Comment Articles

Does Intel still matter? Yes, but...

David Coursey AnchorDesk

Published: 24 Feb 2003 15:17 GMT

Take, for example, the new Centrino mobile chipset. Every time I hear the word "Centrino" I imagine some silly new atomic particle and start laughing. But if you're in the radio frequency (RF) business, this is deadly serious. One hardware manufacturer has told me that he's going to end up making Centrino-based notebooks whether he likes it or not -- in order to remain in Intel's good graces -- and can only hope the 802.11b wireless that comes with the chipset actually works well.

I'm always sceptical when Intel ventures off into something outside its core competencies, which I've never thought included RF design. And, had Intel been interested in pushing the envelope, it would have adopted the faster, yet compatible, 802.11g standard for Centrino, as Apple recently did with its new AirPort Extreme. By adopting the slower 802.11b standard instead, Intel is following the marketplace at a safe distance.

This being Intel, I have no doubt that its wireless technology has been done right. We'll find out for sure in a month or so after the first Centrino-based portables are released.

The point is that Intel calls its current state of affairs "being in the solutions business," or packaging things together that used to be purchased separately. This is the story of PC hardware, where almost everything you used to purchase separately -- things like modems, network adapters, and video cards -- are now included with the PC itself.

Centrino promises to make third-party wireless add-ons a thing of the past, at least if Intel has anything to say about it. And while it's only to be expected that what once were add-ons will eventually find their way into the basic chipset from which machines are assembled, this strategy only demonstrates how unsuccessful Intel has been in really pushing the envelope.

Rather than forcing progress, Centrino has the effect of homogenising hardware, and removing wireless performance and, perhaps, battery life as areas for competitive innovation. And while this may be inevitable, it leaves fewer and fewer areas where hardware manufacturers can actually compete. And it positions Intel not as an innovator, but as a follower.

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