And Intel is still pushing fresh clouds of vapor at Comdex .....
They did a keynote address today and showed people a huge tablet that was thin as a greeting card and could do more than today's laptop, supposedly.
Of course, it is vapor, the tablet was a non-functional show and tell that just displays some set pictures. But the fact Intel is still getting keynote slots means that they still have enough clout to get them. (MS was nowhere to be seen).
Keynotes are all about the desired future and nobody executes future vapor and slides better than Intel .....
What if Intel pulls it off? I know right now it seems they can't do much right right now and are blowing money out of their butts just to be in the game at all, and this thing with Rockchip sure smacks of desperation as their current move and all.
But what if .... 14nm is small and tight enough to enable the existing crop of Intel cludges to actually MOVE fast enough and be finally battery life sound?
What if Rockchip can teach Intel how to integrate a system on a chip?
Got some big maybes there -- and they predicate on ARM sitting still or agreeing to move at a slow Intel pace while Intel goes about doing it.
This isn't going to happen.
Intel will not be the first one to go 14nm, Apple is already in production on the 14nm 64 bit quad core A9 as we speak, Qualcomm will get there second very closely followed by Samsung (who is making Apple's A9 chip now) -- followed by MediaTek and Allwinner at about the same time Intel goes.
You have got to realize that these 14nm production lines belong to the major developing foundries, not to Intel. And the foundries have a pecking order for new tech based on customer volume.
Intel is currently #6 in tablets, way way back in the pack. Even if the Rockchip thing was monolithic solid, they would only be #4.
The major ARM Foundries see Intel primarily as a competitor, not as a "preferred" customer.Yes, Intel did buy themselves a 14nm line, yes, way way back early on using a tech that didn't work out -- burned/melted it up and yes, have probably had the time to get it fixed back up by now to maybe working right again -- but to say that Intel is simply going to die shrink their existing stuff and suddenly be "world dominating" is BS.
Their designs are NOT world beating now, what will make them world beating when they shrink to 50% size when the rest of the world is at 50% size swinging better, MUCH tighter designs?
Deep pockets have kept Intel in the game this long, and until Intel's board of directors gives up on the huge negative spending Intel will fling lots of money and lots of fresh vapor and keep on floundering along.
In the past two weeks Intel has threatened to horn in on some ARM turn key proprietary designs, suborned Rockchip, and is now threatening Qualcomm and Samsung with one upmanship. All the while firing lots & lots of vapor bullets.
ARM doesn't own any vapor bullets, nor does Qualcomm. Samsung has been stung by merely being premature in the past, so I doubt they will say much until they really go do it either.
Rockchip and Intel might well constitute some good comedy to watch (Laurell and Hardy type) but the next wave of ARM 64 bit releases will be what Intel should be paying close attention to.
Accurate return rifle fire is a rock hard bitche ... and this doesn't feel like a friendly football game any more since Intel took to suborning players and swiping up chunks of turn-key ARM designs.
Yeah, I know, Intel paid for licenses so it is all legal and all -- still ARM isn't going to love them for swiping their linemen, specifically the one who was tasked with blocking off Intel's current runner.
And Rockchip may have done themselves in for cooperating with this swipeage after having agreed to be the Intel blocker last year.