The chip giant outlines the future of mobiles, including screen piggybacking and multi-radios combining WiMax and WiFi. Zara Baxter reports from the massive Intel Developer Forum in Shanghai.
Summary:
- Mobiles to "piggyback" larger screens
- "Multi-radios" to combine WiFi and WiMAX
Shanghai:In the world Intel is dreaming of, you could wake a display from sleep, connect it to your phone wirelessly, display the contents of your mobile, then disconnect once you were done.
That's one of the scenarios outlined at this week's Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in Shanghai. IDF is held three times a year to showcase Intel technology and for Intel to communicate with vendors, coders, collaborators, press and each other about how to move forward with Intel, and to help understand the new technology and what it offers.
It's a huge event, but Shanghai, a city with a population as large as the whole of Australia, swallows the 6000-delegate strong event without too much difficulty.
So it's only once you're inside the event itself that you realise its staggering enormity. 21 tracks, ranging from Basic Laptop and Desktop Technologies through to Intel Visual Computing Technology and Unified Extensible Firmware Interface, each have a full day's coverage of program items. Then there are roundtables, exhibitors, lab sessions and workshops, keynotes and experience zones. Selecting which bits are of the most interest is a massive challenge; just reading through the 220-page program guide is a day's work.
The first day of Intel Developer Forum is for press to get sneak previews of the goodies that will be showcased throughout the main event. Many displays are still being set up, but key speakers set the scene for the themes and trends that run through the event.
And it's clear from today's presentations that Intel wants the media to take a clear message away from the event; mobile devices are currently too limiting, but Intel is finding solutions to that. If that sounds familiar, it should. It's a message that Intel's CEO Paul Otellini was outlining at CES.