7 Highlights From Intel's CES 2014 Keynote

All In On Wearable Computing

Intel made a huge wager on wearable and smart devices Monday at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show. But the world's largest chip maker did more than just introduce a new processor. Here are some of the highlights from Intel CEO Brian Krzanich's keynote.

Edison

The big headliner was Intel's new microprocessor, dubbed Edison, which was designed specifically for wearable and smart devices. The new dual-core system-on-a-chip (SoC) comes with built in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support and is about the size of an SD card.

Wearable Devices

CES 2014 seems to be kicking off the year of wearable devices, and Intel certainly got into the mix with several items such as a prototype smartwatch running on the new Edison chip. The company also showed off smart earbuds with built-in health monitoring and even a baby onesie that can monitor a child's breathing and heart rate as well as temperature.

Smart Devices

It wasn't just wearable devices on display at Intel's keynote. The company also unveiled several smart devices that can connect to those wearable items. For example, if the baby onesie detects an infant is waking up, it will trigger a bottle warmer to help parents get one step ahead.

The 'Make It Wearable' Challenge

Intel announced it's putting up a total of $1.3 million to promote innovation in wearable computing devices. The challenge is for people all over the globe to develop the most compelling and innovative wearable device. In addition to the prize money, Intel said it will also help connect contenders with IT industry partners to help get their ideas off the ground.

Intel Device Protection

It wasn't all wearable and smart devices during the keynote. Intel also had a few big announcements around legacy hardware and software, including a couple big ones around security. First, Krzanich introduced Intel Device Protection technology for Intel-based Android devices to enhance the security of those devices in the enterprise. And second, Krzanich announced that Intel plans to offer elements of McAfee's security software for mobile devices for free.

Dual OS Platforms

As part of Intel's growing interest in Android, Krzanich announced the company will now support dual OS devices that can boot both Windows and Android, giving customers the best of both worlds. Intel showed off a few new systems that could do just that, and the company says more devices from OEM partners are on the way this year.

Conflict Mineral Free Microprocessors

On a final note, Krzanich announced that all Intel microprocessors will now be free of conflict minerals. Intel's CEO talked about the violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and how many of the minerals used in computers and consumer electronics are mined from the region. Krzanich said Intel wanted to make sure the minerals it was using for its products weren't inadvertently funding the bloodshed in the DRC, and he invited other companies in the technology industry to also make the pledge against conflict minerals.