IT is starting to look like Intel's processors for smartphones will not be seen until next year at the earliest.
Word on the street is that Intel's next generation of mobile phone chips are likely to be shown at the Consumer Electronics Show in next January or at the Mobile World Congress conference in February. Intel has been talking up its new chip codenamed Moorestown for mobile devices for some time. However a date for the release has never been forthcoming.
It was suggested that the “extremely power efficient” chip which can handle video conferencing and HD video would be around at the end of the year. Intel has failed to make an impression in the mobile chip market which has been dominated by ARM. In 2006 it even gave up and flogged its XScale ARM-based division to Marvell.
It has tried to suggest its Atoms could be shoved into smartphones but the chips were rejected by phonemakers because they consumed too much power. Intel is banking the farm on its Moorestown processors but if the release date keeps getting pushed back it might be an also ran. It is becoming fairly crucial as it means that Intel will not be able to capitalise on the Tablet fad which could have expired by the time it gets its chips to market.
Some tablet makers were waiting for Moorestown chips but have had to start production without Intel.
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