It was Santa Clara, California based chipmaker Intel that seized the attention of the entire chip world on Monday. Well, Intel announced a new line of Atom Z5xx series processors and it revealed its strategic partnership with Taiwan's TSMC, yesterday.

Intel announced four "unique" new versions of its Atom processors to expand the usage of the processors to the devices beyond just "Internet devices," “netbooks” and “mobile Internet devices”. The chipmaker announced that it definitely has plans to target "media phones” with its new Atom chips, but it intends to target more devices.    

Doug Davis, vice president of Intel's digital enterprise group stated that the four Atom chips have been planned for the devices, such entertainment systems for cars, videoconferencing devices, robots and interactive kiosks.

According to Davis, the announced four Atom chips are ultra-low-power chips that can offer the rich multimedia performance and high-bandwidth Internet connectivity demanded by the mentioned devices. The chips will offer integrated 2D and 3D graphics and will be manufactured using Intel's existing 45-nanometer process.

The Atom Z500-series processors are small sized integrated chips. These chips work with little power and without fans; the chips just require 2.5 watts of power or less and run at speeds of between 1.10GHz and 1.6GHz. So far, the Atom chips have been used in low-cost laptops (netbooks), and devices such as mobile Internet devices (MIDs) and smartphones, but Intel stated that it will add more capabilities into Atom processors to target the new devices and new markets.

Looking to enter the new markets, Intel announced its strategic tie up with Taiwan's TSMC. Intel announced that it will develop and make its low-cost Atom-based chips with the help of Taiwan's TSMC, for a range of electronic devices. The chipmaker stated that the “strategic tie up” will help both companies to expand into new markets.

Commenting on Intel’s announcements, Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst at Insight64, said, "Now that they have their Atom processor in good shape, they are looking for new places where they can ship it.”  

In a statement, PiperJaffray analysts wrote, “Intel has wanted to expand beyond the PC into the rapidly shifting world of gadgets but it has in the past been frustrated in its efforts.”

Patrick Wang, a Wedbush analyst, said, "For them to come to the decision to outsource manufacturing of any product that they design is a monumental change in their mindset. Intel could be testing the waters with TSMC.”