Intel (INTC) CEO Paul Otellini said this week that the chip giant is working on a project due next year, called IA System on a Chip, that should bring more PC-like power to advanced set top boxes and high-definition TVs.
During his keynote presentation at the Intel Developer Conference on Tuesday, Otellini highlighted consumer electronics as an important strategic growth area for the company. He said Intel will demonstrate IA System on a Chip at the Consumer Electronics Show, which is held in January in Las Vegas.
The new Intel chips, Otellini said in a Q&A after the keynote, will primarily target advanced set top boxes, HD TVs, and HD players – categories that include everything from TiVo’s (TIVO) digital video recorders to Hewlett-Packard’s (HPQ) MediaSmart TVs, to Apple’s (AAPL) Apple TV. Intel already has a chip in Apple TV.
The new IA System on a Chip will facilitate better Internet connectivity and more advanced software.
During the Q&A, Otellini also took a swipe at a recently announced plan by rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) to release a version of its quad-core Phenom chip next year that has three operational cores. When someone asked Otellini whether he saw any advantage to that strategy, he said, “We see an advantage to having all the cores on our die work.”