It is still a research project, but should become reality in several years

Feb 20, 2012 15:59 GMT  ·  By

Intel really wants to prove itself as a competent maker of mobile CPUs, which means that it is looking ahead of the Medfield, far ahead in fact.

The Santa Clara, California-based company is hurrying to launch a second Medfield chip, but its real game changer is a few years away, according to Wired.

The Santa Clara, California-based company is considering a CPU (central processing unit) that includes the sort of functionality not commonly encountered in such a chip.

Simply put, chipzilla wants to build Wi-Fi wireless connectivity capabilities right into the CPU instead of leaving that capability for a dedicated processor to handle.

The name of this special chip is Rosepoint and the bottom line is that, though still a CPU, it will include 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi radio.

Of course, to actually make this project a reality, the chip giant needs to come up with some way to miniaturize the wireless components.

This is a daunting task all on its own, even without factoring in the coordination and interoperability requirements.

Then again, if what Wired says is true, the Intel researchers already have an idea on how to make this happen.

Unfortunately, since Rosepoint is little besides a good idea at this point, it will take years for something palpable to come of it, maybe even a decade.

When it happens, though, smartphones and (probably) tablets will know what it means to truly need only the barest minimum of parts. Lower power consumption will be just one of the benefits.

“Ultimately it would reduce the chip count on the cell phone, which would reduce the cost and the complexity of manufacturing of the phone and improve battery life,” says Kevin Krewell an analyst with semiconductor consulting firm The Linley Group.

The largest issue will be to somehow nullify the interference that the CPU and wireless components will cause to each other, since each produces its own radiation.