Via Technologies has launched a new chipset it says will help reduce the size of ultra-mobile PCs by as much as 40 percent.

The company said its VX700 chipset works with its own Via C7-M microprocessors aimed at small devices.

A chipset is the pair of chips that regulate the flow of data from the microprocessor to other chips inside a device, such as memory and graphics chips.

Via slimmed down the size of its new VX700 chipset by integrating the north and south bridges of the set into a single package measuring 35 by 35 millimeters, the company said in a statement.

The chipsets will be available in mass quantities late in the third quarter, Via said. It did not disclose pricing.

The chipsets coupled with the Via C7-M microprocessor are designed to reduce power consumption and save battery life in ultra-mobile PCs, Via said. Microsoft launched the ultra-mobile PC concept earlier this year. Originally dubbed "Origami," the devices were designed to contain the power of a full PC in a gadget small enough to be carried in a pocket, purse or backpack.

DualCor Technologies, which is based in Scotts Valley, Calif., said it used the VX700 chipset and C7-M microprocessor to create a new device that adds mobile phone functionality to an ultra-mobile PC. The company did not say when the device would be launched.

More information about the Via VX700 chipset can be found online.

-Dan Nystedt, IDG News Service (Taipei Bureau)

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