Please do NOT post your Intel questions or comments here. Instead direct them to Intel’s web site/PR Department. Please take up your complaints directly with Intel Corp and not with me.

Thanks,

Alan Weissberger
IEEE ComSoc SCV Vice Chair and Program Chair
(X-Professor SCU Grad EE Dept)

How does this square with Intel licensing HSPA technology from Nokia, for use in mobile computing devices?

“Despite the rollout of HSPA networks gathering pace around the world, with the top-end of the HSPA range (without MIMO) offering peak downlink rates of 14.4Mbps, it does not unduly concern Siavash Alamouti, CTO of Intel’s Mobile Wireless Group.”

http://www.telecoms.com/11909/hspa-no-threat-to-wimax-says-intel

NOTE: Mr. Alamouti will be speaking at the Oct 14th IEEE ComSoc SCV meeting. He will describe the latest research results of his Mobile Wireless Group.

The Internet in Your Pocket: Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) & WiMAX
http://ewh.ieee.org/r6/scv/comsoc/Summary_011608_MIDWiMAX.pdf

Here’s a quote from that ComSoc-SCV meeting summary:

MIDs most hit consumer price points and support the following requirements:
• Small form factor
• Good battery life
• PC-like performance
• PC-like internet experience
• Affordable: PC OS/Internet/Communications ecosystem
• AND: Anytime/Anywhere BROADBAND (MOBILE WIMAX)

“3G will not make for a great mobile Internet user experience, but mobile WiMAX will.”
——————————————————————-
But won’t LG and (probably Nokia) make 3G (and not WiMAX) MIDs?

Nokia plans to launch an ARM-based netbook that relies on the Google-pioneered Android mobile operating system in 2010, writes Lazard Capital Markets analyst Daniel Amir in a research note issued this morning. In the same note, he predicts that the total number of netbooks sold worldwide will reach 25 million in 2009 vs. 10 million in 2008, with the majority of them being Intel-based machines running Windows.

Amir said he expects the Nokia notebook to be sold through carriers, which fits with Nokia’s distribution system for mobile phones. From the note:

“In our conversations with ODMs, we have confirmed that Nokia is planning to enter the netbook market with a Google Android, ARM-based netbook that would be sold at carriers. Considering this market is dominated by the PC players, we believe Nokia could face an uphill battle to succeed in this market.”

http://gigaom.com/2009/06/26/analyst-nokia-to-offer-an-android-netbook-in-2010/

So if this analyst is correct, Nokia will be going with a netbook that has nothing to do with the technology that is to be the basis for the strategic relationship with Intel.

With the semiconductor industry moving ever more deeply into System on a Chip (SoC), Intel needs to combine broadband wireless silicon with its low power processors. Using Mobile WiMAX home grown silicon, there is no licensing cost. If they have to license LTE silicon, there would be a substantial licensing charge per SoC sold. Hence, it is critical to Intel for Mobile WiMAX to succeed.

Intel has a comprehensive plan to reduce power consumption on its device oriented processors. Moorestown will be the 2nd generation of the Atom processor, followed by Medfield in early 2010. Power efficiency is expected to improve with each successive platform.

We expect the recent Wind River acquisition to play a key role in Intel’s mobile computing offerings, providing the necessary software to complement its low power processor line-up.

“This acquisition will bring us complementary, market leading software assets and an incredibly talented group of people to help us continue to grow our embedded systems and mobile device capabilities,” said Renee James, Intel vice president and general manager of the company’s Software and Services Group. “Wind River has thousands of customers in a wide range of markets, and now both companies will be better positioned to meet growth opportunities in these areas.”

Surprising that the Wind River play has not gotten more mention from analysts covering the Intel-Nokia collaboration. It will be a key part of Intel’s deliverables to cell phone, netbook, and MID OEM customers.

I attended Intel CTO Justin Rattner talk at the Computer History Museum on June 25th. He covered many interesting research topics in a thought provoking interview with Kate Greene of MIT Tech Review.

The single topic I was most intriqued by was the concept of an all digital radio– one with no analog components (e.g. RF front end, analog antenna/receivers). Intel Research engineers have modelled radio transmission as a digital computational machine, according to Mr Rattner. They have constructed a silicon prototype based on 45nm semiconductor process technology. The goal is to commercially realize an all digital radio chip using 32nm process technology.

