Intel Splits on Atom
Intel initially intended for Atom to scale down its legacy Wintel desktop x86 processor architecture for use in efficient mobile devices such as phones and tablets, but that strategy has been effectively abandoned as the chipmaker now moves to refocus its sights on modems, data center, Internet of Things and memory chips.
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The move kills Intel’s once enthusiastic plans to muscle its way back into smartphone devices after first fumbling the ball in 2006, when its former chief executive Paul Otellini overlooked the prospect of supplying chips for Apple’s original iPhone as not worth doing.
See also: Hacker News, Slashdot.
Update (2016-05-04): See also: The Talk Show.
Update (2016-05-16): Jean-Louis Gassée (Hacker News):
The Wintel virtuous cycle was running at full speed when Steve Jobs made his visit to Intel. Despite Otellini’s gut feelings, the iPhone was an unproven product in a misunderstood market. It didn’t fit Intel’s financial model — which reminds us that a spreadsheet isn’t a window through which to view the future.
