For years Intel has been looking for a new growth platform, and it may have finally found one—in the embedded world.

While Intel picked up some market share in the PC world after AMD stumbled on product development over the past year, most of its growth prospects still revolve around computers. But compared with handsets, which continue to blanket the world in ever-increasing numbers, the market for computers is relatively flat. Most of it has become a replacement market at a rate far lower than what it was a decade ago, coupled with a steady growth opportunity in low-cost, lowmargin computers aimed at developing economies.

Intel has tried to break into new growth markets on more than one occasion, making forays into everything from communications to RFID and even videoconferencing. Despite much initial hoopla, it sold off or closed down its development efforts after brief periods. Perhaps its most successful alternative so far has been playing VC to a number of companies on the fringe of its own market.

The embedded world represents a different kind of opportunity for Intel, and one more in line with its roots as a processor company. With the new low-power Intel® Atom™ processor, Intel is now a contender for some of the design wins that previously went to more traditional embedded processor companies such as ARM, MIPS, Freescale, AMCC and NXP.

Intel’s first attempt at storming this market comes in the form of mobile Internet devices, or MIDs. The company’s first example of this is a “netbook,” a form factor that fits somewhere between the notebook computer and the handheld device. Intel introduced the netbook in February, a scaled-down sub-notebook aimed at the classroom and the consumer who doesn’t want a full-blown notebook but who also demands a full-size keyboard. Since then companies such as Acer and Sylvania have introduced their own versions of netbooks, with more to follow.

But Anil Nandury, marketing director for netbook platforms at Intel, noted that Intel’s plans run broader and deeper than just the netbook. The same processor that can power a scaled-down PC and scaled-up handheld also can play in more traditional embedded markets.

“The embedded market with the Intel Atom processor is a big, targeted segment for Intel,” he said. “Because of the lower power, it will drive new and interesting embedded usage.”

Software everywhere

One big advantage that Intel brings to the embedded world with its new processor is the x86 software developer ecosystem. Whether the platform runs Linux or Windows, the number of x86 programmers is enormous. Even Apple programmers are using the x86 platform, and Intel will push to drive it further down into the consumer world where many top executives at Intel have said the company still sees a huge opportunity.

In terms of sheer volume and diversity of applications, x86 has grown to be the largest ecosystem of applications for any platform. That also makes it one of the premiere development platforms, as well, and for many software developers it is the platform they know best. For the Intel Atom processor, it creates the kind of critical mass that other chip developers can only dream about.

Intel executives also have targeted other areas that traditionally have been owned by embedded processors, such as automobiles and military applications. Justin Rattner, Intel’s chief technology officer, said in a recent interview that automotive companies have been particularly interested in replacing microcontrollers with low-power x86 processors because of the ease of updating software and adding new functionality. The Intel Atom processor would make their goal of re-using standard parts much simpler from one model to the next, and from one brand of car to the next.

Technical specs

The Intel Atom processor processor currently is a single-core, dual-threaded processor based on 45nm process technology. Intel so far will not comment on whether it will offer a 32nm version. The current version includes up to 47 million transistors, with different versions available between 0.6 watts and 2.5 watts and clock speeds of 800MHz to 1.86GHz.

The chip uses a PC memory controller for off-chip memory and on-board cache. So far, there is no multicore version, but if a large enough market segment demands that, Intel will consider adding more cores.

The Intel Atom processor supplements the Intel® EP80579 Integrated Processors, which are based on theIntel® Pentium® M processor, first introduced in 2003. Those processors were designed for industrial environments, single-board computer designs and print-and storage applications. Power efficiency was not one of the criteria when the chip was created, however, creating a gaping hole in Intel’s lineup for portable devices, which have become far more popular since 2003. The Intel Atom processor also will work in applications where heat dissipation is difficult and where top performance is not required.

Unlike the Intel EP80579 Integrated Processors, however, the Intel Atom processorwas designed from the ground up, beginning several years ago. It was aimed at what Intel saw as a new market rather than one that cannibalized existing Intel markets.

“Connectivity is a big play for us,” said Nandury. “We see more service provider and broadband usage, where this will be offered as part of a service. In Europe, we are already starting to see some providers offering netbooks. For social networking, this is portable and light enough to work.”

He said that netbooks, in particular, also are starting to be considered secondary devices—in addition to a phone, for example—where it can be used to download photos or videos from a wireless device.

The future

Because of the programmability, the existing applications base and the relationship of the Intel Atom processor as an extension of the existing x86 lineup, Intel will be far more committed than it has been to other ancillary markets that it started and later abandoned. The question, however, is how much new development will go into the chip and how much will be spent on marketing and field support to make inroads against existing embedded processor makers.

So far, the processor appears to be off to a strong start. But inside of Intel, where getting development dollars is a hotly contested battle, that’s no indication of how Intel will view its future in the next several years.

Ed Sperling is a regular contributing editor to Chip Design magazine. Ed has spent the past two decades immersed in technology. He is the recipient of numerous awards for journalistic excellence.