Intel

Intel demos wireless charging technology

Lynnette Luna — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 11:36:21 -0400

Intel has demonstrated technology that would allow cell phone and laptop users to recharge their devices without having to use electrical outlets. The technology enables recharging wirelessly by making use of electric coils that are programmed to resonate at the same frequency. Building off work unveiled last year by Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers, Intel was able to light a 60-watt light bulb from 3 feet away and was able to make it work with a 75 percent efficiency rating. But this technology has a ways to evolve before it becomes a commercial product. In both the MIT and the Intel work, researchers used charging coils that were too large for use for consumer electronics.

For more:
- check out CNN

Intel sees growth potential for cheap, mobile devices

Sue Marek — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:53:02 -0400

In an interview with Forbes.com, Intel's head of Europe Christian Morales talks about the strong demand in emerging markets for inexpensive mobile Internet devices and how his firm has developed several chips that are energy efficient, high performing and cost effective. He also says that Intel is "neutral" on Symbian but thinks Linux is going to play a major role in cell phones in the near future. Article

Clearwire's stock in the pits

Lynnette Luna — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:57:34 -0400

Clearwire's stock hit a 52-week low on the Nasdaq Tuesday, dropping as low as $8.98 a share. The operator, which is planning to merge with Sprint Nextel's WiMAX business with the help of billions from investment partners Intel, Google and cable operators Comcast, Time Warner and Bright House, has seen its shares fall steadily since early June. But the stock fell below $10 at the end of last week. The shares remain in the pits despite recent upgrades from the likes of RBC Capital markets, which initiated coverage with an "outperform" rating and a target price of $17. Citigroup also recently upgraded the operator's target price to $13 a share.

For more:
- see Unstrung

Related stories:
Introducing the "new" Clearwire. Clearwire story
New Sprint-Clearwire deal a shot in the arm for mobile WiMAX. Sprint-Clearwire editorial

Intel releases Centrino 2 minus WiMAX

Lynnette Luna — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:11:48 -0400

Intel's long-awaited Centrino 2 platform was finally unveiled yesterday after a three-week delay. The delay reportedly had to do with a problem with FCC certification for the Draft 2.0 802.11n WiFi standard used in the platform. The platform is also supposed to include WiMAX but that capability is not included in the initial versions of the of the platform. Future versions of Centrino 2 will include built-in WiMAX capability, presumably by the time Sprint makes its commercial WiMAX debut in Baltimore in September. Centrino 2.0 is the fifth generation of Centrino technology. The platform is 40 percent smaller so that it can fit in mini-notebooks.

Intel invested $1 billion in the new Clearwire WiMAX business, which includes Sprint, cable companies and Google earlier this. Intel is hoping WiMAX incorporated in the new platform will do the same thing incorporating WiFi did, spur adoption. However, Clearwire's rollout will be on a market-by-market basis with 2010 or even 2011 delivering a reasonable footprint in the majority of the top 200 markets, which makes the 802.11n piece a critical part of the Centrino 2.

For more:
- read CNet

Related stories:
Intel: WiMAX/WiFi chip coming in ultramobile PCs. Intel story
Intel: July launch for next-gen WiFi/ WiMAX platform. Intel story

Clearwire expects 30 million subs by 2017

Sue Marek — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 11:09:28 -0400

Clearwire executives told investors this morning that the "new" Clearwire will have 30 million customers and will generate $17.5 billion in annual revenue by 2017. Scott Richardson, Clearwire chief strategy officer, said that Clearwire subscribers will use a mixture of fixed and mobile voice and data services.

In May, the new Clearwire was formed by Sprint and the existing Clearwire, along with $3.2 billion in financing from Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Intel, Google, Bright House Networks and Trilogy Equity Partners. Clearwire CEO Benjamin Wolff assured investors that the new Clearwire will not be controlled by Sprint. The carrier will have seven of the 13 seats on the Clearwire board but one of those seats must be an independent director. In addition, Wolff provided more details on how companies such as Sprint, Comcast and others will resell Clearwire's service to subscribers.

For more:
- see this article

Related stories:
Comcast CEO offers insight on Clearwire investment
Seybold: The New Clearwire - Will it succeed?
New Sprint-Clearwire deal a shot in the arm for mobile WiMAX

Seybold: Intel's WiMAX Exit Strategy?

