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Intel seriously serious about getting into tablet market. Seriously.

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Yes! Finally, Intel is taking the gloves off and getting serious about getting into the tablet market. At least that’s the message from Intel VP Mooly Eden and to prove he’s serious, he even held up an Intel tablet design at an Intel investor meeting. An Intel-based tablet? Wow! I’ve never owned one or three of those.

From the Circuits Blog at CNET:

And the first serious Intel-based designs will show up at Computex in June. “People ask me, are you serious about trying to participate in the tablet market? The answer is yes…The message is stay tuned for Computex,” Intel Vice President Mooly Eden, who heads the chipmaker’s client group, said at the Intel investor meeting on Tuesday.

Woo hoo! That’s right, people. Intel is “serious about trying to participate in the tablet market”, and the “first serious Intel-based designs” will be unveiled in a matter of weeks. One question: does that mean these Intel-based tablets I’ve been using until now have not been serious?

I understand you didn’t design the processor in my first tablet, a Pentium III, specifically for tablets, but since then, I’ve used a Core Duo and Core 2 Duo. Just seems weird that vendors keep stuffing your processors into my tablets, and it’s been a joke this whole time. That’s so funny. And what about the Mobile Internet Device form factor you pushed in 2007? I guess those Intel MID tablet designs you introduced weren’t serious attempts either. Good to know. Guess I should hold off on my next purchase of an Intel-powered tablet until you get serious about it.

12 Comments

12 Comments

  1. Warner Crocker

    05/12/2010 at 7:52 am

    Why do I sense that “stay tuned” is becoming a theme?

  2. CBONE

    05/12/2010 at 8:04 am

    I think they should go the Apple route: Take an existing design, strip the I/O out of it in favor of a port & dongle setup, thin it up, then talk about it like you took starstuff out of the aether using unicorn-horn tongs and forged it into something revolutionary and magical with Mjolnir.

    On a serious note, what ever happened to all that Larrabee tech? Don’t see why that couldn’t be leveraged still for tablets.

    Anyway, when Intel gets serious, that means the megabucks are going to flow. They said that about the business computer (Centrino), they said it about taking back the performance crown (Core series), etc.

  3. Dan

    05/12/2010 at 8:49 am

    Just my little humble opinion, but I would think that Intel is refering to something other than processors and architecture chips here. I think they may be delving into the deeper waters of a ‘device.’

    When it is introduced will we get to see the people in skin tight blue jump suits dancing around again? Seriusly…

    Dan

    • Sumocat

      05/12/2010 at 9:02 am

      Dan, I think that’s exactly what they’re going to do, but they did the same with MIDs and, in fact, they introduced a tablet at last year’s Computex, the 3rd Gen Classmate PC, which is a convertible tablet. They’ve been designing whole devices for a few years now. Why it’s *serious* this time is beyond me.

      • Dan

        05/13/2010 at 9:02 am

        Oh yea…thanks for the reminder. I remember that joint MS/Intel response to the One Laptop Per Child initiative. I had forgotten about that.

        I wonder what Intel has in store for new micro-hardware to make a tablet as thin as the one on the picture? A dual core Atom?

        Also, I assume that MS would be coming along as well. I hope it involves active digitizers and Win 7 as opposed to just a touch screen and Win Phone. Time will tell!

        Dan

  4. CBONE

    05/12/2010 at 9:31 am

    Intel is like an NBA team that coasts until the playoffs. They can turn it on when they need to. Tablets (ipad style) were an ultra niche market until about a minute ago. When they push tablets like they pushed the Pentium 4, Centrino, and Core series, that’s when Intel is serious. To me & you, their previous tablet efforts seemed serious, but that was like a garage band side project for fun.

  5. GoodThings2Life

    05/12/2010 at 9:54 am

    Woah! I’m have a serious rush of seriousness right seriously now! This is great news! I’ve been waiting for Intel to get serious for so long that I’d completely become as silly as they are!

  6. Mike aka C-141xlr

    05/12/2010 at 11:14 am

    Intel just said they are going to “participate” – as in show what could be done with sample products and hope that the manufacturers get on board with those ideas. They have done this before as noted above by Sumocat.

  7. Brett Gilbertson

    05/13/2010 at 5:48 am

    They did do this pretty well IMHO with the initial MCA design that became the motion c5… The MID designs are pretty amazing really, although currently not very usable. If you massage that into a 10″ ipad style form factor, added capacitive touch and a digitizer you’d have a pretty sweet device… I hope intel do get serious about owning this market now.

  8. Virtuous

    05/13/2010 at 6:21 pm

    Intel has caught a serious case of iPad envy. The iPad has succeeded because it’s not a computer in the traditional sense. If you want a computer there are hundreds of laptops, netbooks, Tablet PCs and UMPCs to choose from.

  9. everbrave

    05/14/2010 at 12:30 am

    the device he is holding in his hand looks like the iPad, and so will will look most of the coming tablets. It seems that Apple was needed for the revival of the slate, i.e. the tablet, form-factor!

  10. ChrisRS

    05/14/2010 at 10:14 am

    Seriously, I would take this more seriously, with out the barret and black tirtleneck. There are enough Appple copying accusations without copying Steve Jobs.

    Seriously, include an active digitizer. Seriously.

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