Intel Drives Ultra Mobile Devices To Do More For Users

By Aaron Tersteeg, Intel Corporation

At this year's Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, CA, one thing was very clear—Intel is hard at work on the next generation of ultra mobile devices. They seem to expect the next revolution in technology to be launched in the first half of 2007, starting with the platform code-named McCaslin.

Mobile device companies give the world access to digital information both on the go and in remote locations. From almost anywhere in the world a person with a wireless connection can read news headlines, get a stock quote or see the selling price for just about anything. A rural farmer in China can check on the rice market to ensure that his family gets a fair price and an urban professional can keep an eye on a stock to know the best time to make a trade. Mobile devices have made the world more productive, efficient and have reduced traditional barriers to information.

In fact, accessing current information has become something of a commodity. Everyone expects that both the buyer and seller know the basic data on a fair price. The competitive advantage today comes from skillful analysis, the conclusions reached from creatively interacting with the information, and the value added by combining multiple information sources. The current upsurge in social networking websites and the shift in focus toward community created content is very strong evidence that this trend is really a revolution. Users are demanding, not only access to the information but also the ability to instantly interact with the information with media rich tools in order to ultimately influence the ecosystem.

Unfortunately, today’s handheld mobile devices are not capable of meeting the needs of these new usage models. To do anything more than a simple query still seems to require the processing power of a personal computer. But the limitations of even the most portable laptop PCs do not address the full range of needs for the emerging global audience. However, there is a new segment of devices that are capturing the imagination of users. These new "Ultra Mobile" devices are being developed to give a broad base of users the tools they need to live, work, and play more productively.

Intel is scheduled to deliver the next generation Ultra Mobile devices in the first half 2007 and many executives and engineers discussed the plans with the developer community at the Intel Developer Forum. Intel CEO, Paul Otellini, started the Ultra Mobile conversation by stating that "Next year [in 2007] we will ship one that requires one-half the power [from 5 watts to 2.5 watts] and takes one-fourth the surface space in terms of driving the form factor density down." He continued by stating that "in 2008 [Intel] will meet the goal of 1/10 the power of the 2006 processor at the 1/7th the size of today’s offerings and all these devices will have full web capabilities and have the capability of running multiple OSs including the full version of Windows Vista*."

The advances in Intel architecture are expanding the breadth of what can be done on an Ultra Mobile device. The goal is to deliver a sub $500 device with a full day’s battery and anywhere internet access.

For a demonstration of the next generation Ultra Mobile device Paul was joined on stage by Anand Chandrasekher, the general manager of the new Ultra Mobile Group at Intel. Anan d showed the audience a prototype device by Quanta that used the ultra-low power processor, code named Steeley. The five-inch screen ran a 1000x700 resolution user interface by Street Deck, had a swivel down compact QWERTY keyboard and included both WiFi and WiMax wireless capabilities. Anand show off a few of the video and location based services but the real excitement came when Anand asked Paul if he was ready to take a drive to the coffee shop they found on the UMPC. Paul said, "yes" and Anand rolled out a prototype Volkswagen Passat* to demonstrate how Ultra Mobile devices are great for all kinds of use cases, including car integration.

Intel and Volkswagen have been working on standards based communications that let devices like the Ultra Mobile device interact seamlessly with cars. Wireless connections between the Ultra Mobile devices and the car’s video display system let the driver receive point of interest information to the dashboard display, accessing streaming media from the internet via a ClearWire* WiMax connection and listen to local music stored on the Ultra Mobile device. The demonstration also included sending two separate streams to the driver and passenger head rests to let back seat passengers enjoy video with Bluetooth* head sets. The Ultra Mobile In-Car demonstration showcased the full rich power of the pc along with full broad band connection to create a valuable in-car navigation and flexible entertainment experience.

After the keynote I made my way down to the technology showcase to learn more about Intel’s vision for Ultra Mobile devices. I was able to get behind the wheel and had Eric Jensen of the Volkswagen team walk me through the more technical aspects of the Ultra Mobile In-Car demonstration.

Consider that the product life cycle for an automobile is significantly longer than consumer electronics and PCs. It takes about 3 years to develop a new car design and then for it to be profitable, the typical product run for a design is about 9 years. To put things into context the average car on the road was designed in the late 90s when people were just transitioning from audio cassette to CD (the iPod* was just a twinkle in Mr. Jobs eye). Personal information was probably stored in a Palm* and most movies were watched on a VCR.

