Intel's new processor eliminates fans and passwords

Intel has demonstrated a new type of mobile processor -- the Core M -- which the chipmaker believes will usher in a new generation of tablets and 2-in-1 laptops that require no fan to keep it cool.

Recent products, such as Microsoft's Surface Pro 3 and Lenovo's Miix 2, have been pitched as tablet PCs but unlike Apple's iPad these products require a fan and an air vent to keep them cool.

It is Intel's hope that with its new ultra low power, yet high-performing mobile chip range, fans will go by the wayside.

The processors will come with speeds starting at 2.0GHz and max out at 2.6GHz for the fastest model. Lenovo, HP, Dell, Acer, Toshiba and Asus are producing some of the 20 products that are currently in development with Core M inside, some of which will go on sale as soon as October this year.

Despite having a line of power-efficient chips (Intel Atom, which began their life making netbooks feasible) and a range of mainstream CPUs (the Core i3, i5 and i7 chips), Intel saw a need to slot an entirely new brand in between the two ranges.

-wired.co.uk