I was given an opportunity some time ago to talk to the Regional Director of Tablet Product Marketing (Asia Pacific) at Intel, George Chacko.
So on to the topic at hand, Tablets. Intel’s still mainly shipping older silicon; its 32nm Saltwell-based Clover Trail SoCs. This first half of 2014 should see the newer 22nm Silvermont cores come to a tablet near you, with Merrifield and Moorefield SoCs.
These are essentially smartphone-class SoCs, which will go into 7-inch tablets and below, and probably some larger ones as well.
George adds that this is done because using a smartphone SoC in a larger chassis can lead to some desirable characteristics when compared to a larger or faster SoC that would go into a tablet.
Our discussion next turned to consumer awareness, and how Intel plans to help consumers understand what to expect from Intel tablets. The firm does put an effort into helping consumers make more informed decisions. They focus on end-user experience, and I think that’s probably the better ways of going about characterising ultra-mobile device performance. Raw benchmarks don’t really tell you much in this market, unless they’re very specific and low-level. Finally, software and hardware have to move in lockstep.
Intel can put out the best thing since sliced bread, but if OEMs mess up device firmware then it’s a dud in the end. Speaking of experience, Intel is putting in a conscious effort of making sure that OEMs don’t make a mockery of Intel, and helping them with the design and end-user experience consideration. George also says that their return rates are a low single-digit percentage, so I guess the company’s efforts are paying off. So it looks like we’re about to be flooded with Intel tablets, and watch ARM battle with folks at Santa Clara. That said, it’s worth noting that Intel’s focus will not be on smartphones much anymore, so it looks like ARM’s oldest bastion is safe from an Atomic onslaught going forward.
