Intel president talks up company's mobile focus

Intel is working overtime to make up for its slow start in the smart device segment. During a presentation at Computex Taipei this week, Intel president Renée James revealed that more than 130 tablet models using an Intel chipset have launched or will launch this year.

Around 35% of tablets using an Intel Atom chipset also use Intel communications technologies, James said. To this end, the company has now started shipping its latest LTE-Advanced chipset platform to customers for interoperability testing.

James noted that Intel plans to launch its first integrated mobile system-on-a-chip (SoC) platform for entry-level smartphones and tablets in the fourth quarter. She made a public call using a smartphone reference design based on its dual-core SoFIA 3G SoC and revealed plans to bring a quad-core SoFIA LTE to the market in 1H15.

Last week, Intel announced a partnership with Chinese fabless semiconductor company Rockchip to add a quad-core SoFIA 3G derivative designed specifically for entry-level tablets.

James also revealed an Intel reference design for the first 14 nm fanless mobile PC, a 2-in-1 tablet/laptop hybrid with a 12.5″ screen and detachable keyboard.

As processing power improves and technology continues to evolve, James said the distinction between technology categories is blurring. Recent technology trends such as the Internet of Things and wearable technology are accelerating this trend.

“The era of integrated computing [is taking] hold, where form factor matters less than the experience delivered when all devices are connected to each other and to the cloud,” she said.

On the desktop side, James introduced the fourth generation of Intel’s Core i7 and i5 processor SKU, which supports four cores at up to 4 GHz base frequency.

Pictured: Intel President Renée James.