LG and Intel: Collaboration between “giants”

LG and Intel: Collaboration between “giants”

Admittedly, I’m a big fan of LG. It’s quite obvious really, ever since the LG Viewty, LG mobile phones has always been “the way” to go when I consider a switch in handsets. Intel on the other hand… Not quite so. Although, most of my PC, notebooks and even sub-notebooks are running on Intel chips instead of AMD or otherwise, I wouldn’t exactly consider myself a big fan-fan.

Anyway. LG Electronics (LG) and Intel Corporation has announced collaboration around mobile Internet devices (MIDs) based on Intel’s next-generation MID hardware platform, codenamed “Moorestown”, and Linux-based Moblin v2.0 software platform.

(I don’t really know what “Moorestown” is just quite yet, but I’m sure in time to come, we’ll, or rather I’ll be enlightened.)

According to the press release, the common goal these two giants share is to unleash rich Internet experiences across a range of mobile devices (which now spans the notebook, sub-notebook and MID categories) while delivering the functionality of today’s high-end smartphones. Which makes me wonder why LG Prada II isn’t Window’s based? Oh wait, Intel NOT Mircosoft, my bad.

(Explanation time) “Moorestown” is the codename for Intel’s second-generation MID platform, which consists of a System on Chip (codenamed “Lincroft”) that integrates a 45nm Intel Atom processor core, graphics, video and memory controller. The platform also includes an input/output (I/O) hub, codenamed “Langwell,” that includes a range of I/O blocks and supports wireless solutions.

Intel’s “Moorestown”-based MIDs are expected to reduce idle power consumption by a factor of greater than 10 versus today’s Intel Atom processor-based MIDs. Additionally, the Moorestown platform will be accompanied by a newer Moblin software version, Moblin v2.0 that is based on the Linux operating system.

This software is designed specifically to deliver a great PC-like Internet experience while also supporting cell phone voice capabilities. The “Moorestown” platform is expected to come to market by 2010.

In order to offer a variety of network connections and Internet access, LG is also working with Ericsson to bring 3G network capability to its planned MID – an extension of the existing collaboration between the companies.

Fyi, did you know that LG has been supplying notebooks and sub-notebooks with mobile broadband modules from Ericsson since the third quarter of 2008? Well, if you don’t, now you do.