Intel to take a kicking in MID space
07 May 2008
Intel to take a kicking in MID space
Sales of Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) are forecast to exceed $17bn annually by 2014, but Intel-based are expected to take a back seat to those powered by mobile industry heavyweight ARM.
So says industry analyst Strategy Analytics, which predicts that global sales of MIDs in 2008 will reach 1 million units and will continue to grow at an average annual rate of 102 per cent to reach 69 million units by 2014.
MIDs represent the latest attempt by the computing, mobile and consumer electronics sectors to create a market for handheld gadgets that support the complete range of internet applications familiar to PC users.
This nascent gadget market is being championed by WiMAX proponents, which see the devices as a way of differentiating their platform from existing mobile services. Intel itself is pitching its own Atom platform as a way of enabling PC-like capabilities and "an uncompromised internet experience".
But the word's largest chipmaker is considerable more optimistic than Strategy Analytics, with its own estimates putting the market for MIDs, low-cost PCs, internet-enabled consumer electronics and embedded devices such as in-car systems, at a value of $40bn by 2011. Intel is betting big on the sector, having spent 20 per cent of its R&D budget this year on expanding into new markets with Atom, as well as graphics and WiMAX wireless chips.
"Intel's Moorestown system-on-a-chip will be critical to the company's MID strategy," said Peter King, director of the Connected Home Devices unit at Strategy Analytics. "But until this arrives in 2009 or 2010, ARM-based vendors will use this window of opportunity to establish market leadership positions."
Ultimately, the proven advantages of the ARM ecosystem in mobile devices are seen as outweighing those of the Intel platform, leading to ARM devices comprising the majority of MID sales by 2014.
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