I don't get why Intel is pushing x86 so hard in the mobile market. I understand them wanting to keep x86 for desktops, as desktop apps need to be compatible. But mobile apps still need to be customized. Nobody will want to install Excel (for PC) on their mobile, even if their mobile has the horsepower to run it.
x86 architecture is their core product (or rather the foundation for their core products), so they problably try to push it forward whenever they can, like Windows for MS (Windows Phone on a device without any actual windows...).
It's what they do for thirty years, so I suppose they think it's part of their DNA and will fail if they try anything else.
It is particularly odd behavior given that in 2006, Intel sold off the mobile portion of the XScale line of ARM chips, but not the rest of the XScale line. Either they've since had a complete change of heart about the wisdom of going after the handheld market, or the 2006 deal was the result of a really huge outbreak of Not Invented Here syndrome.
I think Intel, like Microsoft missed the big move to mobile.
Intel want x86 on the phones, since there are so many developers out there used to it, so many tools, so much software that would only need a small tweek.
> so many tools, so much software that would only need a small tweek.
I'm not sure about that. ISA is an implementation detail, a popup in your IDE.
Any existing Windows or Mac app that needs to go mobile will in the least need an interface overhaul (true for iOS and WP7) and at most need to adopt completely new mobile APIs.
I always wondered about that, but I think that part of the problem with XScale is that it ended up being so far behind. When Intel acquired XScale from DEC, they really only got the IP, not the people... so they had to waste a lot of time assembling teams and re-building expertise, by which time the rest of the industry had left them in the dust.
Atom is a decent first step toward that niche, but I'm still not convinced about the value of x86 in mobile computing either.
If they launch a non-x86 product and it becomes popular, lots of people use it and lots of apps are ported to it.
People might begin to wonder why they need an x86 in their netbook or tablet
Intel wants the money from putting out a chip that is used by a volume of devices that dwarfs the PC world. The biggest problem is that customization is king in the mobile arena and that is not Intel's sweet spot. They are making moves into that area with the Atom (although IMHO they mucked it up http://bit.ly/d9GJIM ), but really hope the customization trend dies and they can sell bulk of a certain design.
