moorestown platform | Image courtesy of DailyTech.
At the most recent Fall IDF, Intel executives flaunted an unnamed Moorestown processor, describing it as the 'chip the iPhone would have wanted.' Similar to Silverthorne, the 45nm design bundles an integrated memory controller, video encode/decode engine and graphics processor all on a single SoC.
During an ensuing demonstration, executives whipped out an iPhone-like ultra-mobile PC in apparent homage to Apple, explaining that the Moorestown-based device could run constantly for 24 hours between charges.
"It is true that Mr. Steve Jobs of Apple Inc. and our president (Masao) Nakamura held a meeting," an NTT DoCoMo spokesman told the Agence France-Presse, declining to reveal the timing or content of the discussions.
Kyodo News in its own report said DoCoMo is Apple's first choice to market the iPhone to Japanese consumers. However, the carrier may be reluctant to accept Apple's demand for a share of subscriber revenue, the news agency added.
The Wall Street Journal had reported earlier this week that Jobs met with Nakamura, but that Apple has also been talking to Japan's No. 3 operator, Softbank Corp.
A subsequent report by way of Reuters suggested the iPhone maker was playing the two Japanese carriers off of one another ahead of a deal to launch the iPhone in Japan sometime in 2008.
The technology magazine notes in its benchmark tests that the older Windows XP operating system runs considerably faster than Vista regardless of the environment, but also that the relative speed of each OS inside a virtual machine can vary widely.
Using a MacBook, MacBook Pro, and a Mac Pro tower as its comparison systems, MacTech finds that Parallels Desktop is generally faster than VMware Fusion in common networking and office tasks when using Windows XP. When switching to Vista, however, Fusion handles the performance hit more gracefully and drops by an average of 32 percent across the three systems versus a steeper 85 percent for Parallels.
Surprisingly, either can be slightly faster than running Windows through the native Boot Camp mode for some of these particular tasks, the publication says. Parallels earns additional recommendations for those who depend on a tight link between Mac OS X and Windows, though VMware's solution may be better for Windows software that depends on multiple cores.
Both have a good selection of virtual appliances and are easy enough to use that selecting a solution can be just a matter of opinion, according to the comparison.
Nonetheless, users who don't need the tie-in between the two operating systems are still better-served by running Windows in Boot Camp, MacTech tells readers. And when compared to a reference Fujitsu notebook running a 1.86GHz Core Duo, even the base MacBook was typically faster, making it more feasible to run Windows directly from the Mac itself.
"It's faster than a PC anyway," MacTech says.
Complete test results, comparison graphs, and further analysis are available at the MacTech site.
Mac OS X 10.5.2, due early next year as a free maintenance and security release for Leopard users, will pack a plethora of bug fixes and code corrections, but also include revised version of the system's Stacks feature.
A stack is a Mac OS X Dock item that aims to provide users with fast access to a folder of files. When users click a stack, the files within spring from the Dock in a fan or a grid, depending on the number of items or the preference set by the user.
The feature was conceived as a means of tackling the ever-growing problem faced by users when file downloads and general system usage rapidly results in a cluttering of the Mac OS X desktop. The implementation of the feature, however, was been met with some harsh initial criticism.
"There's just not enough room in a single Dock tile for a stack of icons to convey any meaningful information," wrote ArsTechinca's John Siracusa in his in-depth review of Leopard following its release. "Only the top one, two, maybe three items have any visual impact. And those few items may be misleading (e.g., the home folder appearing to be the Desktop folder) or completely generic (e.g., the Pictures and Movies folders showing up as plain folder icons.) Seriously, Apple, this is a bad idea."
A screenshot of the revised Stacks interface published by Macenstein.
Mac OS X 10.5.2 will reportedly add a missing "list view" to stacks that many pundits argue should have been there from the start. In addition, users will also reportedly be presented with the option to display a stack as a plain pile of files -- as Apple originally intended it -- or as an icon "so you know what you�re looking at."
The first private builds of Mac OS X 10.5.2 began making their way into developer's hands earlier this week. Rumblings around the Web have suggested the software could arrive mid-January, complete with support for a new wave of Mac systems based on Intel's upcoming 45-nanometer Penryn-based processors.
For more on Stacks, please see An Introductory Mac OS X Leopard Review: Meet Your New Desktop and Road to Mac OS X Leopard: Dock 1.6.
