[IP] Intel's heft slows its wireless strategy
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
[Note: This is the Red Herring's take on the Intel processor story that I
posted earlier today. DLH]
April 12, 2004
Intel's heft slows its wireless strategy
Category: Computing
<http://blog.redherring.com/MT/archives/main/000162.html>
Intel is reaching for market share in the mobile device chip market. It
recently announced availability of its "Bulverde" chipset, which delivers
wireless video streaming, 3-D rendering, and security that is closely
identified with, but not clearly labeled as, digital rights management
(DRM). The release is a shot across the bow of Texas Instruments, the
largest U.S. manufacturer of chips for mobile handsets. But it's a shot
that falls short: the Intel chips lock device manufacturers into an
Intel-flavored design in a market where "Intel inside" branding carries no
weight.
Bulverde is shipping with the scintillating product name "PXA27x" and
delivers multi-network support. It is a significant move on Intel's part,
because this chipset will be able to communicate over 3G, wi-max, and other
wireless networks. It includes Intel's trusted wireless platform
technology, which supports a variety of cryptographic algorithms but
requires developers to write to Intel's specification. The press release
mentions that, among others, Sony Music Entertainment has developed
applications based on the Intel security technology; hence our suggestion
that this is a crypto DRM strategy (no pun intended).
The Intel chips require a $17 dollar multimedia accelerator to deliver
high-end video playback in a handheld device. The total cost of the chipset
with accelerator is $49 in quantities of 10,000.
By contrast, TI's $33.47 OMAP 2 processors (price based on purchase of
10,000 chips) deliver digital television, music, and digital camera support
without any hardware-based security. Handset manufacturers can implement
DRM in software without proprietary security when doing so, where Intel's
chip ties security to Intel's wireless trusted computing technology.
The TI chips are more flexible and inexpensive, allowing handset makers
to implement a variety of security features from different software
developers instead of relying on Intel to win support for its security
features from a large number of independent software vendors.
Where TI does focus on security Intel provides these features, too is
in the arena of what can load into memory, where hostile code can damage
the device or break installed security features.
Intel needs to make silicon for the mobile market that is not tied by
hardware designs so closely to its desktop and server technologies.
Software-based links to the rest of the Intel universe are a positive
contribution, but hardware-based connections will only make competing
software-only solutions more attractive.
Posted by Red Herring at April 12, 2004 03:48 PM
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