14 DAY TRIAL // Even though the Moorestown chip was recently the cause behind a certain rough exchange of words between Intel and NVIDIA, this mobile x86 chip still managed to land inside a significant number of electronics on display at this year's Computex event in Taipei. Not only were there many tablets, each loaded with MeeGo or Android, but even a few smartphones, made by Ava Mobile. This goes to show that, even if the technology is not in final stages, the interest in mobile x86 CPUs is real.
For years, the ARM architecture, thanks to its very high power efficiency, has ruled the mobile market virtually unquestioned. During that time, Intel did try to make a few forays into this field, but its x86 chips were simply too power hungry to qualify as valid replacements. Moorestown represents a step towards overcoming this hurdle. Unfortunately, consumers may have to wait more than they would expect for an ARM-Intel competition to actually spark.
ARM is quite confident that it will keep a firm hold of the mobile segment and Intel's announcement at Computex today seems to confirm that this will be true, at least for whatever is left of the ongoing year. Anand Chandrasekher, senior vice president and general manager of Intel's Ultra Mobility Group, supposedly said that it would take between 6 and 12 months for Moorestown devices to start selling. He also added that the tablet form factor would likely be the first to house such chips. As it stands, slates will start cropping up either very late this year or, most likely in early 2011.
The first Intel smartphones should also become available during the first or second quarter of next year. In the meantime, efforts will likely be put into enhancing power efficiency and putting the final touches on the MeeGo operating system.