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January 27, 2014

You Can Expect to See a 23 Percent Rise in the Tablet Processor Chip Market This Year

Could this be the year that Intel reclaims the name that it once made for itself? There was a time when I would not touch a PC or Laptop if it did not have an Intel processor. But alas, PCs and Laptops have given way to smartphones and tablets.

Recently, we mentioned that Intel would be losing 5,000 jobs this year. The focus of Intel’s problems is that the company has failed to really get into the world of mobile devices. This is the direction that the world has been heading in for several years now and Intel has not made much headway.

According to recent studies from iHS Technology, we can expect to see strong growth in the processor market for tablet devices not only this year, but in the next couple of years as well. The growth predicted is an additional 56.6 million units shipping this year.

That represents an increase of about 23 percent. It doesn’t stop here, iHS sees this growth increasing in the next couple of years with 2015 showing an 18 percent increase and about 400 million tablet processors by 2016.

Currently, the two main tablet chip makers are Samsung and Qualcomm. In addition to making chips for its own products, Samsung also makes tablet chips for the iPad. You can see Qualcomm chips in most smartphones. It is going to be difficult for newcomers to join this group.

This is where Intel has an opportunity to possibly rectify errors in strategy that it has already taken the blame for. The highest profile new competitor, in the tablet chip market is Intel. Its tablet chips will find their way into a broad array of Android-based tablets.

The Intel Bay Trail processors could be in entry-level, 7 to 8 inch Android tablets by the first quarter. Later generations of chips which will include Cherry Trail and Willow Trail are planned for future implementation down the road.

Gerry Xu, who is senior analyst for processor research at HIS, said “With the iPad from Apple, Samsung’s Galaxy and other offerings from  various tablet makers still selling well among consumers, a number of vendors are starting to join the race to supply tablet processors for the market.”

Xu also noted that some of the other players range from kingpin Intel, to a small variety of Chinese suppliers involved in the so-called white-box market for lower-end tablets. This could be where Intel will have the advantage.

So how can Intel compete in the market? Possibly the biggest challenge is the fact that there are a lot of Chinese vendors who are known for producing lower-end chips that are very affordably priced. The main reason that I never purchase a computer without “Intel in it” was the fact that I knew it was always reliable and compatible.

These are two solid reasons for choosing a product. If Intel can produce tablet chips along those same lines, then I do not see why the company can’t make some headway. Granted, it is coming from way behind, but when has that every stopped anyone!




Edited by Ryan Sartor


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