During the company’s earnings call, Intel’s president and chief executive, Paul Otellini, acknowledged that Intel’s response to tablets was “the big question on everyone’s mind.” With Apple and Samsung supplying the chips for their own tablets, and Qualcomm likely to make the jump from smartphones soon, Intel is already behind.
“Our design-win momentum is very strong, and in the coming months and quarters, you will see Intel solutions that run on Windows, Android and MeeGo operating systems across a variety of form factors and price points,” Otellini said.
Let’s take a closer look at how Intel is getting into tablets.
Near Future: Windows 7
In any case, these are stop-gap efforts for both Microsoft and Intel, resembling chopped-off netbooks more than mobile devices. Ballmer said major slate-optimized revamps won’t happen until the next version of Windows.
Midterm: Android and MeeGo
The other vessel for Moorestown is the MeeGo operating system, which Intel and Nokia are developing together. Prototypes of Intel MeeGo tablets running Moorestown are floating around. (Here’s a video of the so-called CarryPad, here’s a video of a Moorestown tablet running World of Warcraft, though I’m not sure which operating system is at work.)
Long Term: Oak Trail
Oak Trail is similar to Moorestown, except it can run full versions of Windows. Otellini suggested that this is pretty important, because it will allow Intel to work with all major tablet operating systems except Apple, and provides the power to perform “real full multitasking.” Specific products are unknown, but if the stars align, Microsoft will get its tablet act together with an optimized version of Windows running on Intel’s new chips.