Intel’s Otellini Launches Netbook Appstore In 3D

Intel will be producing a smartphone based on the Moorestown Atom prociessor, an online app store for netbooks, and also 3D movie making, according to CEO Paul Otellini’s keynote speech at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Otellini’s audience were given 3D glasses to enjoy 3D movie clips at the end of Otellini’s speech: the black, chunky eyewear showed that, fad or not, 3D has seized the imagination of many technology companies.

3D graphics in games, movies, and home entertainment are likely to be the next big thing, and Intel is positioned to take advantage of that trend, said Otellini: “The good news for us, on the hardware side of the industry, is that creating and managing 3D content demands a ton of computing”.

The upcoming Shrek sequel, “Shrek Forever After,” required nine times as many compute cycles to render as the first film, but the demand is also trickling down to homes, he said.

Intel, Otellini added, was providing the computing horsepower for that transition, where Intel-powered machines could power home 3D moviemaking. In order to better access and share content, Intel is also working on technology called Light Peak, which can supposedly transfer data at 10 Gbyte per second. At that rate, an entire Blu-ray film could be downloaded onto a PC in less than 30 seconds.

“Sony and Nokia have announced their support,” Otellini said. “You can expect PCs to have this technology about a year from now.”

Wireless Displays and Netbook Apps

On that same front, Intel also used CES as a platform to introduce the Intel Wireless Display, also known as WiDi, which wirelessly streams video content from a PC to an HD television. Otellini said that WiDi capable laptops, along with a $100 adapter box to connect to one’s television, will be available starting next week at Best Buy.

“I believe the world of entertainment will be driven by Moore’s Law,” Otellini said, referring to the theory that computing power doubles roughly every two years.

The CEO then turned his attention to netbooks, one of the bright spots of a PC manufacturing industry otherwise bogged down by the effects of the recession in 2009.

“Eighteen months ago, we launched Atom,” Otellini said, which spawned the category of netbooks. “At CES, we’re launching a new version of the Atom microprocessor, with 20 percent lower power than the previous version.”

As the everyday role of netbooks has expanded, developers have worked on creating a new wave of software applications for the devices. Intel plans to make these Windows- and Linux-compatible applications available through an online store called the AppUp Center, similar to the app stores sported by the iPhone and Android. The netbook store is currently available in beta.