By: Richard Cownie (tich.delete@this.pobox.com), February 1, 2013 7:49 am
Room: Moderated Discussions
anon (anon.delete@this.anon.com) on February 1, 2013 8:08 am wrote:
> Intel's dominance is manufacturing. If there is money to be made in ARM market, then
> in my opinion they have easy opportunities to sell silicon into that market. There
> is a good chance they will be able to do it better than anybody else, too.
I think you don't understand Intel's business very well. They have great manufacturing,
to be sure, but they also have exceptional margins in the x86 business (especially
the server business) because a) network effects have made x86 the dominant ISA
for desktop/laptop clients; b) x86 is protected by patents and legal constraints
which raise high barriers to competition; c) on the occasions when Intel's x86 business
was threatened, they used their market power ruthlessly (notably against AMD).
Outside the desktop/laptop business - which is now shrinking - points a/b/c don't
apply. I don't think manufacturing excellence alone will allow Intel to dominate
other markets. You have a different opinion, evidently. We'll see.
> Intel's dominance is manufacturing. If there is money to be made in ARM market, then
> in my opinion they have easy opportunities to sell silicon into that market. There
> is a good chance they will be able to do it better than anybody else, too.
I think you don't understand Intel's business very well. They have great manufacturing,
to be sure, but they also have exceptional margins in the x86 business (especially
the server business) because a) network effects have made x86 the dominant ISA
for desktop/laptop clients; b) x86 is protected by patents and legal constraints
which raise high barriers to competition; c) on the occasions when Intel's x86 business
was threatened, they used their market power ruthlessly (notably against AMD).
Outside the desktop/laptop business - which is now shrinking - points a/b/c don't
apply. I don't think manufacturing excellence alone will allow Intel to dominate
other markets. You have a different opinion, evidently. We'll see.