The highly secretive start-up Transmeta finally unveiled its technology plans Wednesday and made it clear that it aims to compete against chip giant Intel.

At a technology disclosure conference here that has been anticipated for months, Transmeta said that it will come out with two fairly inexpensive, low-voltage processor families that can run the same software that Intel chips can because of Transmeta_s «code-morphing» software. With Crusoe chips, customers will be able to buy cheaper notebook computers that can run all day on batteries without recharging. The chips can also be upgraded remotely, the company said. Although Silicon Valley knew of the company, Transmeta_s actual ambitions have been shrouded in secrecy. Details of the exact plans were largely based on speculation and information gleaned from patent filings. As an example, more than 2,000 non-disclosure agreements were signed prior to the announcement, the company said. Transmeta_s chips will consume little power, a lingering problem for Intel. The Crusoe 3120, for instance, will consume an average of one watt compared to a typical Celeron processor that consumes between four and 10 watts. Despite the anticipation, acceptance could take a while for the company, analysts said, and success in this cost-crunching market has never been easy.