The unthinkable has happened: When Intel looks into its future, it sees Android, not Windows, at least as far as tablet sales go. Does this mean the end of the Microsoft-Intel Wintel alliance that once ruled the world?
During Intel's earnings call yesterday, CEO Brian Krzanich made it clear that the future, as well as the present, of tablets for Intel is Android, not Windows. He said that between 80% and 90% of the 5 million tablet processors Intel shipped this year are for Android tablets, with the rest for Windows tablets. He said that Intel hopes for big growth in tablet processors, and has a goal of selling processors for 40 million tablets -- and 80% to 90% of them would be Android.
Intel Chief Financial Officer Stacy Smith reiterated what Krzanich had to say about Intel betting on Android rather than Windows, Reuters reports. Smith noted that Intel 's goal of 40 million processors for tablets meant exactly that -- for tablets and not low-end PCs. He added:
Even with shipping processors for 40 million tablets, Intel expects to have only 15% to 20% of the tablet market in 2014. But if it was betting on Windows rather than Android tablets, its numbers would be well below that.
So does this mean the end of the long-time Wintel alliance? Yes and no. When Windows ruled the world, profits were fat for both Microsoft and Intel. Those days are gone, so in that sense Wintel is gone as well, at least when the term is used to connote a near-monopoly on the computer market.
But Intel will certainly continue to churn out processors for Windows-based machines, and that will remain its bread and butter for years to come. Like Microsoft, Intel relied on Windows for too long, and sales of mobile processors are now suffering because of it. But it's finally recognized that at least for mobile, Windows isn't the future -- Android is.
What is in Future??:
A see-through display is an electronic display that allows the user to see what is shown on the glass screen while still being able to see through it. It is a technology that has been around for a decade or two, but only as of 2012 was it being incorporated by companies such as Samsung and Planar Systems into consumer products like handheld devices, televisions, and other technology. These screens can be used for augmented reality, a way of enhancing your view of the world with digital images overlaid onto real ones, and other applications such as shopping displays and more sophisticated computer screens.
MIT Researchers are working on creating Transparent Displays inexpensively using nano-particles.
