Intel Unveils Next-Gen Moorestown Atom Platform

As we have already mentioned, the Intel Platform Controller Hub MP20 (previously codenamed Langwell) and the Briertown Mixed Signal IC (MSIC) are both low-powered chips designed to bring the total power consumption of the Moorestown platform down versus the previous-gen Menlow platform.

The slides above illustrate what features and capabilities are integrated into each chip. We should add that the MP20 is a 14x14x1.3mm chip with a 0.5mm pitch BGA.

The Briertown MSIC integrates power delivery and things like audio codecs, intelligent battery charging circuitry, a touch screen controller, and analog and current sensors, among other features. It also acts as part of the power gating solution, with multiple voltage rails connected to Lincroft and Langwell. The MSIC also enables fast ramping for Burst mode and enables faster transitions into and out of power states, which will allow more frequent and longer residency in power saving states, like S0i1 and S0i3.

In total, the combination of the new Intel Atom Processor Z6xx, the Intel Platform Controller Hub MP20, and the Briertown MSIC at the center of Moorestown results in a platform that consumes less power under load than the previous-gen Menlow did at idle. That kind of power consumption allows the Moorestown platform, when paired to a Blackberry-esque 1500mAh batter, to offer roughly 11 days of standby time, versus 6-14days for competing solutions. Moorestown also offers about 2 days of music playback time versus .5 to 1.2 days for competing solution, roughly 5 hours of video playback time versus 4-11 hours, and about 5 hours of web browsing versus 3 - 7 hours of other products. And that's with the highest clocked, 1.5GHz smartphone part.

While Intel doesn't claim the absolute best battery life, bar none, they are keen to point out that Moorestown gets the company in the necessary ballpark to play with the big guns in the smartphone space.  Reportedly, Moorestown also competes this way while offering about 1.5x – 3x the compute performance of other mobile platforms--at least according to Intel's numbers.

Aava Mobile Moorestown-Based Prototype smartphone