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 08:53:54 -0400

By Andrew Seybold

Rumors are swirling around the analyst community that Intel is losing its patience, and money, with WiMAX. Some believe that it is looking to pull the plug on its involvement as it has done with other wireless initiatives. Now comes a statement by Sean Maloney, Executive Vice President, General Manager for Sales and Marketing, that LTE and WiMAX should be combined into a common 4G standard. While he is not the first one to suggest this--it was suggested by Arun Sarin, CEO of Vodafone more than a year ago--it is clear to me that this is the beginning of Intel's exit strategy for WiMAX. Once again, an industry that has grown up around Intel is likely to be stepped on as Intel heads for high ground.

Maloney makes a couple of statements that need to be addressed. The first is that WiMAX and LTE are 80 percent the same but WiMAX is a few years ahead of LTE, and the second is that customers will be confused by competing 4G technologies.

Let's look at these statements in reverse order. First, we have had 2G and 3G competing technologies for many years and the industry has not confused anyone. And, I maintain, because we have had these competing technologies, we have lower service pricing, a more competitive landscape that has resulted in faster data speeds on both sides and substantially lower handset prices.

If the entire world had been using one 2G and one 3G standard, I am not sure we would be as far advanced as we are. And the companies that develop chipsets (I thought Intel did that, too) have been really good at turning out chipsets that support all of the various 2G and 3G technologies, on all of the major spectrum allocations around the world. For the most part, these chipsets are selling at very reasonable prices that will continue to decline.

Second, Maloney is forgetting about another 4G technology: UMB. UMB was developed by the 3GPP2 and Qualcomm--it was supposed to be the 4G road for the CDMA community. However, Verizon Wireless has opted for LTE, which means UMB will probably not be a factor. BUT--from what I understand--UMB is further along in its development than either LTE or next-generation WiMAX and until Intel raised its hand I would have said that LTE and UMB would probably come together into a common standard.

Now Intel has announced that it is getting back into the wireless mobile device chipset business after selling off its last effort in chips and not concluding its initial deal with Nokia. At the same time, it is sending up this trial balloon about combining WiMAX and LTE.

When I first talked with Intel about CDMA and GSM/UMTS, its representatives did not want to have to pay intellectual property fees to the "owners" of the technologies and therefore embarked on the WiMAX path. Now WiMAX, it turns out, will not be IP-free and Intel has a huge investment in a technology that is being built only in greenfield (meaning new) networks. WiMAX has not been included in anyone's migration path from 3G UMTS or CDMA.

Sprint is basically saying it will let Clearwire take over the burden of launching the WiMAX network and getting the devices to run on the network. But Sprint is keeping the voice and EV-DO traffic while the WiMAX network is being built out so it can get back to trying to save its core business.

The CEO of Intel seems to think is it easier to add wireless to a computer than to add a computer to a wireless device. Well, perhaps a few years ago that was true. But today we already have a number of very successful devices on the market--RIM's BlackBerry, phones using Microsoft Mobile Windows 6.0, Palm Treos and Nokia high-end phones (which the company calls wireless computers)--all coming from the wireless world with more exciting things on the way. This is just the beginning. Now there will be mobile processors in the market that will provide all the power new mobile devices will need and all the wireless connectivity they can fit in before anything Intel can produce and, I suspect, at lower power than Intel's first new offerings.

So Intel is beginning to make the move I thought it would. How will it exit the WiMAX marketplace gracefully and join the rest of the wireless world as it continues to grow? The answer, of course, is to champion the "merger" of WiMAX and LTE for the "good of the industry" and so we won't confuse the customers (who don't care about the technology anyway).

Can Intel thrive and survive in wireless when it is using the same technologies as the rest of the world and not promoting something different? Can its chips designed for handheld wireless computing devices compete with what is coming from the wireless industry? Time will tell of course, but Intel will have to horse trade some of its own IP in order to be able to develop LTE products or it will have to pay, just like every other chip maker. That is a fact of life in the industry.

Intel certainly wants to get into the wireless business, but so far it appears as though the master of PC processors has not mastered the wireless landscape and is still flailing around trying to figure out how to make its presence felt.

I don't feel the least bit sorry for Intel, but I do feel very sorry for the WiMAX community that was in place prior to Intel's entry and that grew up around Intel's support of the WiMAX technology. Many of these companies invested a lot of time and money because they believed that following Intel could only ensure their success. I wonder how they are feeling today, after Intel's latest round of comments.

Andrew Seybold is an authority on technology and trends shaping the world of wireless mobility. A respected analyst, consultant, commentator, author and active participant in industry trade organizations, his views have influenced strategies and shaped initiatives for telecom, mobile computing and wireless industry leaders worldwide.

