The only positive aspect for Intel Corp. in the Dec. 16 filing of a lawsuit by the Federal Trade Commission is that Atom is not directly involved in the allegations listed in the lawsuit. However, the implications for Intel in netbooks and smartbooks could be twofold: In the first instance, the FTC’s charges of anticompetitive behavior for desktop processors, and possible tweaking of compilers to hobble the performance of competitive processors, will place Intel on notice for its behavior with Atom. Second, the FTC warned of the threat of anti-competitive behavior extending to graphic processing units, and mentioned Nvidia as a potential target. Given Nvidia’s smartbook market presence with Tegra and the upcoming Tegra 2, the FTC action is very relevant to the smartbook market.
In a wide-ranging discussion with journalists at the September Intel Developer Forum, Intel CEO Paul Otellini dismissed similar claims from the European Union, and said Intel would bend over backwards to avoid even the appearance of anti-competitive behavior in all CPU markets, both desktop and mobile. Yet whispers continue among analysts that Intel is trying to delay the arrival of smartbooks, not so much to avoid competing with the likes of Qualcomm or Nvidia, but so that the Intel/Windows/Moblin environment has a head start over Chrome and any of the ARM licensees.
We are inclined not to lend too much credence to stories of Intel throwing its weight around among netbook and smartbook OEMs. Yet the FTC action has to be good news for the industry at large – even if the allegations are not sustained in court – because it sends the message that such anticompetitive behavior will not be tolerated.
Loring