The Intel/Volkswagen team had to take this longer lifecycle into account. The idea of connecting to an Ultra Mobile device allows for the replacement of a customer device without having to worry about the high tech components of the car being outdated after you buy it. The Ultra Mobile device can be upgraded and integrated into the car. The team even considered the likelihood of multiple Ultra Mobile devices connected to the same car. Mr. Jensen was even bullish on the future of local wireless networks. Bluetooth 2.0 is robust enough to support high fidelity audio and wide band Bluetooth is evolving to allow streaming video. I was reminded that this is a prototype and the final configuration options are still under consideration, but much of the technology used is available today for after market integration. It’s just not yet standardized across automotive and consumer electronics companies.

Open standards for mobile devices to vehicle integration is well underway and is focused on providing seamless connectivity using wired and wireless interfaces, extending the capabilities of both device and car and ensuring op timal user experience with minimal driver distraction. Safety is a huge concern for the team so they were very explicit in stating that the Ultra Mobile device integration would not connect outside devices to the vehicle performance or safety systems. Meaning you won’t be able to tune your engine or adjust anti-lock break performance with your Ultra Mobile.

The Ultra Mobile In-Car usage model was just one example of many being explored by the Intel team. In-Home and On-the-Go usages where also demonstrated and discussed in detail at the developer forum. Grace Ka Yee Chan from the Intel Mobile Platform Group, demonstrated Ultra Mobile connection possibilities between a Sling Box* and Tivo* system—at home and while traveling out of town. Through a straight forward internet connection the traveling user could enjoy a full range of live and recorded content through a simple interface. Grace enthusiastically stated that the "Ultra Mobile devices make the [home to traveler] usage model more friendly and exciting for the audience."

Software development for Ultra Mobile devices is going to be critical to this product segments adoption. One example of a company that is making good headway is StreetDeck. They specialize in making software that provides the in-car user interface that runs over Windows*. Robert Wray, the companies CEO, explained that, "StreetDeck provides the touch interface for the driver to do navigation, audio playback, phone integration, vehicle information, and also provides a whole suite of plug-ins through a Software Development Kit that run on Windows." Robert and his team have been working with Intel for about a year and he reflects that the project, "…Definitely has been fast-tracked. We had an introduction last year and did the keynote with Otellini this year. It has been a great experience." Their product expands the use case for Ultra Mobile devices and with simple software add-ons the device can function like a well integrated component. It allows more casual attention from the user. Eric from the Volkswagen team summed it up nicely by stating that, "Subscribe to a pod cast on the Ultra Mobile and when you bring it into the car, it’s easy to access and it just works."

The Intel Developer Forum presented a range of ideas for new Ultra Mobile device capabilities to the developer community. Intel has been working with a few software partners to bring the devices to life, but there is a HUGE opportunity for innovative software companies to create business solutions and the applications that let consumers use Ultra Mobile devices to influence the decisions they make in their daily lives.

Intel is defining the chip set and providing support and guidance but it is each manufacturer that will work to target their specific use case and value proposition. The success of Ultra Mobile devices depends on Intel working together with hardware and software companies to address market opportunities and ensure the customer’s satisfaction using the device.

The vision of the products presented at the Intel Developer forum are just the beginning of what can be achieved. Ultra Mobile devices will give the users the required level of performance to not only let the rice farmer know a fair price for his product, but also the insight to know the best time to sell and to whom. It will also give the stock broker the tools to do real t ime analysis of an equity and determine the best time to buy. Most of all it will further extend the world-wide social network and allow people to interact with each other through many media formats and in rich engaging ways.

About the Author

Aaron Tersteeg is the Mobile Community Manager for the Intel Software Network. Prior to joining Intel, Aaron spent five years as a Fortune 500 e-business manager and over four years as Vice President of Sales & Marketing at a leading Web application development company. Aaron has deep experience in global interactive marketing, technical integration and application development. Aaron is active in the Information Technology & Marketing communities. He served on the local chapter boards for both the American Marketing Association and The Society for Information Management. While at Syracuse University, Aaron earned a B.A. in Mechanical Engineering and an M.S. in Information Resource Management.