Intel Reveals New Mobile SSD, UMPC Concepts, the Skulltrail Gaming Platform and Penryn and Santa Rosa Updates [Intel]
At Intel's Pre-CES briefing today, execs discussed a new super-small solid state drive, WiMax-capable devices, and 45nm Penryn chips in everything from UMPCs to television sets …
Context & Ripple Effects
This pre-CES briefing extends a year-long Intel push into small-form-factor computing: back in April the company said it would unveil a new UMPC platform, and today's session adds the missing pieces — a super-small solid state drive, WiMax-capable device concepts, and 45nm Penryn silicon positioned for everything from handhelds to television sets. eWEEK's syndicated pickup notes Intel will highlight Silverthorne at CES, framing today as the opening move of a coordinated January launch cadence rather than a one-off.
The reveal of Skulltrail alongside the mobile items matters because it packages the story on two fronts at once: ultra-mobile/embedded on one side, a dedicated high-end gaming platform on the other — both riding the same 45nm transition.
First-order effects
- OEMs designing UMPCs and connected consumer devices get a concrete 45nm Penryn roadmap plus a new super-small SSD option, making genuinely small, flash-based designs practical to spec before CES orders are placed.
- The enthusiast/DIY gaming segment gains a new Intel platform in Skulltrail, applying direct pressure to AMD's high-end desktop position heading into the show.
Second-order effects
- NAND suppliers and SSD makers gain a marquee design win as Intel legitimizes tiny solid-state storage in UMPC-class hardware, while WiMax-capable device concepts pull radio vendors and carriers toward embedding WiMax in consumer form factors.
- Rivals now have to answer on two CES stages at once — mobile/embedded and gaming — forcing competing announcements and pricing moves during the same news cycle.
Third-order effects
- If Penryn-class chips keep migrating out of notebooks into UMPCs and TVs, the line between the PC industry and consumer electronics blurs further — a shift toward fashionized computing where industrial design and connectivity, not raw clock speed, become the differentiators.
The trend: Intel is using its 45nm process transition to push x86 beyond the notebook — into UMPCs, gaming rigs, and televisions — ahead of CES 2008.