BMW to use Intel Atom-chips

[SSense]

Moving away from the usual automotive news and we are bringing you something more tech related. Yes, we know, some of you live and breathe technology, so we have no doubt you’ll find this interesting.

In a year where Intel failed to secure the chips for the upcoming Apple table and new iPhone, the company did manage to secure a deal with BMW and its competitor, Mercedes-Benz.

According to Reuters, German carmakers BMW and Mercedes will be using Intel’s microprocessor chips in information and entertainment systems in their automobiles from 2012. Back in 2008, we announced that new telematics framework and a technology-neutral telematics protocol to deliver over-the-air services in their vehicles, named NGTP, will make their way into the 2012 BMW 3 Series.

Intel Atom is the brand name for a line of ultra-low-voltage x86 and x86-64 CPUs (or microprocessors) from Intel, designed in 45 nm and used mainly in netbooks and Mobile Internet devices. On December 21, 2009 Intel announced the next generation of Atom processors, including the N450, with total kit power consumption down 40%.

With a low power consumption, these chips are exactly what a car company needs in their cars and we find it funny that just a year ago, yours truly predicted that Intel and BMW should and will join forces.

Source: bmwblog

[Ayham]

Savvy! Wish I know the difference to comment...

[aljebouri]

Chips with 45 nm is away faster than other chips and it need less power to operate

[ahmad.alkhalil]

more things to go wrong in a car... great! :thumbsdown:

[aljebouri]

more things to go wrong in a car... great! :thumbsdown:

i do not agree with you, this is not a new technology this chip is being used with notebooks, and it is in the market since 2008.

so in term or reliability of the chip it is reliable, but i am not sure what bmw goind to do to which requires such a processor?

[ahmad.alkhalil]

All I'm saying is that since cars are now being stuffed with too many electric components.. the driver is becoming less and less involved! God knows what's to come!

[AsifSaif]

Wirelessly posted (My8900: BlackBerry8900/5.0.0.411 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/114)

Currently what they using is a closed sourced unix and a low end chip to do the job, which was fine enough until now, its time to move on, such a deal will make a way to more infotainment possibilities never discovered before, currently BMW along with other partners are working on Car2Car communication, recent cars have possibilty of sending your destination to car well before starting it, new 7er, even remeber which routes you listen to which songs, and plays them back on the same, all these plus many others need processing, so going down the road with intel.