New Chip Set for Ultra Mobile PCs

Via promises smaller portable devices with VX700 chip set.

Dan Nystedt, IDG News Service

Via Technologies has launched a new chip set it says will help reduce the size of ultra mobile PCs by as much as 40 percent.

The company said its VX700 chip set works with its own Via C7-M microprocessors aimed at small devices.

Slimmer Chips

A chip set is the pair of chips that regulate the flow of data from the microprocessor to other chips inside a device, such as memory and graphics chips.

Via slimmed down the size of its new VX700 chip set by integrating the north and south bridges of the set into a single package measuring 35 by 35 mm, the company said in a statement.

The chip sets will be available in mass quantities late in the third quarter, Via said. It did not disclose pricing.

Designed to Improve Ultra Mobile PCs

The chip sets coupled with the Via C7-M microprocessor are designed to reduce power consumption and save battery life in ultra mobile PCs, Via said. Microsoft launched the ultra mobile PC concept earlier this year. Originally dubbed "Origami," the devices were designed to contain the power of a full PC in a gadget small enough to be carried in a pocket, purse or backpack.

DualCor Technologies, which is based in Scotts Valley, California, said it used the VX700 chip set and C7-M microprocessor to create a new device that adds mobile phone functionality to an ultra mobile PC. The company did not say when the device would be launched.