Intel and Nokia seek control of MID space with Linux/Atom platform
Published: 24 June, 2009
READ MORE: Intel | Nokia | Linux
Continued ...
The classic netbook may have been sewn up by Atom and Windows, but growth and better margins will come from fully mobile devices that drive a whole new way of working and playing, not just more conventient PC usage. So it is essential for Intel to push its x86 architecture into this space long before volume is achieved, to prevent ARM-based products sweeping the board with their low power and mobile pedigree. And if Linux is likely to be the main OS, Nokia needs to control the flavour that dominates, keeping Android out while focusing Symbian on another important market - the ever widening reach of the smartphone and mobile internet in emerging economies. The support of Intel's scale and channels to market will help, as well as bringing a tightly integrated hardware/software architecture, and supporting two MID architectures (x86 and ARM) to boost competition and price negotiations.
All that remains now is for the companies to define their platform. This, of course, is the hard part, especially for two firms that are very long on vision but sometimes fluff the execution, and firms that are disadvantaged by the new alliance, such as Qualcomm, will be watching keenly. Intel and Nokia need to integrate two operating systems and a range of tools, bring together and expand two developer communities, and create some actual devices that deliver on the promise of a ground breaking new format. No small task, and will two behemoths stand the best chance of success, because of their scale, resources and market power? Or will they prove to be two boulders tied together while nimbler rivals swim around them? Watch this space ....
A longer version of this analysis will appear in a Rethink Wireless Watch research note. Please contact Caroline Gabriel (caroline@rethinkresearch.biz) for details.
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