Transmeta targets embedded devices

Transmeta has confirmed that it will target its next-generation low-power Crusoe processor at embedded computing devices to help it build up volume.

The company said it is firming up product plans and finalising its evaluation processes and benchmarking.

The growth of embedded computing and communications devices is based on the evolution of faster and cheaper processors and the need for intelligent real-time communication devices.

Applications range from telecoms switches and routers to consumer electronics such as digital set-top boxes, cable modems and smart phones.

Transmeta chips are offered by all of Japan's top notebook makers, and the company expects that, by this time next year, the embedded market could equal the notebook market.

A spokesman at Transmeta said the company would have more to say about its next-generation chip "which relates to the embedded market, as do our current offerings, at the 15 October Microprocessor Forum" and during its 18 October quarterly call.

Companies such as Via, Philips and Advanced Micro Peripherals are currently embedding Transmeta chips into their devices.

Although Transmeta claims that its processors consume less energy than standard Intel chips, the latter said recently that it would produce more energy-efficient components.

IBM, which also recently launched a company-wide initiative to improve energy efficiency, cancelled its project to build Transmeta-powered notebooks last autumn, in part because it decided that the power savings were not great enough to make the switch.

Analysts said that the next-generation chip could open new doors for Transmeta. "Anything Transmeta can do to improve performance makes the part more competitive. That will help them penetrate more segments," said Dean McCarron, an analyst at Mercury Research.

And Meta Group analyst Jack Gold said: "With its focus on low power consumption, Transmeta probably has a future in pervasive and embedded devices that can run applications and operating systems built around the chip."