Intel Atom for PDAs and UMPCs

Andriod Guys picked up on the new Intel Atom processor which is targeted at the PDA and UMPC market and I like the thought about this chip being used in Android based high-end phones. To start with the Intel Atom comes with the Core 2 Duo instruction set so that should really open up the software possibilities. Next with clock speeds up to 1.8GHz this chip should blow away any of the current PDAs. Last based on the information in this article at Computer Active the power draw is 0.6 - 2.5 watts compared to the normal power draw of a standard Core 2 Duo notebook which is 35 watts. To put that further into prospective a PPC 6700 with a PXA270 @ 416MHz has a typical power draw of 0.57 watts. In addition the idle draw of the PXA270 @ 416MHz is 0.186 watts while the Atom is only 0.030 watts. Or you can compare to the new MacBook Air with its new Core 2 Duo which has a power draw of 20 watts according to AnandTech. So the Atom sure seems to have the potential to really open up the possibilities for PDAs and UMPCs and I can hardly wait to see Android based phones using the Atom chip.

If you want more details here is the link to Intel Atom information.

Alienware Android Phone

The mobile phone world just had there annual gathering in Barcelona Spain and here is one possible new phone as reported by Dialaphone that Alienware is working on. This phone will use the new Android OS that Google is working on. Definitely an eye catching design which sure would attract attention when you pull this phone out. Assuming this phone makes it onto the market it will be interesting to see how much mass appeal is has beyond the PC gamers.

Google phone to be announced Monday

According to these Wall Street Journal and Information Week articles the Gphone is going to be announced Monday.

CNET talks about the underlying software platform which is code named 'Android' and Linux based. This will also be part of the Monday announcement according the CNET.

Well let's see if Google will be able to steal the lime light from Apple and there iPhone. Maybe I made the right decision in holding off on replacing my Sprint PPC6700. But if I have to wait until the middle of next year as the Wall Street Journal article suggests well that could be tough.