January 9, 2008
Forget the gizmos, buy the laptops
Paul Otellini has been setting out his stall for yet another push by Intel into consumer electronics. His keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show this year made much of the "personal internet". In this vision, every CE device connects to the internet, and anything that connects to the internet should be powered by an Intel chip.
At times like this it’s worth remembering previous Intel false dawns from CES. There was the 2001 announcement of a line of Intel-branded CE devices, like the $300 Intel Pocket Concert Audio Player (by October, Intel had decided to scrap the whole idea, along with the Dot.Station internet appliance for the kitchen, pictured above.) Then there was the 2004 unveiling of the LCOS technology that was meant to revolutionise the large-screen TV business (it was dropped seven months later.) Two years ago came the official launch of the Viiv consumer brand, which is quietly being put out to pasture.
It’s too early to tell if Intel’s latest attempt to break into a new generation of small, portable internet-connected consumer devices will fare any better, but it certainly faces some headwinds.
Meanwhile, there are plenty of reminders in Las Vegas of what really matters to Intel for the foreseeable future: laptops, laptops and more laptops. According to executive vice president Sean Maloney, the $200, Wimax-connected laptop is in sight, with high speed networks due for launch this year in the US and Japan. At that price, he predicts, laptop sales will hit an inflection point and the machines will become as ubiquitous as mobile phones.
Wishful thinking? Perhaps - but at least this is one consumer market that is already clearly within Intel’s grasp.
