Intel's Atom is on a collision course with Core—and everybody loses

Intel has made it clear that its fourth-generation Core or “Haswell” processors will power future PCs. But at the low end of the notebook market, the company's branding strategy will be far muddier—and that's bad for Intel, considering it needs to tell consumers exactly what to buy.

On one hand, Intel needs to present a clear alternative to ARM, whose tablet partners dominate the mobile space and threaten traditional PCs. From a technical standpoint, Intel seems well on its way to solving that problem. Intel’s Haswell chip will eventually migrate to as little as 6 watts, Intel said Tuesday, meaning that its Core chips could eventually power tablets, too. But in the meantime, Intel's upcoming “Bay Trail” Atom chips are waiting in the wings—and could offer the performance buyers want at a fraction of the price.

This fall, buyers looking to pick up an inexpensive Windows convertible or notebook may have to sort through several processor brands, including Atom, Core, Pentium, and Celeron. And that’s without even factoring in the code names: Bay Trail, Silvermont, and Haswell, among others. Intel may have the right chip at the right price, but because its processor line-up is so crowded, it's in real danger of screwing the whole thing up.

Intel

If there’s one thing Intel did “wrong,” it’s that it made the Bay Trail Atom chip so good—too good for some Wall Street analysts, who worry that a $60 Atom chip will drag down profit margins at a company used to selling Core chips for hundreds of dollars.

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Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2040752/intels-atom-is-on-a-collision-course-with-core-and-everybody-loses.html#tk.rss_laptopcomputers

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