PC vendors pessimistic about MIDs

PC vendors pessimistic about MIDs

Daniel Fleshbourne on 04 July 2008 - 09:23 · 6 comments & 5114 views

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Although Intel is aggressively pushing MIDs (Mobile Internet Devices) and its Centrino Atom platform, PC vendors still feel pessimistic about the market's future. The increasing demand for 7- to 10-inch netbooks and declining worldwide economy impose great threats toward MID products, noted sources at PC vendors.

In addition to the above factors, Nvidia's ARM-based Tegra is also creating pressure toward MIDs.

View: The full story @ DigiTimes

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(2 replies) #1 ivanz on 04 Jul 2008 - 09:30

ARM has already been successfully used in MIDs (ie Nokia N800). I really don't see an x86 CPU being used unless it has everything in it (becoming a SoC). Not to mention it having the same power consumption of ARM, and being as cheap.

#1.1 MrA on 04 Jul 2008 - 17:55

Well, that's where Intel is trying to head. The Atom chip is the first step in their attempt at world domination. The problem that I have is that even if Intel makes a low-power x86 SoC, it'll be inferior to an ARM processor at a similar power consumption. I fear Intel's push of worthless crap (x86) into a market where it doesn't belong is just gonna bring crap to us consumers and we won't have a choice.

#1.2 HalcyonX12 on 06 Jul 2008 - 21:32

In the past, a lot of applications made use of x86 machine code, or device code was tied to the x86 and it was really difficult to just use another architecture. Now a lot of code is portable and is already offered on a wide variety of architectures (PPC, x86, ARM, even video game systems can be made to run the same software used on desktops, look how many platforms you can run Firefox on for example).

(1 reply) #2 Airlink on 04 Jul 2008 - 23:17

Um... ASUS Eee PC, anyone? You know, the mini-laptop that weighs 2 pounds and packs an SSD? Yeah, that one.
Guess what the processors are. Intel Celeron ULV or Intel Atom.

So, you "...really don't see an x86 CPU being used..." in a mobile Internet device, eh? Well, it's being done. Right now. And it's selling very well.

#2.1 markjensen on 06 Jul 2008 - 21:36

But strangely enough, though EeePC has been surprisingly (to many) successful, Asus seems to be building on that success but doing what?

That's right. Making them bigger and bigger, like sub-notebook possibly with plans for full notebook sizes.

Now, to que an awful car analogy, it would be like GM deciding that they have a suddenly hot-selling small economy-sized car, so they are going to expand their market by making more models under that brand that start to approach Cadillac size again.

#3 HalcyonX12 on 06 Jul 2008 - 21:26

Of course they're pessimistic. They want to sell you PCs, they don't want you to go to an OEM and buy a complete product.

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PC vendors pessimistic about MIDs

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