Intel's new wine in old bottles What Mobile Internet strategy to upgrade

Wangru Chen

Intel is using one called "embedded market," the old bottles loaded it in the future. In the past two days in Beijing IDF (Intel Global Developer Summit) in this company were taken great pains to depict a beautiful new world.

question is, from its inception the world's first processor, Intel on the "embedded market" together. 30 years, and why it shouted the slogan, and it has a chance?

fully "embedded"

the past few years the technology summit, the first row is the PC industry, man of many guests, who often helped Intel pulled on stage to join in, but This year was totally not. "First Financial Daily" found at the scene two days ago, almost no PC company executives appeared on the scene.

in the IDF gold, silver sponsor, only Lenovo, Haier 2-PC business, the others are operating systems, software and core components company.

This may be the topic of this year, with the giant "embedded future," the. According to IEEE (International Electrical and Electronics Engineers) defines embedded software and hardware system is complex, and cut depending on the application software, hardware and programs. It often refers to those consumer electronics such as handheld devices, especially mobile terminals and industry-specific application programs, side by side with the traditional PC market fundamentals. PC manufacturers would not wish man to do the wedding dress.

be regarded as Intel is the 3rd person, executive vice president and general manager of global business unit structure of the earth, said Pu, IDF has a different theme each year. But all the executives in his speech of Intel, which has become the Intel of the future strategy of the most important.

Pu depicts the earth's future in the embedded market. That is, Core, Ling Dynamic framework, covering all applications. Among them, the "Xeon" processor family will focus on servers, and "Atom" will be full penetration of the Internet, intelligent of this, smart phones, car information systems, medical systems.

Pu land that proudly say that Atom is a specific product before, but now has a processor "architecture" is the hardware platform for embedded systems. He said that Ling moving in the Internet market has made the "great success\Intel's global vice president, general manager of software and services division said Zhan Rui Ni, Ling will move into the more equipment, in addition to access this, smart phone, but also is entering the Internet TV market.

Zhan Rui Ni said, the company is on the moving platform and Hanwang Ling, Tsinghua do with the side of a new product design. Intel China, said Yang Xu, general manager of a large area, the fourth quarter, based on Ling moving to a new consumer electronics product launch.

"redefinition of moving from Ling and use of resources, can be said that Intel is 'fully embedded technology'." Editor of the International Electrical Business, Semiconductor industry veteran Sun Changxu the scene of the newspaper said.

Intel Embedded and Communications Division, General Manager Davis said the company had considered consumer electronics, mobile Internet devices (mainly referring to was MID), low-cost PC market next three profitable market size has reached 10 billion U.S. dollars. Before analysis, CEO Paul Otellini said in 2011, embedded market will be able to more than 10 billion U.S. dollars, while in 2015, will add 15 billion embedded devices connected to the Internet.

"bottle" of embarrassment?

Intel described the market so beautiful, but it now advocating "embedded" concept, like holding an old bottle in the selling.

to know a processor from Intel's history since 8080, it had 30 years of hard work in this area, and more than 30 market segments has 3,500 customers. Up to now, almost all forms of embedded PC products, have been led X86 processor architecture it ruled.

but this is only PC product form the market. Described in Intel's Internet world, especially the mobile Internet market, in addition to the existing notebook, netbook, it brilliant little experience, and even more is the bitterness and embarrassment. For example, in mobile phones, consumer electronics, set-top boxes, car entertainment system and even its own advocates in the MID and other fields, it is not the current leader. In 2006, Intel will also be loss of years of mobile application processors xscale reluctantly sold.

Davis explained yesterday that the sale of Intel's applications processor time because the company "more concerned about the future of Intel's own architecture." The newspaper reported before, the Intel processor architecture models from rival ARM, it has been reluctant to subject to the opponent, then after the X86 with the original PC architecture Shahui common in this area and want to dominate the market. The spring of 2008, officially launched the Atom processor, mobile Internet market in the name banner and began to re-layout. At that time, its product plans, including MID, netbook, but with mobile phone giant Intel has been secretly "flirting."

