Intel’s new Core M chips will open new doors for personal computers

Intel’s next-generation chip family, the Core M, will arrive in the real world starting next month as Acer, Asus, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo and Toshiba start shipping portable devices built around the power-efficient processor. Kirk Skaugen, general manager of Intel’s personal computing division, announced the imminent arrival of the new designs during a speech Friday at the the IFA electronics show in Berlin. The premium chip, which consumes a dramatically low 4.5 watts, less than even new power-efficient light bulbs, is geared for a newer class of hybrid computing devices that can act either like tablets or PCs.