A second chip, called the Crusoe 5400, will run at between 500 MHz and 700 MHz and include a 256K secondary cache integrated into the chip. This chip will be targeted at Windows-technology and will run on one watt of power, far less than its Intel counterparts. The new chips make it clear that Transmeta is both trying to capitalize on some of the shortcomings of Intel's processors while avoiding the mistakes made by processor companies that have tried and failed to break into this market. Transmeta's chips will consume little power, a lingering problem for Intel. The 3120, for instance, will consume an average of one watt compared to a typical Celeron processor that consumes between four and 10 watts.
Power consumption is one of the more important considerations for mobile devices.
The more power the chip consumes, the shorter battery life gets. Power-consuming chips also require device manufacturers to come up with more novel, and often expensive, insulating techniques. Although Intel has invested heavily in reducing the overall power consumption of its processors, power use continues to go up. Yesterday, for example, the company released new Pentium IIIs for mobile devices with specially designed power-management features. The chips, however, consume more juice in certain circumstances than some earlier chips.