Intel says WiMAX and LTE should be combined

Sue Marek — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 11:01:17 -0400

Vodafone's Arun Sarin was one of the first to say it. Now Intel's Sean Maloney is touting the idea. Should competing standards WiMAX and LTE be unified into one standard?

Maloney, who is the executive vice president, general manager, sales and marketing group at Intel, says that two standards should be harmonized because they are about "80 percent" similar but that WiMAX is a couple years ahead of LTE. He also said that customers will be confused by the competing 4G technologies. Maloney says that Intel is looking into ways to integrate the two technologies and it is technically possible for Intel to create a chip set that could be used for WiMAX and LTE.

Of course, this news comes just a day after Intel announced that it is preparing to re-enter the mobile-phone market. Intel's CEO Paul Otellini told the Financial Times that as mobile devices become more powerful and adoption of computer-like applications rises, Intel is in a position to make inroads into the mobile-phone market.

For more on this story:
- see this BBC article

Intel to re-enter mobile-phone market

Lynnette Luna — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 11:31:57 -0400

Two years after selling off its XScale mobile processor unit to Marvell, Intel says it is now preparing to re-enter the mobile-phone market. Intel's CEO Paul Otellini told the Financial Times that as mobile devices become more powerful and adoption computer-like applications rises, Intel is in a position to make inroads into the mobile-phone market.

"If you accept that the value proposition of the high end of the mobile phone market is full Internet access that happens to have voice, my view is that it's easier to add voice to a small computer than vice-versa," Otellini said in an FT interview.

Intel aims to begin by pushing its low energy consumption Atom chips and will launch a mobile version, code-named Pineview, in late 2009. Intel's Atom chips are intended for use in ultra-mobile PCs and smart phones. When Intel sold the XScale division in 2006, the company said it wanted to focus on its core business along with WiFi and WiMAX.

Meanwhile, shares of Marvell Technology increased 23.3 percent on Friday, hitting a six-month high after the company reported better-than-anticipated results due to a jump in WiFi and 3G chip sales. The stock of other wireless chipmakers increased after Marvel indicated "stronger-than-expected sales of 802.11n wireless connectivity devices" in its financial report.

For more on this story:
- read Cellular-News
- check out Investor's Business Daily

Related stories:
Intel sells off XScale/Mobile processor unit to Marvell for $600M. Intel/Marvell story
Centrino 2 with WiMAX coming this summer. Intel Centrino story

Intel: July launch for next-gen WiFi/ WiMAX platform

Lynnette Luna — Wed, 28 May 2008 10:29:56 -0400

Intel announced it will introduce its next-generation Centrino 2 mobile platform, code-named Montevina, July 14. The platform is expected to offer faster performance and longer battery life, and is long awaited by the WiMAX community as it incorporates both WiFi and WiMAX. In addition, the platform is 40 percent smaller so that it can fit in mini-notebooks.

Intel, as you remember, invested $1 billion in the new Clearwire WiMAX business, which includes Sprint, cable companies and Google. Intel is hoping WiMAX incorporated in the new platform will do the same thing incorporating WiFi did, spur adoption. However, Clearwire's rollout will be on a market-by-market basis with 2010 or even 2011 delivering a reasonable footprint in the majority of the top 200 markets. That doesn't worry Intel though.

"When we launched our Centrino WiFi platform, there weren't a lot of WiFi hotspots, but people still bought it even though by itself, WiFi was not ubiquitous," Intel Vice President Sriram Viswanathan said in a recent conference call. "Centrino was still successful. We expect the same with Montevina because there are other value propositions in the platform."

For more about Intel's Centrino 2:
- check out this article from InformationWeek

Related stories:
New Sprint-Clearwire deal a shot in the arm for mobile WiMAX. See this Clearwire story
Intel among winners of 2.6 GHz spectrum in Sweden. See this Intel WiMAX story

Virgin Group enters WiMAX business in Russia

Lynnette Luna — Mon, 19 May 2008 11:03:30 -0400

Richard Branson's Virgin Group has entered the WiMAX business. Swiss-based investment company, Trivon, has created a partnership with Virgin Group to offer WiMAX services to Russia under the Virgin Connect brand. Trivon, which is operating the network, introduced WiMAX service in 32 Russian regions, including parts of Moscow, St. Petersburg and the 20 biggest cities where it holds licenses. Virgin Connect will offer broadband Internet access, voice and other services to residential, SME and large corporations. Co-investors in the project are private equity firms Delta Partners and Eurasia Capital Management.

To find out more about Virgin Group's WiMAX aspirations in Russia:
- check out this article from telecoms.com