International Business Machines Corp. says it has developed a low-power semiconductor chip that can significantly extend the battery life of cellphones, pocket computers and other portable electronic devices
IBM executives said the PowerPC 405LP cuts power consumption by as much as 90% through the use of special circuitry that shuts off portions of the chip not in use — but can instantly reactivate them as needed. As a result of this greater efficiency, the chip can handle advanced functions such as speech recognition and security encryption, and other processes normally handled in software, without draining batteries. The chip, to be unveiled at next week's Microprocessor Forum conference in San Jose, Calif., is the latest offspring of an energy-efficient microchip technology employed in IBM's newest and biggest computer server, code-named Regatta.
News source: MSNBC
