Tablet Design Driven by PC Gamers (by IntelFreePress)

Intel’s Mr. Bluetooth (by IntelFreePress)

We got together Ericsson, Nokia, Toshiba and IBM. That probably represented 60 percent of both the cellphone and notebook markets at the time. The key was to define the goals of what we wanted to do. We formed a SIG, all agreeing that we wanted to build this universal, very low-cost, private, wireless cable.

— Jim Kardach, retired Intel mobile computing power architect

Cars Getting Smarter (by IntelFreePress)

Joint efforts by automakers and the tech industry are bringing mobile Internet experiences to new cars.

Because more cars are connecting to the Internet, drivers can get real-time, location-based services that share traffic information or stock updates while cruising down the road. Staci Palmer, general manager of the automotive solutions division at Intel, said that about 40 percent of the estimated 80 million cars shipped in 2012 had some form of in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) system. She expects that by 2020, that rate will reach 75 percent, or around 85 million IVI systems, which run computer applications for entertainment, information or Internet connectivity. This includes dashboard navigation systems, rear-seat entertainment system for playing movies or games and small devices that connect the car to local area or wide area wireless networks, allowing consumers to bring into the car mobile devices that could be safely controlled through voice commands. She said it’s essential for automakers to design these applications and services for safe driving experiences, removing distractions so drivers can stay focused on the safety of operating the car.

Taking Disease Research to Next Level (by IntelFreePress)

With current optical methods medical researchers consume valuable time understanding how proteins interact within the human body, but using semiconductors to synthesize and study disease-associated proteins can speed that process. Intel and Stanford University are now looking to advance that platform and compress research time even further.

The obvious next steps are to take this platform electronic instead of optical. Today, the platform is based on an optical system, which is the traditional way of doing biology, where you use tags and shine light to make them stand out. Electronics gets us to a label-less platform.

— Madoo Varma, a co-author of the paper and head of research and development at Intel’s Integrated Biosystems Laboratory in Santa Clara, Calif.

Intel’s Mr. Bluetooth - Retired chief power architect Jim Kardach recalls a 1997 assignment to design low-cost wireless into laptops, and how that led to the creation of Bluetooth technology that today allows 9 billion headsets, mobile phones, computers and other personal devices to connect wirelessly and securely.

The full story: The Man Who Named Bluetooth.

Is AR (augmented relaity) transcending success of QR codes? At CES 2013, TeliBrahma Technologies shows new experiences they’re developing for smarphones (by IntelFreePress)

Smart Electric Vehicle Balances on Two Wheels (by IntelFreePress)

Danny Kim,founder and CTO of Lit Motors, talks about the combination of computer, smartphone and spaceship technology used in the creation of his all-electric, self-balancing C1 car.

“There are servos, gyro and traction motors, inertia and infrared sensors, temperature and heat sensors, really a myriad of sensors that all feed data to be processed,” said Kim. “Through that process, a command goes to the gryos to tilt and lean the vehicle to keep it balanced or to lean into a turn. It’s all heavily based on the computer processing system.”

Evolution of In-Vehicle Infotainment (by IntelFreePress)

Drivers may soon control in-car computers and carry-in mobile devices using voice and gesture, and many of these new automobile tricks are at CES 2013.

Consumer electronics inside new cars is allowing people to create personalized experiences to stay informed or entertained while not distracting the driver from keeping eyes on the road. Staci Palmer, general manager of the automotive solutions division at Intel, said that whether people bring their own mobile devices into their vehicle or have mobile computing applications already available through an in-vehicle infotainment system, it’s best to have these technologies built for voice or simple gesture controls. “There’s also a lot of evolution around ideas like gesture control, so with a simple swipe of a hand you can change from one radio station to the next,” she said.

Upsrouting from the floor inside the INtel booth at CES 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada, this 18-foot-tall, interactive Touch Tree has 176 Ultrabook systems hanging from its branches, including ones from Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Sony and Toshiba.

A touchscreen app on the five Ultrabook convertible devices at the base of the tree lets people swipe shapes that travel up the trunk and move across the screens of the devices that form the tree’s canopy.

Analysts questioning how 7-inch tablets, convertible touchscreen notebooks will redefine PCs leading into the Consumer Electronics Show — Tablets, Competing Form Factors to Dominate CES 2013.

Tablets will take center stage at CES 2013, but Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies, expects the focus to be on new 7-inch tablets. Rob Enderle, principal analyst at Enderle Group, says that these new tablets will face stiff competition from souped-up smartphones while more new 10-inch and larger tablets will be countered by new Ultrabook computers that convert from a thin notebook into a tablet. John Jackson, vice president at IDC, says this CES could reveal whether or not tablets remain a distinct device or is seen as a logical evolution of the PC.

As the first day comes to a close, much of these predictions came true, as there’s talk of high quality and value smartphones (and possibly an iPhone mini), marriage of phone and tablets dubbed phablets, convertible Ultrabook-tablets and adaptable table-top touch screen all-in-one PCs.

Demand for smartphones priced at less than $150, lower than today’s premium smartphones, is spurring competition among chipmakers. However, in an interview with John Jackson, vice president of research at IDC, companies will take different approaches to success. He explains why some chipmakers will rush into the market while others may not. 

Full story: Value Smartphone Battle Heats Up.