Silicon scalability would be a huge benefit of an all digital radio. Unlike analog technology (which is not in Intel’s DNA), digital technology can be scaled to smaller diameters by using the latest process technology which tracks Moore’s Law. That means digital radios will be smaller than their analog counterparts. The digital radio can also be more easily combined with other digital functions, such as baseband PHY and MAC. However, there have also been advances in mixed signal technology that are resulting in such combinations for Mobile WiMAX chips.

Smart sensors, power reduction techniques, delivery of wireless power, robots with social networking capabilities were some of the other interesting topics Justin touched on. All in all a very enlightening and entertaining interview.

Reference:: Intel innovation lights up research day
Intel’s ‘show and tell’ event allowed the company to highlight how it hopes to harmonise its research and business objectives

Rattner says Intel’s researchers start by finding out what the company’s problems are, because “ultimately they translate into research objectives. I like to think Intel is somewhat unique in its ability to align its research with its business objectives.” At the moment, Rattner’s hot topic is the embedded chip market, where Intel is pushing its Atom processor for mobile devices.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/jun/24/intel-research-day

Analyst Opinion – Intel and Nokia announced a strategic relationship this week, a relationship that would point to a cooperation targeting the development of next-generation communicatiosn devices. The smartphone space is defined by four product vendors and one processor – none of which are currently Intel or Nokia. ARM is the dominant processor technology that is supplied by companies like Marvell, which uses technology that has been picked up up from Intel and Qualcomm. What is the tactical and strategic outlook of this segment, in which only one thing is certain: Going forward, you’ll generally want a smartphone other than the one you actually have.

From a tactical standpoint, this cooperationshould open doors for Intel with cell phone OEMs. Intel needs to create the impression of a growing feeding frenzy for their new Atom based cellphone processor. Companies don’t like to change technologies, regardless of the benefits. Changes represent risk and there is little in the way of margins in this segment, so mistakes can be incredibly painful for a cellphone company. In general, they practice the “better the devil you know than the one you don’t philosophy” which works against a challenging vendor like Intel. Conceivably, this was a good tactical move for Intel to gain mindshare and then use that to drive future sales.

For Nokia, the tactics of this aren’t as beneficial or clear. Nokia needs to sell current products and this relationship suggests there may be better ones coming shortly, which will obsolete what is already in the market. Developers on their Symbian platform may see this as a signal that Nokia is planning to abandon it. But Nokia has little mindshare in the smartphone space and they may be bleeding Symbian developers anyway. It puts Nokia in the news, however, it could also hurt current sales, creating a risky and potentially expensive tactical risk. There is also beginning speculation that they may not be working on a new Smartphone at all, but a Netbook of some kind, setting an expectation that might not be met.

Strategic implications

This is weaker for Intel, because Nokia simply isn’t perceived as a major player in the smartphone space. To be successful, that would have to change. From a strategic standpoint, their relationship with Apple or a partnership with RIM, Palm, or Google would be vastly more powerful, because they are all seen as major players in the targeted segment today.

Strategically for Nokia, this is actually a little stronger, because it puts them in the news as a smartphone player and gives them a chance to start to rebuild an image as a leader in the smartphone segment. Getting people talking about Nokia is one of the first steps to building relevance back. C, thisoupled with a compelling device could allow them to get back into the game at some future point.

http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/42994/119/

This partnership of technology visions will likely dilute Intel’s strong push for Mobile WiMAX and serve to confuse the industry (as Nokia has trash talked the technology as the new Betamax). This comes on top of Intel’s cancellation of the Rosedale 2 processor without providing a decent explanation.

The upshot is that there won’t be any hand held Mobile WiMAX devices with Intel silicon anytime soon. But there are many other WiMAX semiconductor companies who can take up the slack- e.g. Beceem, Sequans, GCT, Wavesat, etc. They will benefit from Intel’s credability gap and the confusion caused by the Nokia partnership (the 3rd one).

Intel obviously recognizes the shift from desktop to mobile computing, but so far has been unable to capitalize on it. Will the lower power version of Atom processor (code named Moorestown) be the ticket, especially when combined with 3G-HSPA silicon technology)?

Being able to offer a choice of 3G-HSPA, WiMAX, and WiFi silicon and COMBINING that with Moorestown just might be the connected moving parts that have so far been either missing or broken.