China is likely to unveil the first ultra mobile PC using domestic microprocessor technology with chip design technologies transferred from the US firm AMD, posing challenges to companies like Intel.

Cheng Xu, a professor of microelectronics with Peking University, said the first commercialized product - a diskless application server - will be launched in the first quarter of next year and the ultra mobile PC will come out within a year from now.

PKUnity Microsystems Technology Co Ltd, backed by the university, yesterday demonstrated the prototype computer developed with X86 technologies from AMD, running on Microsoft Windows XP system, which means the company has full capability to make commercial PCs with locally developed processors.

Two scientific teams in China are working on locally developed processors but almost all of them are designed for embedded computers for industrial use and run on the Linux operating software.

"We'll be able to make contributions to narrow the digital divide in China and even in other developing countries," said Cheng.

The easy-to-handle products, with features like power consumption as little as 1 watt, low prices and good performance, are likely to pose a challenge to the world's largest microprocessor maker, Intel.

Intel, Microsoft, and computer makers including Samsung Electronics and Asus, launched ultra mobile PCs last year, which have light weight, touch screen and a Windows XP operating system.

(China Daily June 27, 2007)