Intel Corp.’s chief executive officer Paul Otellini said during his keynote at Consumer Electronics Show that small mobile Internet devices (MIDs) as well as Internet-connected consumer electronics (CE) would become two product categories that grow rapidly in the following years. Already in 2008 the world’s largest maker of chips will offer platforms for such devices.

“We’re now in the midst of the largest opportunity to redefine consumer electronics and entertainment since the introduction of the television. Increasingly, computing and communications are coming together, bringing a new level of capabilities and intelligence to the Internet experience. The personal Internet of tomorrow will serve you – delivering the information you want, when you want it, how you want, wherever you are,” said Paul Otellini said during his keynote speech.

Modern consumer electronics, including advanced TV-sets and set-top-boxes, can connect to the Internet, but without enough computing power end-users cannot actually high-quality features out of such devices. Intel believes that future central processing units (CPUs) and platforms that will have higher performance amid low power consumption will enable the new generation of consumer electronics in the coming years.

The world’s largest maker of chips believes that the next-generation consumer electronics devices will become as revolutionary as the television was in the twentieth century, enabling new user experience and new business opportunities.

The chief executive of Intel described four obstacles that need to be overcome to make the next-generation devices mainstream in the next three to five years. Microprocessors have to be even more powerful and consume less power to be the brains of smaller, multi-functional devices. Wireless broadband infrastructure needs to be more broadly deployed to make high-speed Internet available everywhere. The Internet must be more intelligent and proactive so finding information is no longer a hit or miss proposition. Lastly, more natural user interfaces need to be developed so people can use their voices and gestures to engage with the Internet.

“The opportunity lies in creating these next generation products, services and business models – but first we all need to overcome the obstacles I just listed,” Otellini said, calling on the smartest minds across the CE, computing and communications industries to contribute to this transition.

To show that Intel is working on solutions for CE devices, Mr. Otellini demonstrated for the first time Intel’s first Intel-based system-on-a-chip (SoC) product optimized for a new generation of set-top boxes, media players and TVs. It will enable migration of Internet applications and services to TVs, providing interactive experiences to complement traditional TV or movie viewing.

Intel Canmore will be available in the second half of this year and will pair a “powerful” PC-class processor core with leading-edge, dedicated A/V processing that can play 1080p (1920x1080 pixels with progressive scan) video with 7.1 surround sound, a 3-D graphics unit for advanced user interfaces and online games, as well as technologies to enable broadcast TV. Potentially, Intel’s Canmore can easily power a Blu-ray disc or HD DVD players, making them considerably more affordable then today, or even low-cost personal computers with relatively rich multimedia capabilities.

“Packaging several important functions – such as computing, graphics and audio-video processing – into a single chip will help devices do more while taking up less space and energy,” Mr. Otellini said.

The announcement by Intel demonstrates the company's intention to broaden the markets it addresses with consumer electronics products.