Remember when in 2000, there was a young reporter called Anthony Cataldo rushed into our EE Times office in the United States San Mateo, excited to share news, he ran to tell a people called the application processor (applications processor) new kinds of mobile phone chips.

Cataldo at the time of the EE Times print magazine wrote: "the most active application processor Intel (Intel), published last week in Japan in the StrongARM XScale wasn't entirely processor architecture, as the prototype of the independent application processor;" He also pointed out, including NEC, Hitachi (Hitachi), Mitsubishi (Mitsubishi), Texas instruments (TI) and stmicroelectronics (ST) were also prepared to mind everyone's business even trifle ones. That is folding mobile phone during the era, Japan has just launched i-mode service, points to a new mobile phone of the future.

Intel is a step by step, how to miss smartphone chip business opportunities?

But in 2002, Intel in the mobile phone, dedicated processor yet still worship the bottom, so the company adopted a new strategy, and in the XScale wasn't entirely chip joined a large amount of flash memory; Over time, the company has made several phone makers design case, including Motorola, Research in Motion with the Palm, but still significantly behind rivals in the market.

Finally, Intel will XScale wasn't entirely processor reorganization in 2006 sold to Marvell, good focus on development is thriving, more expensive and high profits chip notebook market; There is no denying that the application processing device is a system of single chip (SoC) market, Intel has not in time to prepare the required technology, the company is good at large, fast PC processors entities and circuit design.

At the end of 2007, Intel appointed under one of the top engineers Gadi Singer to lead the development of the x86 architecture and SoC design tools needed for a team; A few months later, Apple (Apple) launched the ARM architecture processor of the iPhone, the birth of a new market segment, Intel because of using the wrong architecture and had to struggle to keep up.

Although it took a few years time, Intel to plug and play action SoC design style to catch up with the footsteps of the industry, but the company still insist on using x86 architecture processor core, most mobile adopts ARM processor core; Despite repeated attempts, Intel has never made a large design case in the smartphone market.

In competitive x86 Intel started to publish application processor, apple and Samsung (Samsung) in the smartphone market limelight, and has already developed their own SoC ARM architecture, because the chip occupies a large part of smartphone bom, is also the most complex, most of the mobile phone based technical strategic element.

Intel is the last and the Chinese chip design companies, Spreadtrum core micro (RockChip) (Spreadtrum) cooperative development of x86 processors, they expect to win the favor is rising Chinese domestic mobile phone manufacturers, is perhaps the next millet. Intel core with micro design, SoFIA chips have asustek (Asus), the latter is Intel in the PC market and old customers; But they are not China's new mobile phone manufacturer clients.

In the field of tablet devices, Intel's luck even worse; Analysts said the company is losing money to buy market share. Late last year, Intel chief executive Brian Krzanich poaching Qualcomm, Qualcomm high-level Venkata "Murthy Renduchintala action to rectify a d chip business, but just a few days ago, according to the latest information of the chip division senior will hand over SoC business smartphone and tablet devices.

Murthy of a wide range of tasks, ranging from the existing PC to any place with Internet of things (IoT) related to the device; Krzanich Intel has given a ship can course content networking Marine boat, namely the Quark processor and development board, but that are only a small star of Internet of things the vast forest chip micro controller.