Intel plans new 'Braswell' chip for PCs, Chromebooks

Intel showed off its new processor code-named Braswell today at the second day of its Intel Developer Forum event in China.

Kirk Skaugen, senior vice president at Intel, said that Braswell will be a follow-on to the code-named Bay Trail processor that is now used in laptop-like Chromebooks and sub-$500 Windows computers. Intel said its processors are used in more than 20 Chromebooks, which are based on Google’s Chrome OS.

Braswell is a system-on-a-chip, or SoC, and it is built with a next-generation manufacturing process where the circuits are 14 nanometers apart. A nanometer is a billionth of a meter.

The world’s biggest chip maker also showed off software, including a 64-bit Android kernel. The Android KitKat 4.4 has a 64-bit kernel optimized to run on Intel chips. That will allow developers to more easily create apps that run on future Intel-Android devices. Intel has said it plans to enable dual-boot machines that can run either Windows or Android software.

Skaugen also showed a media box from QVOD Technology. Available later this year, the box uses Intel Bay Trail processors. Intel is also working on a future WiDi-enabled set-top box, or one where you can cast images wirelessly from a laptop to a WiDi-enabled TV.

Intel said that its Sofia 3G mobile-focused product, a dual-chip SoC, will begin shipping in the fourth quarter of this year. Yesterday, Intel announced a $100 million venture fund to invest in smartphone and tablet technologies in China.