Intel Strategy Draws New Competitors

Intel is now battling with new competitors in addition to known adversaries—AMD and IBM—making the next few years competitive for the silicon giant, reports In-Stat. Due to anticipated slower growth and lower pricing in the PC market, Intel's key base since the 1980s, Intel is looking to new markets for growth opportunities, the high-tech market research firm says.

"Intel's CEO, Paul Otellini, identified ultra-mobile PCs (UMPCs)/Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs), emerging markets PCs as key targets (allegedly worth $10 billion each), and consumer electronics, giving the competition ample warning to prepare for Intel's onslaught," says Jim McGregor, In-Stat Principal Analyst. "Intel's expansion into emerging form factors, such as MIDs, with low-power products expands its list of competitors, particularly those in the ARM processor camp."

Recent research by In-Stat found the following:

AMD will shadow Intel's move into emerging form factors with accelerated processing units (APU)

IBM will continue pushing the POWER processor architecture for servers and consumer electronics, but In-Stat believes it may exit the semiconductor business within a decade due to high fab costs, competition, and changing business models

ARM suppliers and VIA will compete with Intel for MID/UMPC, what In-Stat refers to as Ultra Mobile Devices (UMDs), design wins

Intel will maintain its leadership position in computing, but faces competition and difficulty overcoming other barriers in consumer electronics

The research, "Intel Competitor Line-up: Challenges to the Industry Leader," covers the competitive landscape for Intel. It provides extensive analysis of Intel's key competitors' strategies and how they are each responding to Intel's new strategy. Intel's strengths and weaknesses and those of its competitors are examined in detail along with the opportunities and threats that each company currently faces.

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