Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is now considering manufacturing Atom Chips for Android tablets as it seeks to hedge against the Windows 8 tablets. The world’s leading PC chip maker’s venture into the smartphones and tablets industry was characterized by its obvious preference for Windows tablets and Android smartphones.
However, it appears that Intel is now rethinking its strategy and is expected to publicly announce its decision to manufacture Atom chips for Android tablets in the forthcoming Mobile World Congress (MWC).
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is getting into a market that is already dominated by ARM Holdings plc (NASDAQ:ARMH) (LON:ARM) and QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM). The company’s business in the PC industry has struggle against a market that seems to be going mobile over the last two to three years.
The company’s position as the world’s leading chip maker stands to be challenged following the recent influx of smart devices into offices, and people’s pockets. Tablets have been the greatest predator to personal computers and laptops.
According to recent reports, Intel is using this week’s Mobile World Congress to point to its progress in smartphones–which now totals 10 Intel-powered handsets in more that 20 countries. The company is expected to discuss new models in its Atom line of mobile chips – including one code-named Merrifield, expected in the second half of 2013. This would be the first Atom to use the advanced production technology Intel has been using to make its PC chips.
Intel is not the only company hedging against Windows 8 tablets. Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s partner in the manufacture of Nexus 7 tablet Asustek has taken similar steps following the slow start of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s Windows 8. The Taiwan-based computing devices manufacturer is believed to have come up with another device that seems to suggest that Windows 8 tablet’s hopes are waning.
Speaking on behalf of Intel, a spokesman said, “We are accelerating our focus on Android,” confirming that the company could be rethinking its strategy in mobile chip making. It seems as though Windows 8 for tablets and Android for smartphones is no longer good enough owing to the risk attached to Windows 8. The platforms falls under the category of “Work in Progress” items as far as O.S is concerned in the smart devices industry.
Intel is also looking to revamp its PC chips business with new cutting edge technology dubbed “Perceptual Computing”. The company is believed to have come up with a technology that could revolutionize the PC industry, which has already slipped to near death, with an improved interface that is set to rival the smart devices market. The company seeks to isolate portability/mobility as the only difference between a PC and a smartphone/tablet.
The new technology as revealed during this years MIT technology review would combine several features of the existing technology including, Audio capability, tough, gesture sensor, and interactive computing among others. Some have likened it with Cloud computing, but this is quite different.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is fighting to regain its lost market share in Chip making business from all angles, but the mobile section is proving a huge task as it is still new compared to QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) and ARM Holdings plc (NASDAQ:ARMH) (LON:ARM). However, if it gets it right with Android tablets, and manages to pull out an unlikely turnaround in PC business with the new technology, then Intel is bound to unprecedented upside in the next few years.