, however, took a giant new wine in old bottles fitted, has encountered two major problems: First, PC processor architecture for power consumption, high cost, the use of the Internet and mobile phones, two or three hours of no electricity; Second, the operating system market, too, turned to Intel's mobile Internet from the PC is facing re-selection camp co-operation problems, fraternizing with Microsoft in the past it was considered a "Wintel" alliance, but the mobile Internet equipment, particularly the smart phone market there is Win CE, Symbian, Apple, Palm and the open source Linux.

This is Intel's open-source Linux distribution in recent years has been the background, it is weakening the reliance on Microsoft. Over the past two years, the two companies have been complaining about each other's voices heard. Until 2008, Intel introduced its own Linux system, developed by leading Moblin, the market realized that the giant hands really.

Zhan Rui Ni, said handheld device operating system, decentralized, lacks a unified platform, which will lead to development costs 5 times higher than before. In reply to this question, she stressed that expansion of the embedded market, we must be open sourced, to adapt to a variety of development environments.

This is Nokia, Intel in February introduced the so-called hand Meego strategic reasons. Two giants suffer from non-standard operating systems, open source operating system developed in secret, plus they are moving in more types of mobile Internet terminal areas, and then come together to set up a Meego product integration alliance. Today, the Union has been dragged into a number of independent software developers, consumer electronics companies including Neusoft, the successful tenderer and other Chinese software enterprises.

the beginning of this year Intel plans to release the software application store (APP UP STORE) program is to form a larger platform. Otellini said before, this platform not only for the Internet future of the Service, and will push any Intel processor platform.

opportunity

Intel to achieve it depicts the future? Present at the market level, it's embedding of action, in addition to the Internet the outside, and do not give a real shock.

for example, as of now, Intel is not the world's top five mobile phone terminal of supply processors, which still uses the British ARM and partner companies such as Qualcomm's program, and in the more low-end market , based on many ARM processor manufacturers such as MediaTek, Spreadtrum is the protagonist and other companies. More segments in other areas of the embedded market, MIPS-led camp have begun to seize the shares, such as MIPS architecture Godson China, Beijing and other processor companies are monarch, with Linux open source operating system, the market has been shipping in the Internet for a long time, and even secretly exported to overseas. Among them, the monarch is still the largest supplier of Hanwang eBook Processor.

Intel Embedded Solutions Business Unit Director, China dimension to the newspaper, said Yang Shi: The company will not ship to ship and are not very eager to cooperate with the handset manufacturers, mobile Internet market as more than simply PC market to have more basic work to do. He said the company has with the two operators, telecommunications equipment supplier Huawei, ZTE has established stable cooperation, through which the impact of terminal market.

Intel, power consumption has been criticized solve it? Chen Shi Yang huitan opponents before the ARM does have some advantages, but for now Intel Atom architecture is already very close to it. A next-generation Intel Atom single-core reading program in the semiconductor sources, Intel has been able to achieve 200 mW, and the ARM almost the same.

but ARM is taking the road authority, you can hatch many processor business, Intel also want to continue to play an embedded processor platform independent enterprise. Davis stressed, ARM processor camp does have a lot of partners, but the ARM architecture hardware and software compatibility, software applications, both far from universal.

this, ARM China, a person does not think that Intel would pose a great threat, he said: "Speaking of hardware and software compatibility, in the embedded market, there are companies with the operating system than the ARM experience in working more manufacturers do? "

However, ARM's business model is relatively single, it also lacks Intel's financial, marketing and promotion capabilities. For example Meego, software applications store layout, are likely to be activated Ling curve tool for moving the market. Zhan Rui-ni said, APP UP STORE has been extended to the United States, Canada and 27 European countries, has allowed partners to make money, the Chinese partners can earn dollars, pounds.

giants really have nothing to be proud of. While Chinese companies have been involved, this model is also the main stay in the overseas market, China has not started. Yang said that the application stores a date yet to enter China. This business model similar to Apple's future may be encountered twists and turns Apple into China and embarrassment.

Intel marketing is often first with the formation of market-leading trend. Such as the past two days, it has announced, and Tencent, China and Thailand, flag factories and other enterprises to establish cooperation. Intel's "Meego + Ling Dynamic" Platform has been "drilling" into China and Thailand the latest in a car.

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