Do you wish you could increase the IQ of your current smart phone or netbook without upgrading – allowing you to easily watch rich videos and play intensive games longer, even while your virus scan runs in the background? Intel® is currently researching the possibility of making this dream a reality with a new technology being developing in Intel® labs called the “clone cloud.”

Cloud computing refers to a style of computing where online resources and applications are accessed by users through a Web browser, but the actual software and data are stored on remote servers (or “big computers”). You as a user don’t need to purchase, manage or maintain the technology "in the cloud" that supports you.

Intel’s® idea is simple: take your mobile device that has lower performance – like a smart phone or netbook – and clone the entire set of data and applications onto the “cloud.” Then sync the two. You could then “assign” graphics and processor power to the task in the cloud and provide a seemingly high-performance, full PC-like experience to your current smart phone or netbook with no change to the user experience and interface.

Intel’s® scientists are working to develop clone cloud technology without requiring application designers to do any extra work for you to use the clone clouds. This will help avoid eating up the smart phone or netbook’s battery power and also allow for significant performance improvements. Intel® is also working to ensure the system remains secure, sensitive data remains private, critical operations are only performed by those authorized and that service is consistently reliable.