Intel is expanding its Chromebook presence by rolling out a new chip dubbed Braswell that will join and eventually replace its low-powered Bay Trail processors.
Intel expects the Braswell chips to be used in many more Chromebooks this year.
"Last year, we had only four designs on Chrome. Today, I can announce that we will have over 20 designs on Chrome," said Kirk Skaugen, general manager of Intel's PC Client group, on Thursday.
These announcements were made at the Intel Developers Conference being held in Shenzhen, China.
Intel needs to firm up its presence in the Chromebook market, and mobile in general, where it is battling with Nvidia for market share.
Intel will also use Braswell chips to power entry-level desktop, laptop and hybrid computers and it will be based on a 14-nanometer architecture.
No timetable was given for when Braswell would be ready for the market.
The chip-maker is also working on another processor called Cherry Trail that will be used in tablets, along with its current crop of Bay Trail chips. This is another area where Intel has trailed Nvidia, although the recent influx of Windows 8.1 tablets and hybrid laptop/tablets into the market has helped Intel. Manufacturers, including Microsoft, have given Intel fits by opting to go with Nvidia's Tegra 4 processors for their tablets. However, tablets that are designed with productivity in mind and not just content viewing tend to be equipped with an Intel processor as they can better handle Microsoft Office applications.
Intel is also in the process of updating its Bay Trail processors. This revamp should lower their cost by eliminating components and at the same time increase its graphics and security capability. These changes will be introduced at some point during the second half of the year. Intel's Hermann Eul, corporate vice president and general manager of the Mobile and Communications Group, expects tablets using Intel processors could fall in price to under $100.
In what has become an Intel tradition when it wishes to jump-start its position in a category, the company showed two tablet reference designs that will be available this summer. The reference designs are intended to help ODMs deliver low-cost, high-quality Intel-based tablets faster, the company said.
