As it prepares to fend off a ferocious assault by Qualcomm, Freescale and others for supremacy in mobile computing, Intel is fanning out its development activities for the Atom processor well beyond Microsoft.
In June, the company demonstrated a netbook running Android applications on its Linux-based Moblin OS. Intel is pouring considerable resources into Moblin, including developing three versions: for handhelds, netbooks and nettops. This is all a direct affront to Microsoft, which is focused on developing different versions of Windows for these segments to thwart the efforts of Google and others to own the mobile OS.
This raises the question of whether the dynamic duo of Wintel, dominating every aspect of the PC market, will take divergent paths for the multibillion-dollar market in ultra-mobile computing. Specifically, will Intel’s activities with Moblin drive Microsoft to develop a version of Windows 7 for the ARM platform?
Such divergence has happened before, especially when the stakes are this huge. In the 1990s, neither company had a strong foothold in glass-room enterprise computing, which was dominated by Unix software and RISC semiconductors. In tandem, Intel and Microsoft were developing 64-bit versions of their products in an effort to claim ground in the space. But the companies, each seeking to find the biggest market for its products, threw their weight behind “alternative” platforms. Intel supported several different 64-bit Unix variants, while Windows NT was available for MIPS, Alpha, PowerPC and Intel platforms.
With Moblin, it’s clear that Intel is distributing its eggs to multiple baskets. Does Microsoft want to lose leverage against Intel by limiting Windows 7 and keeping it off what could shape up to be a hot ARM-based netbook/smartbook market?
Lisa
