Intel Demos Low-Power Laptop Chips

Intel's next-generation mobile platform, codenamed "Napa", will use a quarter of the power, but still see boosts in performance, the chipmaker said on Tuesday. Facing fiercer competition from rival AMD, Intel is looking for ways to ensure it remains dominant in the processor industry.

The Napa chipset will be based on the company's new "Yonah" microprocessor, which is Intel's first dual-core mobile chip. According to tests, Yonha will use 28 less power while performing 68 perfect quicker than the Pentium M used in Intel's Centrino package.

Less power consumption means that laptops based on the chip would be able to extend battery life. In addition, they would run cooler, which has become an important factor for computer makers as they try to figure out ways to dissipate generated heat more effectively.

Also, changes in the way the chip is manufactured with a 65-nanometer process would allow for circuitry to be etched 100 times smaller than the human hair. Thus, the processors can be made smaller, allowing for slimmer designed laptops.

Napa is expected to launch in January with clock speeds ranging from 1.5 GHz to 2.16 GHz, and has been rumored to have been selected for the much-anticipated Intel-based Apple laptops. Apple is expected to announced a new Intel iBook during Macworld in January.