Intel's Core M, which will headline the chip manufacturer's next generation of products, was unveiled at the IFA 2104 electronics show in Berlin.
The Core M processor is the first chip that was produced using the groundbreaking 14nm manufacturing process of Intel, and the Core line's fifth generation.
Devices using the Core M, produced by top portable computer manufacturers Acer, Asus, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo and Toshiba, will begin shipping in October.
The power efficiency of the Core M is its major feature as it only consumes 4.5 watts, which is a number lower than the power consumed by even the newest kinds of power-efficient light bulbs. Devices that will use the processor will have very long battery lives, capable of as much as 8 hours of video playback.
In addition to the low power required, devices with the Core M technology will also remain cool while being used, which means that the devices will not require noisy and bulky cooling fans within their structures.
These features makes the Core M chip the perfect technology to be used for a new kind of hybrod computers that will function as both personal computers and tablet computers.
The unveiling of the Core M processor and the announcement of products containing it was made by Intel personal computing division general manager Kirk Skaugen.
"You can get the best of both worlds in one device," Skaugen said, "but we think there's been something missing from this category: a purpose-built processor for it."
Consumers have been spending more on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers, which usually contain processors that are based on Intel rival company ARM's designs. Intel still dominates the market for PCs, but consumers have not been buying as many PCs as mobile devices.
This trend makes the Core M chip a very important one for Intel, as the company hopes that the hybrid designs that will be created by device manufacturers using the processor will convince the market that tablets are merely an extension of PCs. This is because the hybrid devices, while as thin or even thinner than tablet computers, will also feature keyboards that users can detach or move out of the way.
Intel is hoping that laptops, fueled by such hybrid devices, will become trendy once more, especially with sales of tablet computers now stagnant.
The Core M is 50 percent faster in computing and 40 percent faster in graphics compared to the fourth generation of the Core processors, and twice faster in computing and seven times faster in graphics compared to the chips used by the design of most laptop computers.
"You have to ask yourself, 'Why would I ever buy a tablet again?'" said Skaugen.
