A Call to Paul*
June 5th, 2008by Barry Young, Senior Advisor and Consultant
Intel introduced the 2W+ Atom, its latest low cost, low power microprocessor, which is yet another attempt to expand their market by creating a product family, falling between the Smart Phone and the notebook. This “middy” device which in previous incarnations has failed miserably has been called the UMPC, MID, Palmtop, net top and net book. The problem for Intel in creating a new market is that the processor is the least of the issues. What they need is an intuitive UI and a display that can show a full page (SVGA) of the Internet that will also easily fit in your pocket. The iPhone comes closest to meeting these needs, but the display is only 3.5” in diagonal and the resolution only 480 × 320. But it does break new ground in packaging and the user interface.
It is surprising that Intel has not learned from the past by taking the extra step, incorporating one of two displays that could meet these requirements.
- Polymer Vision has a 5.0” display that folds up. Currently, the resolution is only QVGA, but they have assured me that it could easily increase to WSVGA. But no color and no video.
- Samsung SDI showed a foldable AMOLED that is 2- QVGA panels working as one. Color, video, but probably high cost.
However, if Intel wants to sell lots of processors, they should be willing to subsidize the display and make it up on the volume of devices until the display costs inevitably come down.
Come on Paul… give the “middy: a chance.
*Paul Otelini, CEO, Intel
www.displaysearch.com
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