One trend you can expect to see in 2009 is much more intelligence displayed by traditionally dumb devices, everything from digital picture frames to cash registers.
Intel on Monday showed off a proof-of-concept model for a point-of-sale terminal at the National Retail Federation Convention in New York.
Created by the renowned frog design of San Francisco, the innovative kiosk gives real-time inventory access and shows product details, promotions and customer reviews.
Its aim is to increase sales and reduce energy use, as well as suggest an entry point for Intel’s processors into a potentially lucrative market.
Intel could approach this market with the embedded strategy it is evolving for its low-power Atom microprocessor, but has chosen its Core 2 Duo processor found in regular notebook PCs in this instance.
Intel says this can offer a 70 per cent reduction in power use compared to legacy systems, plus its Active Management Technology means administrators can remotely power down systems at night to increase energy savings.
Pat Gelsinger, head of the Digital Enterprise Group, outlined Intel’s strategy in this area at its developer forum last August, saying the embedded internet’s time had come. He predicted there would be 15bn internet-connected devices around the world by 2015.
