We scrutinise this , not for the volume numbers (small fry at present via Cedartrail/Oaktrail etc) but for indicators of Intel's ambitions,strategy and commitment to IMG-related areas (ie. mobile). There has been a lot of interesting debate on forums/techsites on whether Intel have made a 'solid start' with Medfield (especially after the Anand analysis) or is just another false dawn. I am firmly in the 'Intel will succeed because they have to' camp. There is no option for them, and in Mike Bell they have a leader with 'carte blanche' to tap into all of Intel's resources in a co-ordinated manner and take whatever/whoever he needs (it is almost Apple-like no ?) from anywhere, in order to succeed.
Excerpts from Intel Q4 CC (courtesy of www.seekingalpha.com)
Otellini:
In addition to the Lenovo K800, we announced the Medfield-based smartphone reference design that boasts a sleek form factor, 8 hours of talk time, 6 hours of 1080p video playback and 14 days of standby power, clearly demonstrating the low-power, high-performance capabilities of Intel architecture. Yet as the performance of this device that really showcases what's possible when you combine advanced process technology and the world's most popular computer architecture. Though Medfield is our very first smartphone SoC, independent testers appointed to benchmarks to place Medfield reference design among the very best in the markets.
It was this differentiated performance and exceptional roadmap and exciting new usage models that led to our multiyear, multi-device strategic relationship with Motorola Mobility. The first of these Intel architecture-based devices will go through carrier certification this summer with commercial availability shortly thereafter. And while the Lenovo and Motorola designs are exciting first steps, we're not done making announcements in the smartphone space.
Otellini:
In tablets, I think we'll be able to do that from day one, as you see the Android tablets coming out and Windows 8 tablets coming out. And you'll see us well-positioned in multiple price point on those. And who knows where those prices go over time, but our intention would be to use the advanced silicon integration capability we have to be able to drive the build material cost down, integration up in tablet space, which I think is going to be a sweet spot for Intel. On phones, our strategy is a little bit different. We're coming in at the top of the smartphone market. Our value proposition initially is aimed at best performance and very competitive feature sets and very good battery life. Over -- and then let me say on the other end of the market, the Infineon acquisition has given us a very strong position in basic phones and feature phones. They shipped 400 million modems this year into the cell phone business. So over time, what we'll want to do is grow that capability up by integrating the apps processor and the comm processors onto the same chip, while we drive our initial positions in apps processors from the top down.
Otellini:
Well, actually, they were about where I thought they would be, but I was well below what many of you had. I think the thing is, tablets are a little bit about hardware and an awful lot about software. And I think that until you get to Ice Cream Sandwich, the offering isn't as powerful as what's out there with Apple. And as the Ice Cream Sandwich tablets start shipping, I think you'll start seeing a little bit better receptivity, Google just added the music store, the videos are better, everything got a little bit better bit ICS. And so I think the better test is year 2 here, in terms of is there anyone that can compete with the iPad? And then the other part of that test, of course, is the Windows 8 tablets that are being queued up for production. So I don't know that the whole tablet thing is settled down by any stretch, and I do have a lot of interest in, if you heard me at CES about these hybrid and convertible designs as they apply to clamshells, where there's a significant blurring between what people do with tablets and what people do with PCs. So the jury is out on I think the long-term segmentation by form factor. But I do think you'll see more progress on the Android side as a result of ICS.
Otellini:
I did not say, I want to be very clear, I did not say that our intent would be to integrate Medfield to baseband. I said over time, you'll see us move from the low-end baseband-only business in the feature phones and value phones to having it a more integrated capability. I didn't say when and what generation. I'm really not at liberty to discuss that. But the major thrust over the next year or 2 is going to be to have very high-performance modems as a comps processor and the best-of-class apps processors for smartphones.
END
Next week we have TI and of course Apple to look forward to.
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