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Transmeta to unveil newest chips
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October 15, 2001: 12:15 a.m. ET
New processors integrate functions of several chips into one package
By Staff Writer Richard Richtmyer
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NEW YORK (CNNmoney) - Transmeta on Monday is set to unveil a new microprocessor that combines the functionality currently handled by several separate chips onto a single piece of silicon.
The Silicon Valley upstart will detail the Crusoe TM6000 at the Microprocessor Forum in San Jose, Calif., Monday afternoon. It is designed in a way that integrates onto a single chip the function of a typical three- or four-chip microprocessor solution that required a separate chipset and graphics, the company said.
By taking the so-called system-on-a-chip design approach, executives of Transmeta said the Crusoe TM6000 will be even more power-efficient than the Crusoe TM5800, currently its most advanced processor.
Transmeta has been selling its Crusoe brand processors since September 2000. They are designed specifically for portable computers, Internet access devices and other applications where low-power is important.
So far, the company has made the most headway in the lightweight notebook computer market. It currently lists the six largest Japanese notebook manufacturers, Toshiba NEC, Fujitsu, Sony, Hitachi and Sharp, on its roster of customers.
With the Crusoe 6000 and its new design approach, Transmeta is aiming to extend its reach into emerging computing platforms that place a premium on low power, space efficiency and cost savings, according to David Ditzel, the company's founder and chief technical officer.
These products would include things like Tablet PCs and wearable computers, ultra-dense servers, networking equipment, printers and set-top boxes, he said.
"As people want to go and include things like wireless technology in these things, where do you put the wireless chip? There wasn't any room left on the board," Ditzel said.
"By going to additional integration with the TM6000, we free up board space for things like wireless technology, and we allow people to build much smaller systems with longer battery life than they've been able to before," he added.
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David Ditzel, Transmeta | |
The Crusoe TM6000 is expected to begin shipping in volume during the second half of 2002. The company will be presenting the details of the new design to a broad base of system designers at the conference, and Ditzel said he expects them to create a much wider level of interest than the company's first chips, which were targeted primarily at notebook computer makers.
The company also plans to present detailed power measurements comparing the performance of the TM5800, due to begin shipping in the current quarter, with Intel's most power-efficient mobile chip.
Ditzel said Transmeta will prove, despite Intel's claims to the contrary, that the TM5800 beats Intel's lowest power chip by a factor of 2 to 1. "And when we go to our highly integrated chip, we're going to take off another 44 percent," he said. "So we think we've got a substantial lead today, and we're going to keep that."
Intel over the past year has increased its efforts in the mobile microprocessor market, where profit margins tend to be higher, and it has taken direct aim at Transmeta with some of its products.
Earlier this month, Intel introduced its newest Pentium III-M chips, including one designed to operate at under one volt while consuming less than half a watt of power when in battery-optimized mode. With the low-voltage chip, Intel is targeting some of the same markets Transmeta is after with its newest design.
In May, Advanced Micro Devices threw its hat into the ring when it introduced its Athlon 4 line of mobile microprocessors. Those chips, which the company claims consumer 20 percent less power than previous Athlons, use a technology AMD calls PowerNow! which, through a combination of chip-circuits and software, enables the processors to adjust the speed at which they operate based on the computing task at hand. 
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