Intel's CEO Paul Otellini has moved to reassure investors that the company's new range of low-power processors mean Intel has nothing to fear from rival ARM.
Speaking at a analysts' meeting yesterday, Intel's chief executive officer claimed that ARM's reliance on licensing its ultra-low-power processor designs to other manufacturers is actually its biggest weakness.
TechEye quoted Otellini as stating Intel has "
been there, done that", and that its profit margins on its home-produced processors were far higher than the industry average for foundry-produced chips.
Otellini's comments come as Intel launches its
Moorestown low-power processors, aimed directly at ARM's stronghold: the smartphone and embedded device marketplace. With Otellini singling ARM out amongst its competitors for special comment during the meeting, it's clear that he is confident that the Moorestown - which will be sold as the Atom Z6xx series - processors could finally spell the end of ARM's dominance in the smartphone sector.
In another dig at non-x86 rivals, Otellini stated that "
the architecture which is the most popular on Earth is getting more popular every day," stating that Intel shipped 3.3
billion 'processor cores' in the first quarter of this year - although he didn't specify whether that figure was for literal cores or individual processors.
One thing is for certain: Intel isn't willing to concede the smartphone sector to ARM without a major fight.
Do you believe that Intel has a chance with its new Moorestown chips, or is Otellini kidding himself - and investors - if he thinks he can beat ARM in its strongest sector? Share your thoughts over
in the forums.
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