Intel Launches Tolapai System-on-a-Chip

Intel hopes its new Tolapai "system on a chip" ushers in a new era of Internet-enabled devices.

Chipmaker Intel has formally announced its new Intel EP80579 Integrated Processor Family, a group of “Web savvy” system-on-a-chip designs and products that the company hopes will herald a new age of smart, Internet-enabled devices ranging from in-car infotainment to set-top boxes to industrial robotics.

Formerly codenamed Tolapai, the new chips and designs represent Intel’s first serious effort into the embedded and mobile systems arena (currently dominated by companies like ARM), as well as the consumer electronics and mobile Internet device (MID) arenas, all of which Intel sees as ripe for growth in the coming years.

“By designing more complex systems onto smaller chips, Intel will scale the performance, functionality, and software compatibility of IA while controlling the overall power, cost and size requirements to better meet respective market needs,” said VP of Intel’s mobility group Gadi Singer, in a statement. “Best of all, customers and consumers will equally benefit.”

Current products in the Intel EP80579 Integrated Processor Family are based on Intel’s Pentium M processor, and run at clock speeds ranging from 600 MHz to 1.2 GHz with power consumption ranging from 11 to 21 Watts—which is quite a lot more power than that drawn by competing systems. However, Intel plans to phase out the Pentium M-based designs in favor of systems built around the company’s new Atom architecture, which will reduce power requirements considerably. The processor family is also modular, enabling Intel to adapt the platform for different purposes without re-architecting the entire system.

Intel says it has more than 15 projects lines up for the new system-on-a-chi designs, including a consumer electronics chip dubbed “Canmore” due later this year, with a “Sodaville” follow-up due in 2009. Intel is also prepping Atom-based systems for MID devices codenamed “Moorestown” and “Lincroft,” scheduled for release in 2009 and 2010.