Intel promises 10 new tablets at Computex
updated 11:15 am EDT, Wed May 18, 2011
Intel to show off 10 tablets at Computex
Intel announced plans to bring more than 10 new tablet PCs powered by its chips to the upcoming Computex show in Taiwan, the Wall Street Journal said. It will thus attempt to break into a market thus far dominated by ARM and follows up on a similar announcement on Tuesday that had the chipmaker committing to low-power Atom chips for smartphones. The show opens on May 31 and is expected to host a number of new tablet PC debuts, including from local company ASUS.
The tablets will be coming from Intel's hardware partners and are expected to be powered by Intel's code-named Oak Trail series of processors. Analysts believe Intel will struggle, as it doesn't have a strong partnership or apps made for the popular Android OS or other software commonly used in tablets. Its own Windows-based tablets aren't affordable enough or consume too much power to compete with Android tablets.
At the same time, the chipmaker will ship more than 35 Intel-based tablets throughout 2011, according to the company's general manager for Asia-Pacific, Navin Shenoy. He also believed the March earthquake in Japan will not impact PC parts supply in the second quarter.
