Josh OngOtellini expressed the views Wednesday in an email to employees, which was obtained by Bloomberg. Echoing Tuesday's earnings call comments, he referred to "the big question on many people's minds" as how Intel will make up for its minimal presence in the tablet and smartphone markets.
"Winning an architectural contest can take time," said Otellini in the email, noting that the effort will be a "marathon, not a sprint."
Despite being the world's largest chipmaker, Intel does not provide chips to any current smartphones or high-profile tablets. The Santa Clara, Calif., company is "on track to showcase [its] first production smartphones in 2011," said Otellini, but skeptics suspect that it's too little too late.
Otellini himself has said that the company's mobile Atom processor should have come 2 years earlier. The Atom chips have proved to be too power-hungry for most mobile implementations smaller than a netbook. Early rumors of an Atom-based Apple tablet or smartphone failed to materialize. The iPad and iPhone instead run a custom-built ARM A4 processor.
Citing the company's late entry into the server market, which it now dominates with over 90 percent market share, as an example of a come-from-behind success, Otellini remains undaunted.
“I am also very optimistic about our opportunity in tablets and smartphones, even though we are not first to market with a solution,†Otellini said. “Ultimately, we can and will lead.â€
Intel posted record earnings this week, but Otellini admitted that the iPad and other tablets may be eating away at PC margins, especially netbooks. Otellini hinted that tablets will "probably" impact PC sales.
"We take a longer-view of the tablet opportunity," Otellini told investors Tuesday. "In the end, it will be additive to our bottom line, and not take away from it."
Chip Loder
Wesley Hilliard
Amber Neely
Marko Zivkovic
Malcolm Owen
Andrew O'Hara
Christine McKee
38 Comments
maybe it is just me but ARM has a larger head start than a few years. The are king of lower power and I don't see that changing anytime soon. Intel has made a good run with their notebook line of processors and the Atom looks like it has potential, but it seems it hasn't really made the progress you would expect.
We'll see I guess.
I don't get it. Since when is the solution to not making the right chips to make the products that use them? Apple is not in competition with Intel, hell, they use their processors in Macs. Why does Otellini have to beat Apple in the hardware game when their expertise is in silicon. Seems like something has been left out of this story. Is Intel now moving into the consumer electronics field? That would be huge news in itself. An Intel branded laptop? An Intel branded desktop. No more just "Intel Inside," but "Intel Inside and Outside"?
Intel is acting more and more like a whiney adolescent every day. "Guys, c'mon...! Can't I just have a monopoly? I promise I'll be good!"
I don't get why Intel is so obsessed with the iPad and iPhone. Intel shouldn't be worried about Apple but ARM who's kicking their asses in mobile. Apple is not even in the chip business. They make their own chip for their own use.
I don't get it. Since when is the solution to not making the right chips to make the products that use them? Apple is not in competition with Intel, hell, they use their processors in Macs. Why does Otellini have to beat Apple in the hardware game when their expertise is in silicon. Seems like something has been left out of this story. Is Intel now moving into the consumer electronics field? That would be huge news in itself. An Intel branded laptop? An Intel branded desktop. No more just "Intel Inside," but "Intel Inside and Outside"?
The point is that intel vows to supply the majority of chips for mobile devices, not that they will make the actual devices.