For those who came in late, Intel withdrew from the world of mobile development and aligned its Atom chips so that they could work within the Internet of Things, which Chipzilla is convinced will be the next big thing. Joule is expected to provide developers with IoT boards with the Intel Atom inside.

Yesterday Chipzilla shows two of these boards. The first, with the catchy title,  550x includes a 1.5GHz quad-core Atom T5500 processor, 3GB of RAM and 8GB of storage. The second, with the memorable name of 570x, has a 1.7Ghz quad-core Atom T5700 CPU (with burst speeds up to 2.4GHz), 4GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. Both models include "laptop-class" 802.11AC wireless, Intel graphics with 4K capture and display support, and a Linux-based OS.

Intel's on again and off again chum Microsoft already uses Joule in its robotic "Bamboo," which reminds kids with diabetes to check their blood sugar levels.  Fudzilla understands that a French company EyeLights is using it to provide a cool screen for coppers' motorcycle helmets.

The Joule kits will be available today for  retail partners in September, but they are not that cheap. Intel said the Joule 570x is selling for $369. OK this is a developer kit but it is clearly aiming to be a bit more complex than the Raspberry Pi.