I said earlier that the MP20 chipset was pretty much an empty, downsized shell of its former Poulsbo self, reduced to being a collection of I/O blocks. That’s not exactly true. Yes, Intel builds a USB 2.0 EHCI controller with three ports into the 14 x 14 mm package. There’s also a USB On-the-Go (OTG) host/device port for letting the Moorestown ultramobile connect to other USB devices. Intel’s inclusion of HDMI support is all but overlooked in the Moorestown documentation, but its presence is obviously a key point for those who would like to use their devices as a video player for their TVs.
How about storage? There are four ports for SD/MMC/SDIO devices. More importantly, Langwell supports SLC and MLC NAND “drives” with up to 4KB page sizes and a raw capacity of 64GB. Note that while Langwell supports the CE-ATA spec common for 1-inch Microdrives, there’s no SATA connectivity. Most likely, the feature was considered unnecessary bloat given the part’s target applications. However, Intel does have implementation guidelines for developers that want to employ a third-party USB-to-SATA bridge. The same guidelines also detail how to connect a full-sized keyboard via an I2C interface.
Camera support and image processing also run through the MP20, both for still images and video. Moorestown allows for two cameras—one 5-megapixel and the other VGA (640x480) resolution. The 5MP channel is a dual-lane MIPI interface able to support RGB, YUV, and RAW color schemes, although how this capability gets exposed will be left to developers.
Langwell’s audio engine is more complex than you might expect. Intel uses its in-house Smart Sound Technology (SST), based on a 24-bit DSP, for voice processing and audio codec accelerations. Specifically, Langwell provides hardware-based encode acceleration for AAC-LC and PCM (WAV). On the decoding side, there’s hardware acceleration for AAC-LC, HE-AAC, MP3, PCM, and WMA9. This optimization, along with other elements of Langwell power management, is part of how Intel is able to hit its week-long MP3 playback time target. When the audio engine needs system resources, it generates a power management event, but only the path to memory is enabled. The audio engine refreshes the buffer and the platform quickly returns to its low power state.
While arguably less of a concern for consumers than businesspeople, some will be interested in Langwell’s integration of a security and cryptography engine, which includes the functionality of a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chip. Intel accelerates AES, DES, 3DES, RSA, and other crypto operations, but the real benefit lies in enabling a secure boot environment, as with vPro systems. This is likely to become increasingly important as mobile devices become a larger target for malware and hijacking. Of course, content providers are keen on the ways in which DRM can be enforced with a security engine, as well.
- Intel’s Ultramobile Future Arrives
- Little, Less, And Loving It
- Checking Checkboxes
- The Moorestown Breakdown
- Platform And Process
- Processor Power
- New Power States
- Graphics And Video
- Display And Memory
- Langwell Platform Controller Hub MP20
- Briertown Mixed Signal IC
- The Experience
- Why Moorestown Matters


Man, and I just got the HTC Incredible...
And so the march of technology continues!
Time to market. 45 nm was quicker for development and it accomplished what needed to get done at this time. That's the official answer. Unofficially, sure, we all know 32 nm will help, but this is business for consumers. Right or wrong, you don't play all of your cards right away.
I like the Atom, but not in this role. x86 adds inefficiencies that aren't balanced by a need for compatibility in this market.
I was considering buying a Sony Satio, but now I may rethink it.
1366x768 multi-touch S-AMOLED, magnesium case, 802.11 b/g/n, 3G/4G, miniDP, miniHDMI, miniDVI, microUSB, 64GB high quality flash memory, 12MP main camera with a 5MP front facing camera, a new turbo boost that pumps cocaine into the chip until it gets too hot when the performance is needed but puts the chip to sleep in idle, and a Linux based OS specifically tailored to the chip. Sounds like something I would pay a lot for. Complete desktop PC replacement.
Don't disappoint me Intel. I was hoping for 32nm 8 core LGA 1366 chips by now when I originally bought my i7 system, and you already disappointed me.
Now only if 5GB/month on 3G didn't cost $85/month in my area, never mind the texting/calling plan.
I charge my phone once every week, i would be pretty angry if it didnt hold a charge longer than 48 hours.
I also don't see the use of all these MIDs. I hardly even take my laptop out because I have a desktop and other then movement there is nothing the laptop can do that I wouldn't rather use my desktop for.
MIDs might be ok if they didn't cost an extra $30-50 a month to get access to the internet which I'm already paying $30-50 a month for for my general usage. They might start making sense when someone like Qwest starts included DSL and wireless together for a single reasonable monthly fee so I'm not paying twice for the same thing.
And unless you absolutely have to know the instant you get an email, and can't go more then a few hours without updating your facebook page, I don't see a daily usage for mobile internet. I probably don't think "boy it would be nice if I could check the internet while I'm out" more then once every couple months.
Good luck holding a car in your hands!
Anyhow, the article seems mighty detailed compared to what we're used to here. Usually only don writes anything this detailed.
Nice read, though imo the first page looks very much like a bought article.
Anyway beside the progress in the mobile and ultramobile sector I picture in the not so distant future an ultramobile CPU with memory and graphics and storage system the size of a phone in a modular and stackable design and you will have some very serious and scalable mobile supercomputing power. But will mobile form factor CPUs ever going to surpass the need for a desktop machine? Has the computing revolution started from the bottom up and I just noticed?