Intel Corp. showcased the concept platform code-named East Fork at Computex Taipei 2005 show. The new platform is to be as small as a typical optical drive, but will, as expected, feature a dual-core mobile processor as well as next-generation core-logic and advanced connectivity options.

Current concept incarnation of Intel East Fork touts “New Mobile Form-Factor for Digital Home” and is built around dual-core Intel Pentium M processor code-named Yonah, Intel’s next-generation chip internally referred as Calistoga, features the company’s forthcoming wireless LAN controller as well as a specially developed platform driver, according to PC Watch web-site. It is reported that East Fork will actually be a bundle of components with a special brand-name that will be advertised like Intel Centrino mobile platform.

Intel East Fork concept. Photo by PC Watch

Given small sizes of East Fork concept model, some observers have already called it Apple Mac mini twin, even though there are some noticeable differences between the concepts. Apple Mac mini is an affordable computer not designed for truly demanding tasks, whereas East Fork is expected to provide serious horsepower – especially in case of multitasking – thanks to its dual-core processor code-named Yonah. Moreover, some computer makers may position East Fork computers as systems for the living room. The Japanese web-site even reports that Intel is looking forward to work with some digital content providers to popularize its East Fork concept. Given different positioning of the East Fork and Apple Mac mini, it is likely that the former will also cost more than the latter.

AOpen, a maker of computers and components, has also introduced a small-form factor PC that utilizes Intel Pentium M processors.

Intel Yonah processor is a yet another derivative of the so-called Banias architecture, which inherits many peculiarities of the P6 architecture. Yonah will have two processing engines and will be produced using 65nm process technology late this year with commercial availability scheduled for Q1 2006. The target clock-rate for Yonah processor is 2.17GHz, while the chip’s processor system bus will clock at 667MHz.

Intel at IDF Spring 2005 in the USA disclosed three new technologies planned for Yonah that will improve the performance, power and design of mobile platforms. They include Intel Digital Media Boost, an instruction set for rich digital multimedia content creation; Intel Advanced Thermal Manager, for enhanced thermal monitoring, accuracy and responsiveness; and Intel Dynamic Power Coordination, which can automatically adjust the performance and power between the two processing cores on demand. Yonah will be single piece of silicon dual execution cores design.