Back when chip giant Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) was new and no one had invented the Internet, computers were huge machines that could each take up an entire room.

#-ad_banner-#Intel’s ideas seemed like an abstraction, but it eventually became the default standard in computing innovation, and went on to invent the x86 set of microprocessors that are now found in most computers.

An investor would be hard-pressed to find a technology company that has done more than Intel to shape the world of semiconductors that are the building blocks of modern computing. But today another company may represent the future of chips.

The world of computing is on the brink of another sea change — the age of digitally connected devices, the so-called Internet of Things.

Some optimists say the Internet of Things could be a new industrial revolution that will link up 50 billion devices together and generate up to $5 trillion in revenue in less than a decade.

But the world of the Internet of Things is a lot more than tablets and smartphones talking to one another. 

According to the invaluable tech resource WhatIs.com: “A thing, in the Internet of Things, can be a person with a heart monitor implant, a farm animal with a biochip transponder, an automobile that has built-in sensors to alert the driver when tire pressure is low — or any other natural or man-made object that can be assigned an IP address and provided with the ability to transfer data over a network.”

If it seems like a Jetsons kind of world that will be served up by the Internet of Things, that’s because it will be.

One new company has the capacity — and perhaps the destiny — to play a leading role in the Internet of Things revolution, as Intel did in the advent of online computing.

That company is Skyworks Solutions (Nasdaq: SWKS), an innovator in high-performance semiconductors that is immersed in seemingly all of the most promising areas for the future of connected Internet of Things devices — automotive, broadband and wireless infrastructure, power management, GPS, household appliances and wearables, medical, military, and smartphone and tablet applications.

Skyworks is a key chip provider to many of the companies likely to take pivotal roles in the Internet of Things — such as Apple, Samsung, General Electric, Philips, Cisco, Panasonic, and many of the world’s major automakers, to name just a few of its customers.

As an extra bonus, Skyworks is cashing in with its high-performance chips on a torrid boom for smartphones in China, where there are currently over 300 million 3G subscribers — nearly double the number of less than five years ago — and is already lined up for the transition to 4G. It is hard to overestimate Skyworks’ growth potential in China.

A new partnership with giant conglomerate GE (NYSE: GE) may be particularly important for Skyworks. GE plans to integrate Internet of Things connectivity at the machine-to-machine level throughout its industrial products empire, including turbines, locomotives, medical devices and jet engines.

Skyworks’ key stats are all-star quality. In its most recent quarter, earnings and revenue were up 70% and 34%, respectively, from a year ago. The company has zero debt, and boasts an operating margin of 23.1% and return on equity of 16.3% over the past 12 months. With a trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 31 and a five-year projected P/E-to-growth (PEG) ratio of 0.9, SWKS is far from overvalued for a growth stock.

Risks to Consider: The semiconductor industry is highly cyclical and subject to rapid downturns. Competitive pricing pressures can inflict real punishment on profits, as can technological breakthroughs by competitors. Intellectual property disputes are common, as are foreign tax and currency complications.

Actions to Take –> SWKS has been on a tear this year and recently gapped up to a new high. But it is still cheap by sector standards, with high margins and no debt overhang, and has every reason to keep going higher. My recommendation is to go long.

If the potential of the Internet of Things has you excited, wait until you see what StreetAuthority’s Andy Obermueller has been working on. Andy has identified five “game-changing” trends with the potential to revolutionize the way we live our lives — and make early investors a killing. To learn more about these developing technologies — and the companies behind them — follow this link.