Report: Intel late delivering Clover Trail power management
updated 06:20 pm EDT, Mon October 1, 2012
Problems expected to impact holiday delivery of new tablets
Just days after the Intel CEO claimed that Windows 8 wasn't ready for release, reports say that Intel's delayed delivery of power management software is interfering with the development of tablets running the upcoming OS. Microsoft is yet to approve any tablets featuring the new Clover Trail Z2760 processor, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The delay in production of the power regulation controlling software may have deep repercussions for struggling "post-PC" companies attempting to get a Clover Trail tablet to market before Christmas. “The PC channel is in chaos right now,” said Alex Gauna, an analyst at JMP Securities LLC in San Francisco. “They don’t know what to do. They don’t know what to design for, they don’t know what the consumers are going to buy. Tablets have stolen their growth trajectory, plus the macro situation, plus Wintel has made a mess of their ecosystem.”
Industry analyst Wes Miller interprets the late software as "bad news for Microsoft and Intel because it’s not going to present the best light on either one and it will hurt the perception of Windows 8." Microsoft has certified 800 PC and tablet designs with the new software across both Windows 8 and the ARM-centric Windows 8 RT.
