Intel Medfield chip aims at smartphones

Bit Tech reports some details about Intel's Medfield chip were accidentally published on Intel's website, but the document has been removed since it's discovery by the press. This new Atom-based chip should bring Intel a bit closer to its goal of getting into the smartphone market, the processor is more efficient than Moorestown and is also significantly smaller. Most of the specifications seem pretty neat, although the claim of Atom-based systems weighing "just 200-300g" reveals these devices are a bit too heavy to be typical smartphones.

The section of the document detailing Medfield reveals that the required board size will be "reduced" from the 4,200mm² board required of Moorestown - thanks in large to a significantly reduced chip size, down to 144mm² from the 387mm² that Moorestown and its PCH387 chip needed, owing to the use of a 32nm process.

As well as "further reductions in power and improved battery life," owners of Medfield-based systems will allegedly be enjoying graphics performance of around twice that of Moorestown-based chips - and around four times faster than the original Menlow Atom processors.

Intel's aim of getting its Atom chips into the smartphone market - and taking on rival ARM - looks confirmed by the presentation, with reference to devices featuring "800x480 [...] Touch Screen, DVB-T, Bluetooth, GPS, Gyro," and claims of Atom-based systems weighing just "~200-300g," clearly representing Medfield-based smartphones.