Intel's Conference Schedule Reveals Focus on Wireless

At the upcoming International Solid-State Circuits Conference Intel is planning to present 15 papers, most of them stressing integration of more functions into a single chip, and less on the raw amount of GHz they can pack in. “The trend of using smaller transistors to build larger microprocessor cores with higher operating frequency is coming to an end,” said Mark Bohr, an Intel senior in the Technology and Manufacturing Group. Intel is planning to outline research that they’ve conducted on the “new system-on-a-chip (SoC) era,” which they describe as “a fundamental shift in the way semiconductor manufacturers will innovate to keep Moore’s Law alive.” With the introduction of the SoC, Intel is planning to integrate radio silicon into their chips for handhelds, netbooks and laptops, giving many of these WiFi, WiMax, 3G and Bluetooth capabilities right out of their respective boxes. The prospect of a system on a chip is one that seems like it could do wonders for the mobile device market. ... (link)