Intel may be king of processors for PCs, but it's fallen far behind in the great mobile processing race. Meanwhile, Qualcomm and other chip makers have been chomping down the entire mobile processing pie. In a market absolutely dominated by mobile devices, Intel really needs to get a move on.
Finally, at MWC 2014, Intel proved that it is serious about challenging Qualcomm to gain a foothold in the world of mobile device processors. On Monday, Intel introduced two new Atom Merrifield processors for smartphones and tablets. It also debuted an interesting chip with LTE-Advanced onboard and hinted at its next-generation Moorefield processors for mobile devices, which are expected to arrive later this year.
The two Atom Merrifield CPUs feature 64-bit architecture and promise processing power comparable to that of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 processor. The Intel Atom Z3460 chip runs at 1.6 GHz. The Intel Atom Z3480 chip was built using a 22-nanometer process and should offer significant improvements in battery life. The Atom Z3480 runs at 2.1 GHz and is the first of Intels' processor to feature Intel Integrated Sensor Solution, which helps the chip process data from sensors even when the device is in low-power mode.
Lenovo, Asus and Foxconn have all signed agreements with Intel to use its new mobile processors in some of their devices over the next few years. Intel stated that these two new Atom processors should appear on multiple devices once the second quarter of 2014 begins. Although Intels' mobile processor haven't been wildly popular, the company believes that its luck will change soon, especially once it releases the upcoming Moorefiled processors later this year.
"We have made significant advancements in our mobile computing," said President Renee James during the Intel press conference at MWC 2014.
Intel also hopes that its new LTE-A processor will make its way into devices made by bigger-name manufacturers soon. Hermann Eul, head of Intel's mobile processor division, told CNET that he expects to sign an agreement with Samsung soon to confirm the use of the Intel LTE-A chip on an upcoming version of the Galaxy S5. Although no deal has been signed as of yet and Eul didn't say on which models of the Galaxy S5 Intels' processor might appear, it certainly won't be on the flagship that Samsung will announce later on Monday. Nonetheless, Intel remains positive that its mobile processors will soon get more recognition and challenge Qualcomm's offerings.
"The interest in LTE is high," Eul said. "Everybody wants an alternative [to Qualcomm.]"
Qualcomm, of course, begs to disagree. Qualcomm also introduced new processors at MWC 2014, including the Snapdragon 801, which is marginally faster than its very popular, lightening-fast Snapdragon 800 chipset. Qualcomm also debuted two octa-core, 64-bit processors: the Snapdragon 615 and 610. With offerings like these, Cristiano Amon, an executive vice president at Qualcomm, firmly believes that the company will continue to dominate the mobile processor market.
"We feel very confident that we'll be able to compete and maintain our position," Amon said told Bloomberg. "We're working very, very hard to maintain a distance with our competition."
