Intel has developed a new XScale PXA processor, which will apparently boost the battery life of PDA devices while doubling (from 100MHz to 200MHz) the speed at which the processor can communicate with other components within the device.

Intel has already sent samples to its customers, and the chip is expected to ship at the end of the quarter.

This is welcome news as one of the major complaints about the Pocket PC devices has been battery life. Although we've seen improvements in this area since the early days of Windows Powered PDAs, we have a long way to go.

The PXA255 chips are designed to use a device's battery power more efficiently in all three performance states--sleep, idle and run.

The good news is the new chips are not expected to cost more than the existing chips from Intel.